How does child trafficking work

Child Sex Trafficking

“Some of our most vulnerable children also face the threat of being victimized by commercial sexual exploitation. Runaways, throwaways, sexual assault victims, and neglected children can be recruited into a violent life of forced prostitution.”

– Deputy Attorney General James Cole speaks at the National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation in San Jose, California, May 17, 2011.

Child Sex Trafficking

Child sex trafficking refers to the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a minor for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Offenders of this crime who are commonly referred to as traffickers, or pimps, target vulnerable children and gain control over them using a variety of manipulative methods. Victims frequently fall prey to traffickers who lure them in with an offer of food, clothes, attention, friendship, love, and a seemingly safe place to sleep. After cultivating a relationship with the child and engendering a false sense of trust, the trafficker will begin engaging the child in prostitution, and use physical, emotional, and psychological abuse to keep the child trapped in a life of prostitution. It is common for traffickers to isolate victims by moving them far away from friends and family, altering their physical appearances, or continuously moving them to new locations. Victims are heavily conditioned to remain loyal to the trafficker and to distrust law enforcement. No child is immune to becoming a victim of child sex trafficking, regardless of the child’s race, age, socioeconomic status, or location, and every child involved in this form of commercial sexual exploitation is a victim.

Technological advances, in particular the Internet and mobile devices, have facilitated the sex trafficking of children by providing a convenient worldwide marketing channel. Individuals can now use websites and social media to advertise, schedule, and purchase sexual encounters with minors. The Internet and mobile devices also allow pimps and traffickers to reach a larger clientele base than in the past, which may expose victims to greater risks and dangers.

Child sex trafficking investigations present unique challenges to law enforcement and require a robust multijurisdictional response, with multiple agencies playing a critical role in ensuring the protection of victims and effective prosecution of offenders. The method by which most traffickers identify, recruit, market, and maintain their victims results in a unique combination of sustained violent criminal behavior with reluctant victims and witnesses. Although interviews of sex trafficking victims frequently identify traffickers and other accomplices, some child victims may resist identifying their traffickers because of fear or other means of manipulation that the pimp has exercised over them. Furthermore, the victim may only know their traffickers’ street name and cannot fully identify their traffickers.

Child sex trafficking victims are often not recognized as victims and may be arrested and jailed. The dangers faced by these children—from the traffickers, their associates, and from customers—are severe. These children become hardened by the treacherous environment in which they must learn to survive. As such, they do not always outwardly present as sympathetic victims. They also frequently suffer from short–term and long–term psychological effects such as depression, self-hatred, and feelings of hopelessness. These child victims also need specialized services that are not widely available given they often have illnesses, drug addictions, physical and sexual trauma, lack of viable family and community ties, and total dependence—physical and psychological—on their abusers.

For more information, see Federal Law on Child Sex Trafficking.

International Sex Trafficking of Minors

          One form of sex trafficking involves the cross border transportation of children. In these situations, traffickers recruit and transfer children across international borders in order to sexually exploit them in another country. The traffickers can be individuals working alone, organized crime groups, enterprises, or networks of criminals working together to traffic children into prostitution across country lines.
          This form of sex trafficking is a problem in the United States, and recovered victims originate from all over the world, including less-developed areas, such as South and Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America, to more developed areas, such as Western Europe. Once in the United States, a child may be trafficked to any or multiple states within the country. These victims are often trafficked far from home, and thrown into unfamiliar locations and culture.  They may be given a false passport or other documentation to conceal their age and true identity. They may also struggle with the English language. All these factors make it extremely difficult for these children to come forward to law enforcement.
          In addition, many foreign victims originate from nations that suffer from poverty, turbulent politics and unstable economics. Children from these countries are seen as easy targets by traffickers because they face problems of illiteracy, limited employment opportunities, and bleak financial circumstances in their home country. It is not uncommon for a foreign victim to be coerced by a trafficker under false pretenses. The child is told that a better life or job opportunity awaits them in the United States. However, once in the United States they are introduced into a life of prostitution controlled by traffickers.

