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Sex Trafficking
Sex trafficking is the most prominent from of human trafficking. Because it is so prominent people often use the term “sex trafficking” interchangeably with the term “human trafficking”. Though sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking, it is not the only form (for more information on human trafficking refer to the durr post on this term).
Sex trafficking, as in all forms of human trafficking, is driven by force, fraud, and coercion. Women and children are by far the most victimized by sex trafficking, though some men are also affected. The Polaris Project reports that the most common venues that sex trafficking takes place are: residential brothels, hostess clubs, online escort services, fake massage businesses, strip clubs, and street prostitution.
International Justice Mission (IJM) created a fact sheet of some of the most shocking statistics surrounding sex trafficking. IJM cites the following facts: Sex trafficking is the largest growing criminal industry in the world and the second largest criminal industry along with labor trafficking. There are almost two million children in the commercial sex trade in the world today. Human trafficking profits over 32 million dollars a year, the largest profit coming from sex trafficking. This is more than both Google and Starbucks combined.
Travel
Human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services compares Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling:
Trafficking Smuggling
- Victims are forced, defrauded, or coerced into trafficking. Even if victims initially offer consent, that consent is rendered meaningless by the actions of the traffickers to exploit them for labor, services, or commercial sex.
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- Individuals consent to being smuggled.
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- Human trafficking is a crime committed against an individual.
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- Smuggling is a crime committed against a country and its borders.
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- Trafficking need not entail the physical movement of a person.
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- Smuggling involves the illegal transport of an individual across a national border. Smuggling is always transnational.
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As shown on the chart, human trafficking does not require physical movement. Though many victims of human trafficking are moved across boarders even more stay in the same country or city. Out of the estimated 27 million victims of human trafficking currently in the world today, 600,000-800,000 individuals have been trafficked across international boarders each year. Many victims who are trafficked across boarders are coerced to move to a new place in promise of employment and better living situations. These individuals are then tricked into the sex trade or labor slavery within the new country.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)
The Polaris Project explains what the TVPA is:
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 is the first comprehensive federal law to address trafficking in persons. The law provides a three-pronged approach that includes prevention, protection, and prosecution. The TVPA was reauthorized through the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003, 2005, and 2008.
The TVPA is still the largest piece of international anti-trafficking legislation ever created. It was up for reauthorization in November of 2011 and has still not been reauthorized. This piece of legislation holds countries accountable for not taking necessary actions to prevent, protect victims, or prosecute exploiters of human trafficking. The U.S. holds countries accountable by doing comprehensive “state reports” that places countries in a tier system. States in tier three (i.e. states not making an effort to combat human trafficking) have consequences, such as trade restrictions, enforced by the U.S. For more information on why this law has yet to be reauthorized and the status of it’s reauthorization please visit International Justice Missions Bill Tracker.
