Human sex-trafficking is a horrific crime
Stress for Success
January 25, 2011


Got enough stress?

Compared to that of sex-trafficking victims, I assume yours is miniscule.

January is human-trafficking awareness month. This horrific crime came to my professional attention through a curriculum I’m writing for Beauty from Ashes Ministries, a local nonprofit that supports those in the sex-trade and adult entertainment worlds to leave those industries.

Here’s what I’m learning:
§ Federal law defines severe human sex trafficking as a commercial sex act induced by force, coercion OR in which the person induced to perform such an act is under 18, eliminating the “consensual sex” argument with someone under 18;
§ Domestic minor sex trafficking victims are US citizens or lawful permanent residents under the age of 18 who’ve been recruited, harbored, transported, provided or obtained to perform commercial sex acts defined as any sex act done in exchange for monetary or non-monetary gain. Examples include:
o Pimps prostituting someone under 18;
o Parents prostituting their child for rent or drugs;
o Trading a sex act with a minor for basic needs like shelter or food, known as “survival sex;”
o Street prostitution, escort services or Internet-aided prostitution;
§ Nationally 450,000 children run away – or are thrown away - from home annually so there’s an abundant supply of vulnerable children;
§ An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 adolescents annually are victims of trafficking (National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking 2009;)
§ American children are easier to recruit and sell than foreign victims because there’s no need to cross borders;
§ 30% of shelter youth and 70% of street youth are victims of commercial sexual exploitation (Shared Hope International;)
§ One in three teens on the streets is ensnared into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home – 150,000 annually;
§ Shared Hope International reveals pimps commonly sell under-age girls for $400/hour, 10 – 15 times a day, six days a week, totally 9,360 – 14,000 sex acts a year for which the girls receive no money;
§ The average age of entry into pornography and prostitution in the U.S. is 12! (The US Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section);
§ 66-90% of adult sex workers were sexually abused as children (Violence Against Women, 2004;)

Think about the vulnerability of these children: most are running away from one abusive situation - their homes - right into another where traffickers/pimps are waiting to exploit them (more on understanding these children next week.) How would any 12-year-old you know hold up under such conditions?

Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world (UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 2008.) Ninety percent takes the form of sexual exploitation. Gangs increasingly prostitute minors for prestige (imagine that!) and income; it’s fast replacing drugs as their main revenue source.

Sadly, Florida is the third highest trafficking state.

These horrific crimes wouldn’t exist if there weren’t a demand for sex with children. And the “product for sale” is most commonly local American children.

For more information, go to www.beautyfromashes.org.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., is an international speaker and a Stress and Wellness Coach. Order her book, Let Your Body Win: Stress Management Plain & Simple, at http://www.letyourbodywin.com/bookstore.html. Email her to request she speak to your organization at jferg8@aol.com.