Domestic Sex Trafficking of Minors

          The United States not only faces a problem of foreign victims trafficked into the country, but there is also a homegrown problem of American children being recruited and exploited for commercial sex. Under federal law, a child does not need to cross international or even state borders to be considered a victim of commercial sexual exploitation, and unfortunately, American children are falling victim to this crime within the United States.
           Pimps and traffickers sexually exploit children through street prostitution, and in adult night clubs, illegal brothels, sex parties, motel rooms, hotel rooms, and other locations throughout the United States. Many recovered American victims are street children, a population of runaway or throwaway youth who often come from low income families, and may suffer from physical abuse, sexual abuse and family abandonment issues. This population is seen as an easy target by pimps because the children are generally vulnerable, without dependable guardians, and suffer from low self-esteem. Victims of the prostitution of children, however, come from all backgrounds in terms of class, race, and geography (i.e. urban, suburban, and rural settings).
          Often in domestic sex trafficking situations, pimps will make the child victim feel dependent on prostitution for life necessities and survival. For example, a pimp will lure a child with food, clothes, attention, friendship, love, and a seemingly safe place to stay. After cultivating a relationship with a child and engendering a false sense of trust, the pimp will begin engaging the child in prostitution. It is also common for pimps to isolate victims by moving them far away from friends and family, altering their physical appearances, or continuously moving victims to new locations. In many cases, victims become so hardened by the environment in which they must learn to survive that they are incapable of leaving the situation on their own.

Child Victims of Prostitution

          The term prostitution can delude or confuse one’s understanding of this form of child sexual exploitation. It is important to emphasize that the children involved are victims. Pimps and traffickers manipulate children by using physical, emotional, and psychological abuse to keep them trapped in a life of prostitution. It is not uncommon for traffickers to beat, rape, or torture their victims. Some traffickers also use drugs and alcohol to control them.
           Technological advances, in particular the Internet, have facilitated the commercial sexual exploitation of children by providing a convenient worldwide marketing channel. Individuals can now use websites to advertise, schedule, and purchase sexual encounters with minors. The Internet and web-enabled cell phones also allow pimps and traffickers to reach a larger clientele base than in the past, which may expose victims to greater risks and dangers.
          In addition, many child victims suffer from physical ailments, including tuberculosis, infections, drug addition, malnutrition, and physical injuries resulting from violence inflicted upon them. Venereal diseases also run rampant. Children may also suffer from short–term and long–term psychological effects such as depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness.

CEOS’s Role

CEOS attorneys work with the High Technology Investigative Unit (HTIU), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Attorney´s Offices around the country, and other state and local parties to investigate and prosecute cases arising under federal statutes prohibiting the prostitution of children. CEOS works to not only punish and jail offenders, but to protect the rights and welfare of the children involved.
In addition, CEOS maintains a coordinated, national-level law enforcement focus, and helps coordinates nationwide and international investigations and initiatives. CEOS attorneys travel all over the country to conduct trainings for investigators, law enforcement personnel and others involved in efforts to eradicate this crime. Moreover, CEOS designs, implements, and supports law enforcement strategies, legislative proposals, and policy initiatives relating to federal laws prohibiting the prostitution of children.

What You Need to Know About Child Trafficking

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What is child trafficking?

Trafficking is where children and young people tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold. Children are trafficked for:

sexual exploitation
benefit fraud
forced marriage
domestic slavery like cleaning, cooking and childcare
forced labour in factories or agriculture
committing crimes, like begging, theft, working on cannabis farms or moving drugs.

Trafficked children experience many types of abuse and neglect. Traffickers use physical, sexual and emotional abuse as a form of control. Children and young people are also likely to be physically and emotionally neglected and may be sexually exploited.

Types of child trafficking

Traffickers often groom children, families and communities to gain their trust. They may also threaten families with violence or threats. Traffickers often promise children and families that they'll have a better future elsewhere.

Trafficking is also an economic crime. Traffickers may ask families for money for providing documents or transport and they'll make a profit from money a child "earns" through exploitation, forced labour or crime. They'll often be told this money is to pay off a debt they or their family "owe" to the traffickers.

Traffickers may:

work alone or in small groups, recruiting a small number of children, often from areas they know and live in
be medium-sized groups who recruit, move and exploit children and young people on a small scale
be large criminal networks that operate internationally with high-level corruption, money laundering and a large numbers of victims.

Effects of child trafficking

Trafficking can have both short and long term effects and the impact can last a lifetime.

