Americans Largely Ignorant of Domestic Child Sex Trafficking

WASHINGTON—Sex trafficking of minors in their community is much more prevalent than the American public is generally aware of. Regardless of race, ethnicity, or social class, a girl can be lured into a life of servitude. When caught by law enforcement, it’s more likely she will be misidentified as a runaway or homeless or a prostitute than as a victim of sex-trafficking that she truly is. Boys, too, are subjected to sexual exploitation. 

These are some of the disturbing conclusions of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) hearing on Feb. 26, titled, “The State of Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking.” 

“When most Americans hear the term ‘child trafficking,’ they think that it only happens somewhere else, such as Southeast Asia or Central America. Even if they acknowledge that trafficking happens in the United States, they assume the victims are foreign children brought into this country in order to be sold for sex in large cities,” testified John Ryan, CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

“In fact, we have learned that most of the victims of child sex trafficking in our country are American kids—most of whom initially leave home voluntarily as runaways and who end up being trafficked on Main Street, USA,” said Ryan.

Human trafficking investigator William Woolf of the Fairfax County Police Department testified, “Every community and every home in America is at a risk to falling victim to human trafficking; the most vulnerable group being children.” 

“The [NCMEC] estimates that at least 100,000 American children are the victims of sex trafficking each year,” according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a federal agency within the Department of Justice.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act regards sex trafficking of children differently from adults, who must be coerced or deceived in order to be regarded as victims, according to Shared Hope International, whose stated mission is the eradication of sex trafficking worldwide. The child is a victim by the mere fact of engaging in commercial sex, regardless of her willingness or desire to participate.

Detective Woolf said that it is important to understand the form that human trafficking takes in the United States to be able to safeguard our children.

“The white work van abducting our children from street corners and forcing them into a life of prostitution is very rare,” said Woolf. “Rather, it is the smooth words and empty promises that trap and manipulate children.”

Woolf said that one in seven runaways reported to the NCMEC in 2013 were likely sex trafficking victims, and that the number has been increasing dramatically in recent years. Among those who were reported missing and likely child sex trafficking victims, 67 percent were in foster care or the care of social services, according to Woolf.

“Because we know children in the foster care system are being targeted by traffickers, NCMEC has streamlined our resources to provide more specialized services to social services and law enforcement with these cases,” Woolf said.

For 30 years, the NCMEC has served both as a national clearinghouse on missing and exploited children and a national resource center. Funding comes from Congress and from the private sector. The NCMEC, in partnership with the FBI and other federal agencies, operates the CyberTipline, where people can report leads and tips regarding child sexual exploitation on the Internet. In the 15 years that the CyberTipline has existed, more than 2.3 million reports have been processed.

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