Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)

The U.S. Department of Justice defines commercial sexual exploitation of children as the “sexual abuse of a minor for economic gain.” This includes child pornography, prostitution, and sexual entertainment. The Stockholm Declaration adopted in 1996 at the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, explains CSEC as constituting “a form of coercion and violence against children, and amounts to forced labor and a contemporary form of slavery.”

Based on previous cases, the U.S. Department of Justice developed a “continuum of abuse“. Often an adult begins by abusing a young family member or friend. The abuse then becomes more often and the abuser seeks more children. The exploitation continues to escalate to child pornography shared and sold via the Internet. The last step in the continuum is pimping children out for sexual services. Pimps prey on young children: the average age of entry into prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old; traffickers look for vulnerable children, more commonly young girls, and coerce them with promises of emotional and financial security.

It is difficult to pinpoint the magnitude of CSEC because it is underreported and under recognized. However, one study projects that 30% of shelter youth and 70% of street youth are victims of CSEC.

Corruption

The World Bank defines corruption as “the abuse of public office for private gain.” Human trafficking thrives in countries with high corruption rates because it gives traffickers an avenue to do illegal activities without being punished.   The Report presented by the Council of Europe in 2005 hypothesized that “organized trafficking requires systematic corruption.” In order to traffic individuals, traffickers need to be able to transport, harbor, and sell victims without being persecuted. Common examples of corruption aiding trafficking include: cops being paid off (monetarily or with sexual services from victims) to keep brothels and illegal labor quiet; government agencies being paid off to not pass legislation combating trafficking; and customs officers assisting in transporting victims across borders in return for some sort of payoff. Survivors of sex slavery in the U.S. and abroad have reported local officials and police officers frequenting and supporting the trafficking ring.   Corruption is arguably vital to the success of traffickers and therefore corruption, like trafficking, is found all over the world. The Renewal Forum supports a zero tolerance policy for all municipal workers, so if they are found buying a prostituted person they should be dismissed from their position of authority.

Destination, Transit, and Origin State

Origin states are where victims of trafficking come from and transit  states are countries in which victims are transported to destination states; and destination States are where the victims end up. Kristina Kangaspunta found that Africa and South Asia were the most common origin regions and developed countries were by far the most cited destination states. Transit states tend to be countries that have access to developed countries, and have enough poverty and corruption to make transit possible. According to the UN data the United States of America was the most frequently mentioned destination state. NOTE: Trafficking does not require movement and many victims never leave their country that they were trafficked in. This means most victims in the U.S.are U.S. citizens.