The United States is the largest consumer of sex in the world. Thousands of people are sold into sex slavery in this country every day, and many are stuck in this twisted industry for years and are never able to escape.
After the release of “Sound of Freedom,” a film that brings attention to the human trafficking crisis occurring around the world, the topic of human trafficking is taking center stage in American politics, and rightfully so.
Human trafficking, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, is “the crime of exploiting another person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts, typically through force, fraud, and coercion, or inducing a minor under 18 into commercial sex.”
The human trafficking industry is one of the largest in the world, and perpetrators make substantial amounts of money. The industry currently brings in an estimated annual global profit of $150 billion. Sex trafficking specifically accounts for nearly $100 billion.
In the United States, California and Texas hold the largest number of trafficking cases. This is primarily due to the fact that these are both heavily immigrant states, with millions of migrants pouring into the US through their southern borders.
In 2018, the DOJ began 230 federal human trafficking prosecutions, a drop from 282 in 2017. Federal convictions rose from 499 in 2017 to 526 in 2018. More than 70 percent of the cases resulted in jail sentences of more than five years, according to the State Department report.
The average age of children sex trafficked is between 12-14 years old. More than half of victims globally are children. Out of all human trafficking victims, 71 percent are women and girls. There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world.
Seventy-four percent of victims (about 3.5 million) of sexual exploitation were living outside their country of residence, and many who are trafficked are illegally taken and brought across borders all around the world.
According to the US State Department anywhere between 14,500-17,500 people are victims of human trafficking in the US every year, with 72 percent being immigrants.
It is incredibly difficult to know for sure how many children and people are trafficked in the United States because many are trapped in the industry, unknown to the public.
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
