By Kathy Hatem, Senior Communications Advisor, Enough Is Enough
This article reflects the viewpoints and experiences of the contributing individual(s) and/or organizations.
Content Warning(s): Sex trafficking, child sexual abuse
January is recognized as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. As the month comes to an end, it’s crucial to keep prevention and detection of this unlawful act of modern slavery at the forefront of efforts throughout the year, whether through community awareness events, support for survivors, or enhanced advocacy that promotes strong and effective anti-trafficking responses from state and federal governments.
There is a role everyone can play in preventing and recognizing human trafficking. That includes having a basic understanding of what it is, how it can be prevented, and detected, the impact of social media, and how to report suspected trafficking.
The United States recognizes two primary forms of trafficking in persons: forced labor and sex trafficking. For this purpose, the focus will be on sex trafficking.
What is Sex Trafficking?
The U.S. Department of Justice states that “human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological.”
It should be noted that the exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking, regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion was used.
Scope of the problem in the U.S.
- 5,572 reports of sex trafficking and 1,021 sex and labor reports were made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2023. (This data may vary considerably and not accurately reflect the actual prevalence of human trafficking victimization; it’s impossible to ever know how many cases are happening that have not been reported.)
- More than 50% of all victims are under the age of 18; both boys and girls fall victim to sex trafficking.
- The average age a child becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old
- It’s the second most profitable illegal industry — second only to the drug trade. (UNICEF)
- Sex trafficking is the most common type of trafficking in the U.S. (Polaris)
- Child sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and in every type of community: cities, small towns and tribal land.
- Since 2000, traffickers have recruited 55% of sex trafficking victims online, usually through social media platforms, web-based messaging apps, online chat rooms, dating apps, classified advertisements, or job boards (Federal Human Trafficking Report, 2020)
Using Technology to Facilitate Trafficking
In a majority of cases, traffickers use the internet to facilitate the identification and grooming of potential victims as it provides direct and easy access. Traffickers advance schemes to exploit individuals using digital tools to deceive, control, and exploit victims.
Once a potential victim is identified, individuals are deceived with false promises of education, employment, housing, expensive gifts or romantic relationships only to lure them into trafficking situations.
As trust is established, the trafficker manipulates and traps the individual in an exploitative situation through force, fraud, or coercion through threats or physical abuse or harm to an individual, their reputation, future employment, financial prospects, or their loved ones — all tactics designed to cause fear.
New attention was brought to the issue of technology to facilitate human trafficking at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Reports from several countries demonstrated drastic increases in online commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, including online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), and demand for and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).” (Trafficking In Persons Report, 2024).
In 2023, NCMEC’s CyberTipline received 36.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation online. Those reports contained more than 105 million images, videos and other files. They also saw an explosion in reports of online enticement, an increase of more than 300% between 2021-2023. (NCMEC Jan, 2024)
Since all of the major, popular digital platforms can be utilized for activities like grooming, sextortion, and the non-consensual production and dissemination of CSAM, they can all be exploited for various forms of child sex trafficking.
Social media platforms play a key role as traffickers may hide their true identity through fake accounts or profiles while interacting with potential victims. The top three platforms identified to recruit victims of sex trafficking in 2023 were Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram (Human Trafficking Institute, 2023). Compounding the problem, 95% of teens are on social media – which is “chipping away at their self-esteem,” according to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthey — making them accessible to traffickers who will easily identify and exploit these vulnerabilities.
As the use of technology continues to increase, trafficking and sexual violence facilitated by digital platforms will also continue unless more is done to stop it and hold the platforms accountable.
Protecting Children from Human Trafficking:
Victims of human trafficking can be anyone — regardless of race, color, national origin, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, education level, or citizenship status. As no one is immune, parents and others must learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking and prevent it from taking place by educating themselves on this issue.
In regard to digital technologies (smartphones, laptops, notebooks), this means parents should monitor their child’s online activity, secure their social media, check privacy settings, and limit what information their child shares online. Scrutinize “friends” lists, and maintain an open dialogue, digging deeper when something seems off with a child.
It’s key that physical and behavioral indicators of human trafficking not be ignored. These may include:
- Signs of physical/sexual abuse
- Being around a controlling adult
- Possession of expensive/unexplained material goods
- Unexplained access to large amounts of cash, pre-paid credit cards, or hotel keys
- Significant changes in behavior, including their online activity
- Stops engaging in activities they previous enjoyed (such as athletics or clubs)
By staying vigilant and recognizing these indicators, we can protect vulnerable youth from traffickers who prey on their trust and innocence. Everyone can do their part and make a difference!
Reporting Suspected Human Trafficking
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911 or law enforcement immediately.
To report suspected human trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline which is available to answer calls, texts, and live chats from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1-888-373-7888 -or- Text BeFree (233733)
Additional Resources from Enough Is Enough
Sex Trafficking 101 (on InternetSafety101.org)
Sex Trafficking 101 Quick Guide for Parents and Educators
A Mother’s Story: Her Daughter’s Human Trafficking Nightmare
Enough Is Enough® is a national non-partisan, non-profit organization who has led the fight to make the Internet safer for children and families since 1994. EIE’s efforts are focused on combating internet p*rnography, child sexual abuse material, sexual predation, sex trafficking and cyberbullying by incorporating a four-pronged prevention strategy with shared responsibilities between the public, corporate America, government and faith community.
