Fact-Sheet

CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING FACT SHEET (CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING FACT SHEET)

A FEW FACTS…

12.3 million adults and children are held in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world. (U.S. State Department, www.state.gov)

Two million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade. (UNICEF)

293,000 American youth are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. (Univ. of Pennsylvania, www.caster.ssw.upenn.edu)

Approximately 55% of street girls in North America engage in formal prostitution. (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

Sex trafficked minors suffer long-lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease (including HIV/AIDS), drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and possible death. (U.S. State Department)

Internationally:

• Mekong Delta, SE Asia, a third of sex workers are between 12 and 17 years of age.
• Lithuania: minors comprise 20 – 50 percent of prostitutes; porno movies have used 10-12 year olds from children’s homes.
• Mexico: an estimated 16,000 children forced to work as prostitutes, especially at tourist destinations.
• Albania: victims of trafficking are exploited in Greece, Italy, and other European States.

(United Nations, www.unicef.org, www.un.org)

Americans comprise an estimated 25% of all sex tourists. (ECPAT – End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, www.ecpatusa.org)

Up to half (50%) of the victims of global transnational trafficking are minors. (www.endhumantrafficking.org)

(more)

(fact sheet, page 2)

3 VERSES TO REMEMBER ABOUT CHILDREN

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5

“… Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” Psalm 126:5

3 QUOTES TO CONSIDER

There’s a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of [the] sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life, an underground of brutality and lonely fear.

- Former President George W. Bush, addressing the U.N. General Assembly, September 23, 2003

“(Want, lack of opportunities and social services, stigmatized minorities, discrimination against women, and an inadequate educational system are) what makes children leaving their communities, in most cases in dangerous conditions. This is what puts them at risk of exploitation and trafficking. This is the disease we have to treat.”

- Juan Miguel Petit, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 8 November 2005

We can begin to defeat sex trafficking if we severely punish its national and multi-national profiteers, arrest its customers, offer a way out to its prisoners, and create self-respecting economic alternatives for girls and women who are at risk. The question is: “Will we?”

- Gloria Steinem, Washington, DC, September 13, 1999

3 THINGS YOU CAN DO

We hope you are as impacted by these facts as we are. Here are some suggested action steps you can take to make a difference:

1. Share this page with others, gather and PRAY about local action that can help fight child sex trafficking.

2. Visit our resource page to learn more and get some specific ideas for your own creative way to help Joy.org rescue, and be sure to “like” Joy.org on your Facebook page!

3. Support Joy.org financially.