Human trafficking

 

Human Trafficking in the United States

In the United States, the most common form of human trafficking involves the commercial sex industry and occurs in online escort services, residential brothels, brothels disguised as massage businesses or spas, and in street prostitution.

There are two primary factors driving the spread of human trafficking: high profits and low risk. Like drug and arms trafficking, human trafficking in the US is a market-driven criminal industry that is based on the principles of supply and demand. Every year, traffickers generate tens of billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people around the world, including in the United States, Canada, and Latin America, where Covenant House serves. Vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation, young people experiencing homelessness have become the industry's prime targets.

Why Do Human Traffickers Target Kids Facing Homelessness?

From our experience helping more than 1.5 million children and youth in 31 cities across 6 countries, we have discovered a direct correlation between youth homelessness and becoming a victim of human trafficking. Why does the heinous industry of human trafficking target kids facing homelessness? Because these young people are low risk and are easier to lure from the streets. Kids who experience homelessness are susceptible to human trafficking because they’re vulnerable and malleable - perfect prey for traffickers. And with no place to call home and no one to care for their well being, who'll know they're gone?

We See the Damage of Human Trafficking Firsthand

Every day, young people facing homelessness are exploited by the horrid deeds of human trafficking. Here at Covenant House, we are a safe haven for the young survivors of human trafficking victims who utilize our shelters across North and Central America. When they come to us, most victims are hungry, tired and scared, with no family or loved ones to turn to. The may have been forced to deal drugs, beg for money on the streets or work as servants in someone's home. A majority of human trafficking victims in the US have been made to have sex against their will with multiple partners – all so that someone else can profit from their bodies. Human trafficking truly is a monstrous industry, and at Covenant House, we’ve witnessed the toll that it takes on its victims.

 

Human Trafficking Research

Sadly, more research is desperately needed to understand the full scope of human trafficking – but because victims are often reluctant to or prohibited from coming forward, it's difficult to collect accurate data that could help stop the vile industry of human trafficking.  

By providing lifesaving shelter and care to homeless children across the Americas, Covenant House is uniquely positioned to help shed further light on the issue of human trafficking – so practices can improve to protect young victims and stop those responsible more efficiently across the board.

From February 2013 to March 2017, Covenant House invited researchers from both Loyola University (New Orleans) Modern Slavery Research Project (MSRP) and The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research at the University of Pennsylvania to 13 cities across the United States and Canada, serving as external experts to study the prevalence and nature of human trafficking among homeless youth. The result has led to one of the largest-ever data sets on human trafficking and exploitation experiences of the homeless young people.

Here are some of the key findings from the studies.

• From MSRP’s study, of 641 young people interviewed:

  • 19 percent were identified as victims of some form of human trafficking

  • 14 percent were victims of sex trafficking 

  • 8 percent had been trafficked for other forced labor

• From The Field Center’s study, out of 270 young people interviewed:
  • 20 percent had been sex or labor trafficked
  • 17 percent were victims of human trafficking
  • 6 percent were victims of labor trafficking

In 2015-17, Covenant House New Jersey, in partnership with Mount Sinai, conducted a separate longitudinal study of 344 youth experiencing homelessness who sought

 services at Covenant House in Atlantic City, Elizabeth and Newark. A main purpose of the study was to explore the factors that differentiate trafficked homeless youth from not-trafficked homeless youth in order to determine risk and protective factors for human trafficking among the NJ homeless youth population. 

The New Jersey study found:

• Homeless youth with a supportive adult in their life had lower odds of being trafficked.
• A history of having an IEP/504 plan was an unexpected factor significantly associated with a trafficking experience. 
• Gender was not associated with a trafficking experience. 

These and others of the New Jersey study’s research and key findings can be found in a peer-reviewed journal article published August 2018 in the Children and Youth Services Review. Chisolm-Straker, Makini, et al. “A Supportive Adult May Be the Difference in Homeless Youth Not Being Trafficked.” Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 91, 2018, pp. 115-120, doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.003. 
 