Children and young people who've been trafficked might:

not understand what's happened to them is abuse - especially if they've been groomed
believe they're in a relationship with their abuser and unaware they're being exploited
think they played a part in their abuse or have broken the law
feel very guilty or ashamed about the abuse they've suffered.

Being kept captive or living or working in poor conditions can have a serious impact on a child's mental and physical health. They might also be suffering from the effects of abuse and neglect.

Children may feel distressed and alienated if they've been separated from their families, friends, communities and cultures.

They'll often have had no access to education or opportunity for social and emotional development.

Children exploited for domestic servitude and forced labour can suffer physical injuries, develop problems with their emotional health and be denied access to an education.

Children trafficked for sexual exploitation are at high risk of prolonged periods of sexual violence, physical injuries, sexually transmitted infections and, for girls, multiple pregnancies.

Who's at risk

Any child is at risk of child trafficking.

Human trafficking happens due to:

inequalities between countries, such as different education or employment opportunities
poverty
the effects of war
the demand for cheap or free labour or a workforce who can be easily controlled and forced into criminal activity
low levels of education
lack of equal opportunities, discrimination or marginalisation.

Report child trafficking

Children who are trafficked are intentionally hidden and isolated from the services and communities who can identify and protect them. If you're worried about a child, you can take steps to keep them safe.

If you think a child or young person is in danger, contact the police on 999.
Contact your local child protection services. You can find their contact details on the website for the local authority the child lives in.
Contact the Modern Slavery Helpline to get help, report a suspicion or seek advice. Call 0800 012 1700 or fill in their online form.

We're here to support you, no matter your worry. Call us on 0808 800 5000, email [email protected] or fill in our online form.

Support for children and young people

Children and young people who've been trafficking might find it difficult to talk about their experiences or to tell anyone what's happened to them.

Children are often too scared to speak out. They might be frightened of:

what'll happen to themselves, their friends and their family
all adults and authorities
being prosecuted for a crime
being returned to their home country where their situation may be even worse
Juju or witchcraft rituals performed during their experiences
judgement from their community and families.

They may also feel very guilty or ashamed about the abuse they've suffered.

How Childline can help

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We understand how difficult it is for children to talk about child trafficking. Whether it's happening now or happened in the past, Childline can be contacted 24/7.

Calls to 0800 1111 are free and confidential. Children can also contact Childline online.

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90,000 Children are increasingly becoming victims of human trafficking 90,001 90,002 In total, 50,000 victims of human trafficking were identified in 148 countries in 2018. However, as the authors of the report point out, the real number of victims could be much higher. The study confirmed that as a rule, representatives of the most vulnerable groups of the population, including migrants and the unemployed, fall into the networks of criminals.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation of these people has only worsened.

“Millions of women, children and men around the world do not work, do not study and do not have access to social assistance. In such a situation, they are even more at risk of falling into the hands of traffickers,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Wali, presenting the report. She called on the international community to take action to protect the world's vulnerable populations from the effects of the pandemic. nine0003

UN Report: Pandemic exacerbates human trafficking threat

Wali says the global report, coupled with the technical support offered by UNODC experts, will help governments around the world develop better responses to human trafficking, combat impunity and support affected.

The number of children and adult men has increased, but the main victims of trafficking are still women

The bulk of the victims of human traffickers - 70 percent - are still women, while about 20 percent of them are minors. Another 20 percent of the victims are adult men, the rest are boys. nine0003

Over the past 15 years, the number of identified victims of smugglers has increased significantly, and their demographic composition has changed - the proportion of children has increased from 10 percent to 30, the proportion of adult men has doubled.

Half of all victims are bought for the purpose of sexual exploitation, 38 percent for forced labor, six percent are forced into criminal activities and about one percent are forced to beg. Less than one percent is used for organ trafficking, forced marriages and other purposes. nine0003

Especially often slave labor is used in remote settlements in agriculture, construction, fishing, mining and domestic work.

