Over spring break, I had the opportunity to read the book Half the Sky (strongly recommend it!), which essentially details the stories of young girls and women around the world subject to harsh oppression. Every story was disheartening, but the ones that particularly caught my attention and struck a cord with me focused on the prominent issue of human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking.

Human trafficking, is currently one of the fastest-growing criminal industries in the world, generating approximately $27.8 billion a year globally, the majority of which comes from the international sex-trade. Human trafficking in its most malicious form is essentially akin to modern day slavery, where people profit from the victimization, control and exploitation of others. Specifically, sex trafficking or the “sex trade” is when people, most often women and girls, are bought or abducted, harbored, and coerced into commercial sex against their will through the use of threat, abuse, or deception. No matter where in the world, all trafficking victims share one essential experience- the loss of freedom and human rights.

As Americans, we want to believe that sex slavery is only rampant in developing countries, but essentially non-existent here; however, this is a popular misconception. Many Americans are oblivious to the seriousness of the issue within the country, perhaps due to the hidden nature of the crime in the U.S.  In reality, sex trafficking is just as prevalent in the United States, as in any other country. In 2013, The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported that about 15,000 people are trafficked in the US each year, 50% of which are children under the age of 18 in risk of being forced into prostitution.

The top sex trafficking industries in the United States include online escort services, residential brothels, and in-street prostitution. It is important to note that the Super Bowl is the day with the single largest incident of human trafficking in America. Since thousands of fans globally come to the host city for the game, it becomes a profitable breeding ground for forced workers. About 10,000 victims are forced into prostitution during this time, and sex trafficking victims are expected to sleep with around 30 men per day at such an event. The awareness raised about sex trafficking leading up to the Super Bowl is important to make sure people know this crime exists; however, that awareness should not be limited to simply big sporting events.

When looking at the issue from a global standpoint, close to million women and girls worldwide (even a small number of boys) are currently enslaved in the international sex-trade. To put the severity of the issue into perspective, as of the 21^st century, far more women and girls are shipped into brothels annually than African slaves were shipped into slave plantations per year in the 18^th century.

Especially in developing countries such as India and China, the majority of victims are extremely young girls, who are separated from their mothers at birth and forced into brothels to be sexually exploited or intimidated into prostitution. These girls usually grow up in the brothels and continue in the sex-trade business for the majority of their lives.

The problem of sex trafficking continues to be a growing global problem primarily due to collapse of communism in Indochina and Eastern Europe, which has opened up markets for commercial sex. The fear of AIDS has also increased, causing some customers to target younger girls, who they think is less likely to be infected, or virgins, believing the girls to cure AIDS. The sex trade self-perpetuates, as it continues to grow. Once girls are sold into the sex slavery business, it becomes all they know, and they often become so stigmatized that they remain in the trade, even if it means selling sex voluntarily.

With enough political will, we can begin to hold government’s accountable for not only passing more anti-trafficking laws, but also enforcing them. Officials worldwide should be under pressure to shut down jail-like brothels, crack down on trafficking across borders, and investigate criminals buying underage girls. Of course, there is no easy solution to ending the complex issue of sex trafficking, but we must to everything we can to make a positive change, in the US and internationally.