Human Trafficking is Becoming One of the Largest Criminal Enterprises in the US

General Information Each year, more than 1 million children are victims of child sex tourism (CST) around the world. CST is one form of child trafficking, and can be defined as “people who travel from their own counties to another and engage in commercial sex acts with children (CST). According to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, around 2.8 million children run away each year in the United States. Within 48 hours, roughly one-third of these children will be taken recruited into the sex and pornography industry. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 100,000 kids are at ricks for some form of sexual abuse annually (Child Trafficking).

Justification/ Need For Action: According to a report in 2005, it was estimated that between 14,500- 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S each year with 90% of them being women or children. Due to few arrests and recovery of human trafficking victims, there is actually no true number for how many victims are found and reported to federal government agencies for statistical purposes (Polaris Project). This is astonishing because if the actual number of rescued victims cannot compare to the estimated amount, the response that law enforcement gives is still not enough. The main issue for few numbers of rescued victims is not only the discrete nature of the crime, but also the lack of law enforcement officers that can stop the crime in the U.S as well as international enforcement against it. Currently, the main law enforcement agencies that focus on human trafficking are the U.S Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“It is reported that 23,000 Cambodian per year are victims of trafficking, including minors” (United Stated Department of State). Laos also has groups of 50 to 100 Lao victims among thousands of Lao national deportees. The UNIAP, reports that because of poverty issues, lack of education and the need of employment, many children are abused and placed in the sex industry. As well, the Polaris Project Organization emphasizes that exposed populations are homeless youth. The United States Department of State adds that parents sometimes force their children to work in domestic services in urban areas, knowing and not knowing the risk of their child being trafficked.

2014.tp://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/human-trafficking/Pages/welcome.aspx 3) The National Center for Victims of Crime: Human Trafficking: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Trafficking in Persons Report 2012, (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2012), 361, accessed October 15, 2012, http://www.victimsofcrime.org/library/crime-information-and-statistics/human-trafficking 4"Anti-Trafficking Program." Anti-Trafficking Program. United Sates Conference of Catholic Bishops, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.)

(n.d.).Havocscope RSS. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.havocscope.com/prostitution-revenue-by-country/ Roe-Sepowitz, D. E., Gallagher, J., Hickle, K. E., Loubert, M. P., & Tutelman, J. (2014). Project ROSE: An Arrest Alternative for Victims of Sex Trafficking and Prostitution. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 53(1), 57-74.

10 Jan. 2014 "Human Trafficking: Polaris Project Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery." Human Trafficking: Polaris Project Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2014.

Sucked into a world of fear, subjugation, and danger, Kolab demonstrates a lifestyle that no female would ever want to imagine-yet which for many women is their everyday reality. Often times, when we hear the term “sex trafficking” we think of an illegal form of sexual exploitation, but what is little known to most people, is that “sex trafficking is the third largest international crime industry, reportedly generating a profit of $32 billion dollars every year,” a form of lifestyle that over “20.9 million female adults and children” can relate to because it is the norm in their countries, cities, or towns (Sabyan 1). Due to economic downfall, many countries fell into poverty. Forced to make ends meet and pay off debts, many families looked to selling their daughters into sex industries as a away to become free from their burdens. Not only are victims of sex trafficking sold into the industry, but can also be kidnapped and forced into this lifestyle by their “pimp.” The economic aspect, mainly in the United States, is the underlying factor that enables the sex industry to continue to exist and expand today.

Sex Trafficking Throughout the 21st century, the number of human beings being capture and put into sex trafficking and prostitution has risen. In 2013, about 270,000 young boys, girls, and women were forced into human trafficking in the United States alone and estimated 20.9 million in the world. The UN has also estimated that nearly 4,000,000 are trafficked each year. UNICEF has estimated that as many as 50% of all trafficking victims worldwide are minors and that as many as two thirds of those adolescents are at some point forced into the sex trade. This is a 52 billion dollar industry.

"Sex Trafficking at Truck Stops | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery." Sex Trafficking at Truck Stops | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.

Annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://moscow.usembassy.gov: http://moscow.usembassy.gov/tipreport2011.html United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2014). Human Trafficking. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.unodc.org: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.