Human Trafficking is 21st century slavery. There are more slaves today – 27 million – than ever in all 400 years of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade combined. Every year over 2 million women and children are sold into slavery around the world in what is considered a form of modern day slavery. Traffickers use force, fraud or coercion to obtain their victims. Human traffickers lure their victims in with promises of a better life and enticing job opportunities only to trap them, girls often as young as 11-years-old, in a horrific cycle of abuse. Children are often kidnapped from shopping centers, airports, malls, playgrounds, theme parks and streets in their neighborhood. Children are innocent and easily lured, which is why they are the most vulnerable and bring the greatest profit to this illicit industry. Women, girls, and boys that are trafficked are stripped of their lives, rights, and dignity. Children are sold for great profits over the internet. Victims are controlled with drugs, violence and rape. The life of a child forced into prostitution is only 5 years, at the most. It can only take a few seconds to lure away a child but years upon years to rescue victims or prosecute traffickers.

• Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second only to the drug trade.
• 130 countries are origin, transit or destination countries for human trafficking.
• One victim is trafficked across international borders every minute.
• Over 300,000 children are trafficked within the U.S. every year and forced into child prostitution, child pornography, child sex tourism or forced servitude.
• The average age of girls trafficked is 12 years of age, and the average age of boys is 11 years of age.  
• Around the world, more than one million children are subjected to human trafficking for sex or porn.
• Every year over 2,000,000 men, women and children are taken, trafficked and thrown into this cruel world of slavery.
• Human trafficking is a $32 billion dollar yearly business – a $100 million business annually in the D.C. Metropolitan area alone.