Individuals at Risk: Anyone Sex traffickers use different ways to force women, men, and children to engage in commercial sex against their will such as violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, and other forms of coercion. Under federal law, any minor under the age of 18 years induced into commercial sex is a victim of sex trafficking--regardless of whether or not the trafficker used force, fraud, or coercion. ___________________________________________________________ Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA): "criminalizes the forced or deceptive movement of people into exploitative conditions of labor and provides benefits and services to victims of trafficking." **** Only one percent of victims will be rescued.. ****** AGE: Children first enter the sex trade between the ages of 12 to 14 year olds. PRICE: $90 (average cost) WHO: 80% of human trafficking victims are females. 70% are trafficked for sex. WHERE: Victims of sex trafficking are recruited in areas with high poverty rates, drug use, and homelessness. -The operation of sex trafficking comes from the market principle of supply and demand. -The profit of sex trafficking is distributed to the traffickers and pimps, with them supplying the women and girls throughout the world every day. __________________________________________________________ *Pimps manipulate the women into incurring debts, so that they will not be able to leave. Women are charged for rent, food, furniture, clothes, and medical expenses; so often, the longer the woman is in prostitution, the larger is her debt. *One former bar woman said her debt accrued for 25 years. Over this period of time, she had to pay for 25 abortions because she said she could not “bring another life into this world if he/she has a life like mine.” |