What is child trafficking?
Child trafficking is one of the most-discussed and often misunderstood types of human trafficking. According to UNICEF, “Child victims of trafficking are recruited, transported, transferred, harbored or received for the purpose of exploitation.”
That exploitation can take the form of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, or forced marriage. In recent years, child trafficking has received more attention due to Hollywood’s portrayal of trafficking in movies like Sound Of Freedom. It is essential to move beyond artistic representation or hearsay about child trafficking to fully understand the truth about this real crime. Knowing the facts helps us prevent exploitation from happening.
Child Trafficking Facts
According to the Global Slavery Index, 50 million people are being trafficked on any given day — and 25% of them are under the age of 18. That means that child trafficking is impacting an estimated 12.5 million minors right now.
Children can be trafficked for a variety of exploitative purposes. Forms of child trafficking include:
- Sexual exploitation
- Forced marriage
- Domestic work such as cleaning or childcare
- Manual labor in factories or on farms
- Forced criminality like begging or drug smuggling
- Traveling sales crews
The most common types of child trafficking differ by gender. Girls are more likely to be sex trafficked and forced into marriage. Boys are more likely to be exploited through labor trafficking.
In general, females of any age are more likely to be trafficked than men. This holds true for kids; 67% of all child trafficking victims are girls. However, it’s important to note that despite the differences in prevalence, boys and gender-nonconforming children are trafficked too. All genders are in need of protection and care.
The impact of a trafficking experience continues to harm a survivor for the rest of their lives. One study found that 80% of child trafficking survivors live with PTSD, and nearly half attempt suicide. Additional outcomes might include health problems, addiction, and financial or even legal trouble (in many countries, kids can be prosecuted for crimes they committed as part of their exploitation). A child survivor of trafficking may find their physical or emotional development delayed or permanently stunted. When a child is being trafficked, they are also often excluded from learning age-appropriate skills and healthy interdependent relationships.
“I was surrounded in an environment where evil is the norm. The first time I worked, they forced me to drink, to take drugs, to do erotic dances, to serve drinks, and to sell sex.”
Nin*Survivor of child trafficking in Thailand
Why child trafficking is happening
There are several risk factors that can contribute to vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood of child trafficking. Those include:
- Experience in the foster care system
- Poverty in the family
- Dysfunction or violence in the home
- Identifying as a member of the LGBTQ+ community
- Struggles with mental health
- Physical disabilities
- Identifying as a member of an Indigenous population or ethnic minority group
- Living in conflict zones (ie. active war)
Each of these vulnerabilities can position kids in a place where they have needs that are not being met. Traffickers are able to use those as a weak point to exploit, promising to meet basic needs like safe housing, food, security, or love.
Child trafficking is perhaps most common due to cycles of poverty in the family. This partially explains why at least half of all child trafficking is perpetrated by a family member.
“For years, I had made excuses for my trafficker. I always said: ‘She loved me, she wouldn’t have known. She probably tried her best.’”
— Isami DaehnSurvivor of familial trafficking in Japan
A tragically common situation is one in which families are unable to cover basic costs like food. In order to survive, a well-meaning parent may send their child to work an under-the-table job. In other nefarious circumstances, they may allow their children to be sexually abused for money.
Because of this dynamic, global events that create economic instability — such as climate disasters, war, or the COVID-19 pandemic — all make child trafficking more likely.
Where are the most children being trafficked?
Child trafficking happens everywhere in the world, but it is more prevalent in low-income countries. In certain regions, a disproportionate number of people who are trafficked are under 18. The majority of identified trafficking cases in North and Sub-Saharan Africa involve minors. About half of known trafficking survivors in Southeast Asia are kids.
“Every time a customer came to me, I felt like they took from me and then they let me go, like a cycle.”
— Som*Survivor of child trafficking in Thailand
In general, child trafficking is most common in the same areas where all kinds of trafficking are most prevalent. According to the most recent data from the Global Slavery Index, these are the regions of the world where the greatest number of people (including kids) are being trafficked today:
- Asia and the Pacific
- Africa
- Europe and Central Asia
- Americas
- Arab States
The individual countries in which the highest percentage of the population is being trafficked are:
- North Korea
- Eritrea
- Mauritania
- Saudi Arabia
- Turkiye
The profile of child trafficking can also look different depending on location. In Ghana, children labor on cocoa farms. In the Philippines, online sexual exploitation of children has exploded, tripling between 2017-2020 alone. In West and Central Africa, 32% of girls are married before age 18. In Paraguay, an engrained cultural system of bonded labor keeps children trapped. In many African countries, children are conscripted to be trafficked as soldiers.
Child trafficking and the internet
Increasingly, child trafficking is happening online. In fact, 80% of child sex crimes begin on social media. Traffickers use the internet to recruit children, control them, advertise them for sale, and sometimes exploit them directly through live streams or by selling illicit Child Sexual Abuse Material.
