When children are involved, Human Trafficking is referred to as Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, or CSEC.
Human trafficking is profoundly adaptable.
Shut down one venue and traffickers will find a new one. Wherever there are vulnerable people and communities, there will be someone who finds a way to exploit them.
Human trafficking is highly personal.
Despite the explosion of concern- some of it fueled by misinformation- about complex child sex trafficking schemes and kidnappings, data shows victims usually know and trust their traffickers.
Trafficking does not happen in a vacuum.
Virtually everyone who ends up in a trafficking situation has a clear and identifiable vulnerability that a trafficker preyed upon. These vulnerabilities show up in roughly the same proportions every year- including the year the pandemic began and lockdowns were at their peak. This data points to massive failings in a range of systems- from the macro, like criminal justice and economic inequity- to the specific, like foster care, immigration, health and housing.
The Georgia Center for Child Advocacy offers the following trainings on the topic of commercial sexual exploitation of children:
