Fact Sheet

• 1.2 million children are currently victims of trafficking, according to the International Labor Organization.   These children are forced into sweatshops, prostitution, military service or domestic labor.  They are deprived of education, of family, and of love. 

• Child trafficking touches virtually every continent and every nation. 

• Child trafficking happens in America.  American children are trafficked within and out of the United States, in addition to foreign children being trafficked into the country.   For example, Latvian girls trafficked into sexual slavery in Chicago, or Ukrainian girls trafficked in Los Angeles, and Maryland, or Thai, Korean, Malaysian and Vietnamese girls trafficked in Georgia, or and Mexican girls trafficked in California, New Jersey and Florida.

• The most common victims of child trafficking are impoverished youths who seek opportunity—work, education, or even just three square meals in another country.  These children are easily duped by traffickers, who promise them the world.  The victims who are lucky enough to return home after being trafficked are often too scarred by and ashamed of their experiences to talk about them, thus leaving the local youth uneducated of the dangers.   The rate of human trafficking that occurs in a country is the strongest indicator of a low standard living, in every region of the world.

• Human trafficking generates approximately $32 billion a year, and is tied to many other aspects of organized crime, including drug trafficking.   It is the third most lucrative sector of organized crime, and the fastest-growing.   It funds many of these illegal organizations’ activities. 

• In Italy, a girl can be bought for $2,500-$4,000, and for $10,000 if she is a virgin.

• The national human trafficking hotline can be reached at: 1-888-428-7581. 

• The average age of women trafficked into Germany fell from 23-25 years to 17-19 years (IOM).   To have such a low average, for every 30-year old who is trafficked into Germany, three 14-year-olds, two 12-year-olds or one six-year-old must be trafficked into Germany.  The majority of these, regardless of age, are trafficked into the sex industry.

• There are towns in Albania where 9 out of 10 girls stay out of school because they’re afraid of being trafficked.   Trafficking hurts not only the trafficking victims, but all of the communities that it touches.  The effects are felt not only while the child is enslaved—due to physical damage, mental trauma, and the lack of education mentioned above, the aftershocks continue to cripple future generations. Furthermore, trafficking victims of trafficking are at a high risk for re-victimization, as are the children of victims.

• There is a growing demand for young women and girls, and for unprotected sex.  80% of those smuggled out of Albania are children.

For more information, please see www.childtrafficking.com, the major repository of documents on this subject. 

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