Children account for half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old. If the victim is a minor, no force, fraud, or coercion is necessary to prove trafficking.
In the United States, individuals vulnerable to human trafficking include children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, including foster care; runaway and homeless youth; unaccompanied foreign national children without lawful immigration status; individuals seeking asylum; American Indians and Alaska ...
30.2 million victims (75%) are aged 18 or older, with the number of children under the age of 18 estimated at 10.1 million (25%). 37% of victims of trafficking in forced marriage were children.
The average life expectancy of a victim after they enter the world of trafficking is 7-10 years and death usually results from homicide, suicide, communicable diseases, overdose and addiction3,16,25.
Many Human Trafficking Victims Are Brought in Through Force or Coercion. In some cases, traffickers use force or coercion to recruit their victims. It may be a threat of force or actual physical violence that makes someone comply with their demands.
Children account for half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old.
Who Is a Human Trafficking Victim? Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which victims are subjected to force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of commercial sex, debt bondage, or involuntary labor. Victims of human trafficking can be young children, teenagers, men and women.
Venezuela continuously ranks as one of the worst countries for human trafficking as they do little to prevent or punish trafficking. They have strict laws surrounding it, but the prosecution of the crime is rare. Since 2013, Venezuela has convicted only three people under human trafficking laws.
While boys and men are victims as well, most individuals identified as trafficked for both labor and commercial sex are women and girls. For every 10 victims detected globally, five are adult women and two are girls, according to a report released in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (PDF, 18MB).
In some cases, boys are trafficked by their families to raise money for drugs. But despite vulnerabilities, we need to remember that all underage boys can be vulnerable and depend on people in power to provide care and support.
Traffickers motivated by profit take advantage of vulnerable individuals, ignoring the consequences of their actions on those lives. The trafficker's apparent lack of empathy or guilt and the ability to shut the self off from the impact of their actions is not unlike some of the noted characteristics of a psychopath.
Using this technique, it is estimated that the number of human trafficking and slavery victims in Australia in 2015–16 and 2016–17 was between 1,300 and 1,900. This means there are approximately four undetected victims for every victim detected.
Pakistan, Indonesia, China, India, and Bangladesh are in the top 10 for countries with the largest number of trafficking victims around the world. India is at the top of the list with 14 million victims, China comes in second with 3.2 million victims, and Pakistan comes in at third with 2.1 million victims.
Trafficking is where children and young people tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold. Children are trafficked for: sexual exploitation. benefit fraud.
Taiwan is ranked as one of the best countries in the latest U.S. Department's report for its efforts against human trafficking.
Sexual exploitation and forced labour
The most common form of human trafficking detected by national authorities is trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Be careful about posting too much personal information online and do not trust "friendly" strangers on social media that know too much about you or say just the right thing. Stay vigilant and don't "look" like easy prey. Traffickers go after those they perceive as vulnerable and meek.
Many factors make children and adults vulnerable to human trafficking. However, human trafficking does not exist solely because many people are vulnerable to exploitation. Instead, human trafficking is fueled by a demand for cheap labor, services, and for commercial sex.
They may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a dependence on substance or alcohol use, and/or eating disorders. The consequences of trafficking can be long-lasting, impacting the individual and interpersonal relationships and potentially resulting in intergenerational cycles of victimization.
Immigrant and refugee children are vulnerable to sex trafficking, especially when they are unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Factors prompting migration may elevate the risk of sexual exploitation, including violence in the community or within the home, armed conflict and prominent gang activity in the area.