What is trafficking in persons?

Trafficking in persons is the use of fraud, force, or coercion to exploit a person for profit. That person can be exploited in his or her own home, within his or her community, or in a country half way around the world. Human trafficking, especially trafficking of children, is essentially a modern slave trade.

Human trafficking does not necessarily involve movement. Human trafficking and human smuggling are not the same. Trafficking takes on many guises and occurs within countries and across borders. Some examples include:

• Children abducted to fight as child soldiers;
• One person sold to another to serve as a slave or bonded laborer;
• Impoverished girls from rural areas sold or stolen away from their families to serve as sex slaves in brothels.

How prevalent is this problem?

While there are varying estimates as to the number of persons affected by trafficking (estimates range from 12 million to more than 30 million), what is known is that there are now more slaves in the world today than during all three centuries of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade combined.(1) Furthermore, 50 percent of all trafficking victims are children. (2)

Every year, 1.2 million children are trafficked for child labor. Another 1 million children are annually trafficked into the global sex trade. (3)

Who are the most vulnerable?

Women and children make up more than 80 percent of all transnational trafficking cases. (4)

There are many reasons for the increased vulnerability of women and children. Poverty is a primary factor. In times of economic hardship, children are often viewed as either a financial burden or a source of income.

Culture plays a considerable role as well. In many cultures, women and girls are considered less valuable than men or boys. Boys are often sent to school first, leaving the girls to earn money for their families. Youngest daughters are often expected to care for their parents and thus are vulnerable to offers of employment that often lead to exploitation.

Where does it occur?

Trafficking in persons knows no boundaries. It occurs in every country in the world, including the United States. (2)

What are the causes?

What is the impact on children and the most vulnerable?

• Death
• Long-lasting physical, social, spiritual, and psychological damage
• Disease (including HIV)
• Violence and abuse
• Drug addiction
• Unwanted pregnancy and forced abortions
• Malnutrition
• Social ostracism

How is World Vision responding?

World Vision’s response strategy encompasses what is known as “The Three Ps” -- prevention, protection, and prosecution. However, World Vision’s advocacy strategy is the fourth “P” -- policy. In the effort to end human trafficking, all “Four Ps” must work in concert so that the prevention of trafficking, protection of victims, and the prosecution of traffickers is tied together by effective policy.

World Vision educates and engages Americans and the U.S. government to ensure that the United States’ policies directly contribute to the elimination of human trafficking at home and around the world. Past successes and continuing efforts to combat trafficking through advocacy include:

• The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was enacted to combat trafficking in persons by increasing penalties for traffickers, protecting survivors, and preventing trafficking by funding programs and raising awareness. It also created the State Department’s Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons, which annually releases the Trafficking in Persons Report. This report ranks every country in the world based on its efforts to combat trafficking and threatens economic sanctions on the worst performers. World Vision supported the passage of this bill.
• The PROTECT Act. The PROTECT Act of 2003 made it illegal for Americans to travel abroad to have sex with children. This strengthened policy against child sex tourism led to World Vision’s Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project, one of the first programs to tackle the issue of demand for trafficking on a global level.
• The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. The 2008 reauthorization of the TVPA increased punishment for perpetrators, offered more protection for victims, and placed more emphasis on prevention of trafficking through increased education. World Vision supported the passage of this bill.
• The Child Soldier Prevention Act. Passed in 2008, this act states that any country found to use child soldiers in their ranks will lose military funding (with the exception of resources that are to be used to demobilize and reintegrate children in their homes). World Vision contributed to the original drafting of this bill and is helping to ensure that the law is implemented by the U.S. State Department.

Back to top

What can the United States do?

The United States can use its influence and resources to continue to battle trafficking.

Recently introduced by Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the Child Protection Compact Act (HR 2737) will provide strategic technical and financial resources to targeted countries that have shown the political will to combat trafficking, but lack the trainings and resources to enforce the law. This bill works to build the capacity of countries to protect victims and prosecute traffickers.

Join us by voicing your support for the Child Protection Compact Act.

Learn more

• Read World Vision’s new report, "Ten things you need to know about human trafficking."
• Download talking points (PDF) about child trafficking and the Child Protection Compact Act.
• Take a look at the State Department's 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report.

Get involved

• Pray for those working to assist children and other vulnerable individuals who have been trafficked. Pray for a transformation of the perpetrators of this crime. Pray for protection and healing for those who have been exploited through trafficking.
• Call or e-mail your representative to voice your support for the Child Protection Compact Act (HR 2737) .
• Be a Child Crisis Partner. For $20 a month, you can help one child after another escape a life of horror.

Sources

1. Understanding Global Slavery, Kevin Bales
2. 2008 State Department Trafficking in Persons Report
3. ILO End of Child Labor Within Reach 2006
4. 2009 State Department Trafficking in Persons Report