Social media is the primary medium for online recruitment, with the most common platforms where exploitation takes place in the U.S. being Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. However, perpetrators also use online gaming platforms like Minecraft and Roblox, dating sites like Tinder and OKCupid (which have insufficient age verification processes), and platforms like OnlyFans.
“When I was trafficked, the guy knew about me from my Facebook account and was looking for me. He was able to name every place I hung out. All the people I knew at the time. He trolled my parents for a while, harassing them and telling them I was dead or in jail.”
— Brandilea AdamsSurvivor of child trafficking in the United States
The prevalence of trafficking on social media makes open conversations between children and caregivers absolutely crucial. Digital safety awareness and education programs like Influenced can help parents and children facilitate better awareness and communication to create a safer online world.
Child trafficking cases in the U.S.
Although not as common as in some other countries in the world, child trafficking of all kinds absolutely still happens in the United States. Just like in other locations, perpetrators of child trafficking in the U.S. prey on their vulnerabilities, promising food, shelter, gifts, or love. Increasingly, trafficking is beginning online, with traffickers offering jobs to minors or else posing as a loving boyfriend or girlfriend in order to lure a younger person into compliance.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, common ways in which kids are trafficked in the U.S. include:
- Domestic work in homes
- Clubs
- Hotels
- Spas or massage parlors
- Online commercial sexual exploitation (OSEC)
- Dancing/stripping
- Farms
- Meat and food packing work
- Construction
- Restaurant/bar work
- Drug trading
- Door-to-door sales
- Street peddling or begging
- Beauty salons
The most common warning sign of child trafficking is a sudden or dramatic change in behavior. Red flags could include a child who was previously outgoing becoming withdrawn, a straight-A student suddenly struggling academically, or a kid who seems constantly sleepy.
“You’d think someone would ask: why does the top-of-the-class student not show up for the exam? I was too scared to talk to that teacher. I really wish she’d noticed. Something has to be wrong for that type of student not to show up at all.”
— Sydney*Survivor of child trafficking in Canada
United States law dictates that any mandatory reporter (professionals working with children such as teachers, counselors, and healthcare providers) must report signs of trafficking when they see them. However, implementation of this legislation is not always consistent, and more training is needed for caregivers in these positions so that they can accurately identify trafficking warning signs.
Trafficking and foster care
Child trafficking is a particularly serious risk in the foster care system in the United States. Foster kids and housing-insecure youth are the groups at the greatest risk of exploitation — especially if they carry any additional marginalized identities, such as belonging to the LGBTQ+ community or Indigenous people groups.
According to NCMEC, “In 2021, of the 25,000 children reported missing to NCMEC who had run away, 1 in 6 were likely sex trafficking victims.”
An estimated 60% of child sex trafficking survivors have been in the child welfare system at some point.
There is not strong data on exact numbers, but estimates and anecdotal evidence point to the fact that many runaway and foster kids also become labor trafficking victims.
As with other areas where mandatory reporting is required, training for social service providers working with foster kids is often inconsistently offered and implemented.
How can we stop child trafficking?
Ending child trafficking requires a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. Combating this crime requires cooperation between law enforcement agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and everyday people who are passionate about protecting children.
Improve training and education
Better training for professionals and practitioners working in law enforcement and social services would empower better identification, prevention, and intervention in cases of child trafficking. This is why The Exodus Road has invested a significant amount of programming into training and education initiatives. We train thousands of police officers and citizens annually.
Better screening processes in places like schools, hospitals, shelters, and group homes could also help stop child trafficking. Because children often cannot understand that what is happening to them constitutes trafficking and is illegal, they are unlikely to volunteer information about being exploited to an adult. Appropriate screening processes can identify warning signs earlier.
Support vulnerable children
The most important factor in stopping child trafficking is ensuring that every child has their needs taken care of so that vulnerabilities do not exist for traffickers to exploit. If common vulnerabilities include housing insecurity, poverty, substance use, and mental health challenges, then combating these issues is combating child trafficking.
This means strengthening social supports that counter child poverty. It means that every adult has a responsibility to be present and caring for the kids in their lives, consistently letting them know that they can talk about anything without fear of judgment. It means that every activist and advocate has a part to play in educating their communities, keeping their eyes open for warning signs, and taking action as soon as they suspect something might be going wrong.
“If kids have a good relationship with their parents, they can say anything. I didn’t. I had relatives who told me I was not a planned birth. I had relatives say, ‘you almost killed your mother when you were born.’ No kid needs to be told that. And the person who ran the [trafficking] network knew my parents, knew the family dynamics, and took advantage of that.”
— Sean WheelerSurvivor of child trafficking in the United States
Invest in organizations fighting trafficking
Many organizations are on the ground around the world fighting against child trafficking. These nonprofits are able to fill gaps left by underresourced law enforcement and social services. Because of their focus on the issue, they often have the most accurate insight into how to combat child trafficking and exploitation.
These professionals need resources to keep protecting children. If you want to make a difference in the fight, consider supporting a trustworthy nonprofit organization today.
*Some names changed to protect survivor identities. Photos are representative.
