It may surprise many people to learn that slavery today is more prevalent than at any time in modern history (Skinner 2008). There are approximately 45.8 million slaves in the world today, 75% – 80% of whom are being trafficked and enslaved for sex.
Millions of people, predominantly children and young women, are being held captive by traffickers across the world with 1.2 million children alone being trafficked every year. According to UNICEF, every two minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation.
Although most people associate the term ‘human trafficking’ with countries like Romania, China, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Thailand, Mexico and Nigeria, there have been approximately 100,000 to 150,000 sex slaves in the United States since 2001. Even in Australia, it is estimated that over 4,300 people are living in modern day slavery with the majority trapped within the sex trade.
Australia is a primary destination country for people trafficked from Asia, particularly Thailand, Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia. (Australian Federal Police). Many people may not realise that people they pass each day may be victims of sex trafficking. They exist within the fabric of everyday society.
Most sex trafficking victims are young girls, usually between the ages of 12 and 16. When under the age of 12, victims are more likely to be boys than girls.
Children together with adults are also induced into slavery through force, fraud, or coercion.
There are at least twenty ways that young girls and children get lured into the world of sex trafficking. Prior to their ‘one mistake’, they are often just living ordinary lives. The reason they get trapped within the sex trade is usually not their fault or their choice – they are victims of manipulation, abuse, false promises and violence. The increased use of technology has sadly magnified the risk.
These are just some of the ways innocent people get caught in the sex trafficking industry:
Emotional Dominance
1. Boyfriend manipulator
2. Runaway (typically aged 13 to 14 years)
3. Gang culture
4. Social media grooming (leads to physical control)
5. Peer to peer
Better Life
6. The Vegas holiday
7. Economic migration (pays the contract or smuggler)
8. Model shoot or acting audition
9. Basic needs
10. International work offer (applied for a job)
Obligation to Pay
11. Drug debt
12. College fee debt
13. Hard times (poverty)
14. Blackmail
Physical Control
15. Threat of Violence
16. Sex work (drugs)
17. Spiked drink
18. Street abduction
19. Parent selling child
20. Other
Once young women or children are recruited into the sex trafficking world, it is usually very difficult to leave. The victim is often isolated from others and controlled both emotionally and physically. Ironically, they can also feel indebted to the perpetrator as they are financially dependent for food, a place to live and drugs that have been forced upon them.
Some victims also live in fear for the safety of themselves and their family with threats made that if they don’t earn sufficient money for the perpetrator, they will be beaten, their family will suffer or their child will be abused or sold.
The young age of most of the victims compounds the issue, entangling them physically and psychologically due to their lack of maturity in life decisions. Learning difficulties, fear of exposure, substance abuse and fragile mental health will often leave young victims trapped within the sex trafficking system, resigned to the fact that they will never escape.
It is important to note that sex traffickers often do not look like powerful villains as they are portrayed in many movies. To the victims, they are often people that they have come to trust or depend upon, whether that is in an emotional, physical or a financial sense. They may be boyfriends, uncles, police officers, politicians, businessmen, ‘friends’ or shockingly, sometimes even parents.
Trafficking exists in nearly every country with powerful networks that can seem impossible to break. However, no matter how depressing and overwhelming it may seem, action can be taken. People do sometimes GET FREE and, by raising awareness of the issue globally, these formidable networks can be identified and destroyed.
The starting point is to understand the issue and to be able to recognise situations where sex trafficking may be occurring. There is an empowering true story of an Indian man who saw a group of young girls on a train with some men; the girls looked afraid and uncertain so the man took it upon himself to call the authorities. The train was stopped and the men were interrogated and ultimately arrested. A powerful sex trafficking syndicate had been identified and broken down due to the proactivity and care of one man.
GET FREE aims to educate the general public of the realities of the sex trafficking world to enable more people to recognise the signals from victims around them and to take action to set them free. It aims to raise awareness of the issues so that governments and the police feel the pressure to rewrite laws on sexual abuse and to put in place policies to enable the perpetrators to get caught and prosecuted for their cruel and villainous activities.
5 ways you can help to defend children from sex trafficking right now
Investment Information
Focus on the family broadcast - Part 1
Focus on the family broadcast - Part 2
Child Sexual Exploitation And Technology
International Justice Mission Australia
Human trafficking
Human trafficking and slavery still happen in Australia. This comic explains how
People trafficking: an update on Australia's response