10 Truths About Human Trafficking

Every 1.3 seconds, a person is being trafficked. approximately 40.3 million people are being victimized and put in situations of trafficking. (including forced marriage) worldwide. 25% of these are children. ​

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Human trafficking is any exploitation situation where someone cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power. 

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Traffickers prey on weakness, and those who are perceived as vulnerable, being a child, is inherently vulnerable. In the US, all children involved in commercial sex are victims of human trafficking.

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Unbelievably, only about half of US states have laws that protect sexually exploited children from being prosecuted for prostitution.

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You will hear about trafficking “hotspots.” The fact is that trafficking occurs wherever there are people. 

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Human trafficking is not just a “women and girls issue.” 15% of those trafficked are boys.

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Traffickers can look like anyone; there is no stereotype. Clay Roses has connected with situations of trafficking in which exploiters have been family members, peers, romantic partners, educators, employers, community leaders, and members of the church.

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Most Kids continue going to school, living at home, and participating in extracurricular activities, all while being trafficked.

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Often, a “rescue” isn’t the only (or best) way to freedom. Training to recognize & respond appropriately to trafficking and trauma-informed spaces to heal help create pathways for more victims to exit exploitation.

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Human trafficking is not a new phenomenon. Human trafficking has been happening forever. But only in 2003, the United Nations introduced the Trafficking Protocol, introducing a universally agreed upon definition of trafficking in persons.