Become an educated advocate to stop human trafficking! read more about these groundbreaking studies:

• Loyola and Penn Study
• Covenant House New Jersey and Mount Sinai Study 

Attitudes and Behaviors that Put Teenage Girls at Greater Risk of Sex Trafficking in Canada

In April 2018, Covenant House Toronto partnered with IPSOS Public Affairs to survey and interview teenage girl across Canada to better understand the attitudes and behaviors that put them at risk of sex trafficking. The qualitative part of the research consisted of one-on-one interviews with sex trafficking survivors, their parents, and advocates, as well as online mini-groups with teenage girls, ages 12 to 16, and parents. The quantitative survey, which was informed by the qualitative study results, polled 501 girls between the ages of 12 and 16 in rural communities and urban centers across the country.

The Canada study found:

• Early teenage years are a critical age range in which to educate girls before their risk for human trafficking increases. Girls with greater familiarity with the term sex trafficking were more likely to take steps to ensure their safety and to be confident they would know if they were being catfished online.
• Education about sex trafficking and open dialogue between girls and their parents are important for reducing the risk that a girl will be trafficked for sex. Girls who report that their parents are aware of their online social media activity or feel that they can talk to their parents about anything expressed greater awareness of the risks of certain behaviors and greater aversion to engaging in many of those risky behaviors. Parents play a critical role in keeping their daughters safe from human traffickers.
• Become an educated advocate to stop human trafficking! Read the full text of the Covenant House Toronto and IPSOS Public Affairs study here. 

What Else Is Known About Human Trafficking Among Children and Teens?

• The human trafficking industry preys on youth facing homelessness and exploits the lack of  beds in youth homeless shelters as a way to lure young people in. Human traffickers manipulate the young and homeless by telling them that shelters are full, followed by the proceeding questions: “Where are you going to go? Why don't you come with me?”
   
• If we want to fight human trafficking, we cannot afford to cut services for the young people experiencing homelessness.
   
• Youth facing homelessness often have to make the desperate choice between sleeping on the street or going with a pimp who is offering food and a place to stay. Faced with dire situations like this, these young people are easily manipulated into becoming victims of human trafficking.
   
• According to federal law, all children engaging in prostitution are human trafficking victims - therefore there is no such thing as a “child prostitute”. Despite this, far too many children are sexually exploited and do not know how to escape the vicious cycle.
   
• If a pimp forces a person to engage in sex for money against their will at any time, whether through threats, coercion or physical violence, he or she is a human trafficking victim, regardless of initial consent.
   
• Most human trafficking victims are not in chains. Pimps can use psychological and emotional coercion to control their victims. Many victims are traumatically bonded to their pimps, and despite enduring horrific violence, believe they are loved by them. Such cases of stockholm syndrome among victims of human trafficking is not uncommon.
   
• Boys fall victim to human trafficking too. Just like girls, the exact number of trafficked boys is unknown; and boys are often less likely to ask for help.
   
• LGBTQ youth are at especially high risk for human trafficking victimization. Transgender youth often feel that commercial sex is their only option, because employers often discriminate against them.
   
• Traffickers deny their victims an education or an ability to gain real employment skills. Human trafficking victims may feel like they have no way out, as commercial sex becomes their only resume.

Covenant House is on the front lines against human trafficking

Because so many young victims are homeless before being trafficked, they often have no place to go after escaping the bonds of this modern slavery. That's why Covenant House remains a refuge for these children – offering a 360-degree approach to ensure we can best serve young trafficking victims:

Advocacy

Covenant House is proud to be part of the strongest anti-trafficking coalition in the United States – identifying the specific needs of this incredibly vulnerable population and acting as a powerful voice for funding and services.

Research

Our research findings allow us to learn more about the type and amount of trafficking our youth have experienced to better inform both our practice and our advocacy.

Direct Care

Direct care allows us to make the greatest impact in the lives of young trafficking survivors. But providing direct care also fuels groundbreaking research, which makes us better advocates for service, funding and laws that protect children.

 

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