Sex trafficking
A form of modern slavery for sexual exploitation.
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators, called sex traffickers or pimps, use force, fraud, and coercion to recruit, transport, and provide victims for commercial sex. It is considered a form of modern slavery and a crime at every stage, from acquisition to exploitation.
- field
- Human trafficking, sexual exploitation
- known_for
- Forced sexual exploitation of adults and minors, including child sex tourism and domestic minor sex trafficking
- global_victims_2012
- 4.5 million in forced sexual exploitation (22% of 20.9 million forced labor victims)
- global_victims_2016
- 5 million victims of sexual exploitation (out of 25 million in forced labor)
- global_profits
- $99 billion (ILO estimate)
- us_trafficker_gender_2017
- 75.4% male, 24.4% female
- us_trafficker_avg_age_2017
- Male 29.2 years, female 26.3 years
Lore & Background
Sex trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, and exploitation of victims through force, fraud, or coercion for commercial sex acts. Global commercial profits from sexual slavery were estimated at $99 billion. The crime is covert, making accurate statistics difficult to obtain.
Reader's Guide
It requires member states to criminalize trafficking, though many domestic laws are narrower, leading to fewer prosecutions. Sex traffickers often target vulnerable individuals in public places, using promises of money, housing, or jobs, and then employ coercion, drugs, and abuse to control victims.
Did You Know?
- The Palermo Protocol defines trafficking as recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception for exploitation.
- In the United States, if the victim is under 18, no force, fraud, or coercion needs to be proven for a sex trafficking charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sex trafficking?
Sex trafficking is the forced involvement of adults or minors in commercial sexual activity they never freely agreed to, carried out through force, deception, or psychological pressure. It sits within the broader category of human trafficking and is specifically aimed at sexual exploitation.
How many people are affected by sex trafficking globally?
A 2016 estimate placed roughly 5 million individuals in sexually exploitative conditions, about one-fifth of the 25 million total forced-labor victims tracked that year. An earlier 2012 count recorded 4.5 million victims out of 20.9 million forced-labor cases.
What is the estimated annual profit from sex trafficking?
The International Labour Organization puts illicit revenue at approximately 99 billion dollars per year, making it one of the most financially lucrative sectors of organized crime worldwide.
How is sex trafficking classified under the law?
It is treated as a form of modern slavery and constitutes a criminal offense at every stage of the operation—from the initial recruitment and transport of victims all the way through the ongoing exploitation.
Who typically carries out sex trafficking in the United States?
A 2017 demographic breakdown found that roughly 75.4% of identified U.S. traffickers were male, with the remaining 24.4% being female.
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