Portrait of a human trafficker

The UN experts also compiled a “portrait” of a human trafficker: in the vast majority of cases, these are men, as a rule, members of an organized criminal group. However, there are also "loners" or members of local criminal organizations. They treat their victims as a commodity and do not think about their rights and dignity. The selling price varies from tens to tens of thousands of dollars - the largest sums are earned by representatives of organized crime. nine0003

Traffickers make extensive use of new technologies in their activities, from searching for potential victims to exploiting them. Children are often recruited on social networks, asking for friendship. UN experts have identified two strategies: "hunting", when the trafficker persistently pursues the victim on a social network, and "fishing", when the perpetrator sets up nets, posting a job ad and waiting for the potential victim to respond. The Internet also makes it possible to "broadcast" in real time the very process of human exploitation, attracting simultaneously many "clients" around the world. nine0003

Based on data from 148 countries, the authors of the report identified 534 different routes of global human trafficking. Most often, the victims are not taken far from home - for example, girls recruited in the suburbs are exploited in nearby bars and motels.

When working on the report, UN specialists used official data provided by 148 countries of the world. The authors of the document also analyzed 489 court cases from 71 countries.

Human rights and human trafficking

Trafficking in Persons and Human Rights

Human trafficking is generally understood to mean the process by which individuals are placed in or held in exploitation for economic gain. International efforts to combat human trafficking began as early as the 19th century. However, it is only in the last twenty years that a comprehensive legal framework has been developed on this issue. The adoption in 2000 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, marked the first internationally accepted definition of "trafficking in persons": "carried out in recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving persons, through the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, kidnapping, fraud, deceit, abuse of power or position of vulnerability, or through bribery, payments or benefits, in order to obtain the consent of a person, for the purposes of exploitation, controlling another person. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs." nine0003

Despite the existence of a comprehensive international legal framework, millions of children, women and men continue to be victims of human trafficking each year in all regions and in most countries of the world. Human trafficking can take place within one country or between countries for various purposes, including forced and exploitative labor in factories, farms and private households, sexual exploitation, forced marriage or the removal of organs. The clandestine nature of human trafficking complicates the measurement of this phenomenon. According to the Walk Free Foundation and ILO global estimates, 25 million people were victims of forced labor and sexual exploitation worldwide in 2016. According to the 2016 UNODC Global Report on Identified Victims (PDF), 51% of those affected are women, 21% men, 20% girls and 8% boys. Among these victims, 45% were victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and 38% for forced labor. In recent years, human trafficking has also flourished among populations living in or fleeing conflict. nine0003

While our knowledge of human trafficking remains incomplete, it is widely recognized that certain factors make an individual, social group or community more vulnerable to human trafficking and related exploitation. Discrimination in the form of denial of economic and social rights largely places certain individuals at greater risk of being trafficked than others. Discrimination and poverty cause more limited and less favorable opportunities in life, and this can lead certain people to take risks and make decisions that they would not make if their basic needs were met. This lack of real choice can, in turn, increase the risk of trafficking for certain groups such as minorities, migrants, and women and girls. In addition to economic deprivation and inequality, gender and racial discrimination are important factors that limit life choices and make some individuals and communities more vulnerable to human trafficking. nine0003

The links between human rights and human trafficking are manifold. Human rights are universal and therefore victims of human trafficking are entitled to the full range of human rights, regardless of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, citizenship, migratory status or other characteristics. International human rights law also recognizes that certain groups, such as women and children, are in need of additional or special protection. Various human rights are linked to the respective stages in the trafficking process. Some of them are especially important in relation to the causes of human trafficking. It is then that the violation of human rights, for example, the violation of the right to an adequate standard of living, leads to increased human vulnerability. Other rights relate directly to the process of human trafficking. In fact, human trafficking and related practices such as slavery, sexual exploitation, child labor, forced labor, debt bondage and forced marriage are in themselves violations of fundamental human rights and are prohibited by international human rights law. Finally, certain human rights relate to responses to trafficking in persons, such as the right to access to justice, the right to an effective remedy, and the right to a fair trial. nine0003

Although the link between human rights and human trafficking is clear, this does not necessarily mean that human rights will be at the center of responses to human trafficking. A rights-based approach puts the victim at the center of any effective and sustainable action. He also draws attention to the underlying causes that drive human trafficking, allow traffickers to go unpunished, and deprive victims of justice, such as patterns of discrimination, unfair distribution of power, demand for goods and services resulting from exploitation, and public sector involvement. The human rights approach also recognizes that States have a responsibility to protect and promote the rights of all persons subject to them within their jurisdiction, including non-citizens, and thus have a legal obligation to work towards the elimination of human trafficking and related exploitation.