Exposing Child Trafficking And How To Protect Your Children

Child trafficking is a growing problem that is affecting the entire world. Everyday more and more children are lured, abducted and forced to take part in the commercial sex industry. Promises of fulfilling dreams, making lots of money and freedom turn into nightmares of being raped, exploited, and enslaved. So what exactly is child trafficking? The issue appears in many different forms throughout the world. In some cases children are forced into labor at young ages in factory sweatshops and other industries. The majority of children, mostly girls, are forced to work in the sex entertainment industry. Children are prostituted with the average child being exploited servicing up to 20 clients a night according to child trafficking statistics. Within the United States the image is slightly different but much the same. Children are trafficked around from state to state often being advertised online. They are abused if they do not comply with the predators demands and threatened if they ever think about leaving. Often their family's well-being is threatened as well in order ensure their willingness to live in slavery. No matter where child trafficking happens, the fact remains that the issue is destroying the lives of men, women and especially children around the world. In order to get ahold of how big this issue is, one needs only to look at the child trafficking statistics.

It is important when looking at child trafficking statistics to remember these human beings are not just numbers. The predators that are exploiting these children hold this dehumanizing view of the children; viewing them are resources for financial gain. These children are sisters, brothers, daughters and sons from every type of background. This pandemic is not limited to one type of person or background. Around 300,000 children in the US are at risk for commercial sexual exploitation each year. From 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year with approximately half of them being children and the majority of them are girls. Other child trafficking statistics show that an estimated total of 2.5 million children are exploited each year. The following video shares even more child trafficking statistics.

As more awareness around the United States is being brought to the issue of child trafficking, more stories are coming out about people who have fallen victim to this terrible tragedy. Primetime aired a story about two very different experiences of two girls who both were victims of sex trafficking in the United States.

Debbie was forced into a vehicle by a casual friend right from her own driveway in the Phoenix area. In the vehicle a man held her and her friend at gunpoint while Debbie was tied up and blindfold. Disoriented from being driven around for hours, she was taken to an apartment just 25 miles from her home. That night she was threatened, drugged and gang-raped. This tragedy continued on until one day police were searching the apartment and found her stuffed away in a drawer under a bed.

The other girl's story, Miya, began at the mall where she worked selling sunglasses. This was one of three jobs that she had trying to pay off bills and save for college. A man came up to her and offered her the opportunity of becoming a model. Although it was not a career she had thought of before, it sounded like an interesting opportunity. This opportunity quickly turned into a nightmare for Miya. After her first photo shoot with a disposable camera, she became aware of what the photos would really be used for; the sale and promotion of her body online. She was prostituted throughout the state of California before one night in San Francisco she made a daring escape. She later helped police capture the predator that was responsible for her victimization.

These two stories are just couple of those who have found their way out of child trafficking in the United States. More stories are as of yet untold by the countless victims still going through this nightmare today. According to one article on child trafficking, almost anyone could be involved in child trafficking including family members, acquaintances, pimps, employers, smugglers and strangers. These predators work off the child's fears and often threaten the child in order to control them for financial gain.

Around the world where there are fewer human rights, more poverty and devastation from natural disasters the issue of child trafficking is even worse. An article on child trafficking in Haiti shares how this earthquake-devastated nation is seeing even more devastation in months following. The number of children that have been displaced and orphaned because of the earthquake that struck Haiti has continued to rise. There have been several cases reported by governmental agencies of orphans that were attempting to be adopted by pedophiles. Haiti has long had a reputation of being a safe country for child trafficking that forces children into work or sexual exploitation. This tragedy is only continuing to grow since the earthquake.

However, according to child trafficking statistics Haiti is not alone in seeing a rise in the victimization of children. Bangkok and Venezuela are known for their sex tourism and sexual exploitation of minors. Girls are recruited from small poverty-stricken villages with promises of money only to find themselves trapped in the sex tourism industry in these places. The prevalence of child trafficking in Mexico is also on the rise with the government corruption that exists and lack of government watch dogs to monitor their activities. One of the places that child trafficking is most prevalent though is Southeast Asia. This video details the issue of trafficking in Malaysia.

One place that has become a haven for child trafficking is the World Wide Web. With a global audience child trafficking can reach almost anywhere. This has contributed to the growth of the issue worldwide. Social network sites like ChatRoulette.com are a part of the problem. The site, developed by a 17-year-old high school student in Moscow, Russia, takes a speed-dating approach to social networking on the web. One minute you could be talking with an average person located anywhere around the world. The next you could be seeing video images of a pedophile exposing himself. With no registration required, tracking down criminals via this social networking channel is practically impossible.

Other sites have been linked to child trafficking cases including the popular Craigslist. Child prostitution is rampant on the adult services section of the website; much of which is part of child trafficking going on around the world. Craigslist executives have spoken out against this criminal activity on their site; however, they have chosen not to remove the category as it might make the problem harder to track.

Internet law makes situations like these difficult to deal with because, as it currently reads, publishers cannot be held liable for content published by a third party. As result the sites remain as they are and the child trafficking statistics continue to rise.

It seems that the only hope of bringing an end to this tragedy is to address the source that is driving the growth of child trafficking throughout the world. In the State Department's report on human trafficking they say that an effective campaign to bring an end to human trafficking must also address the demand. Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTNow) and a few other organizations around the world are helping to crack down on this very issue. They are developing teams that will assist in the gathering of incriminating evidence on predators that are exploiting children. They provide this information to local authorities in order for them to prosecute the criminals. Additionally SCTNow is working with state governments to implement harsher penalties for those convicted of the horrendous crime. Robbing children of their innocence demands a response from the justice system. Harsher penalties will help to deter predators from being a part of child trafficking.  As awareness of the issue continues to rise more and more states are looking into changes that need to be made within their laws to appropriately address the seriousness of this crime.

The first thing that you can do to help protect your children from becoming victims of child trafficking is learn more about this pandemic. Find child trafficking statistics, read stories and watch videos about the many different faces of the problem. Next parents can help bring awareness to the issue. Start by telling friends and neighbors about what you have found out. Share the articles and stories with friends on your social networks. Join one of the walks that are held in communities to help raise support and bring awareness to child trafficking or start one within your community. Choose also to support organizations, such as SCTNow, that are fighting to bring an end to child trafficking throughout the world. The stronger the will of those against the issue, the sooner we will see an end to the exploitation of children.