Meet Taylor. Taylor was a 16-year-old American teen when she was approached by an older man at a mall. Shortly after, they began dating; he paid for her clothes, meals, and persuasively lured her into the sex trafficking industry. By the time Taylor reached the age of 17, she was coerced to make $1,000 per day and her trafficker threatened to hurt Taylor’s loved ones if she didn’t comply. Her role in the industry later shifted, when Taylor was forced into recruiting teens for commercial sex: mirroring her own experience.i

Although sex trafficking is a worldwide issue, there is a prevailing misconception that victims are strictly overseas or from low-income communities, when in reality, sex traffickers don’t discriminate.

This issue is prevalent in countries like the U.S. and to teenagers similar to Taylor. As reported by the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 34,700 sex trafficking cases inside the United States have been reported from 2007 to 2017.ii It can truly happen to anyone; however, 25% of victims are children and 75% are women and girls.iii Traffickers can be men or women and have a multitude of deceiving tactics to entice their victims into a sinister and abusive industry.

Meet Mr. Social Media. Sex traffickers, like Mr. Social Media, seize the opportunity to take advantage of young and vulnerable children using the tool of social media apps. According to a study by The University of Toledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute, social media makes is effortless to “contact, recruit and sell children” for the sex trafficking industry.iv Mr. Social Media preys on those who post that they feel misunderstood, lonely, and are insecure. He also has the tendency to trap his victims by offering a fake job opportunity, ultimately gaining their personal information, leverage, and trust. Social media is used by almost three billion people around the world, aiding traffickers and endangering those who are blind to the warning signs.

Meet Mr. Romeo. Mr. Romeo is the type of trafficker that will woo their target usually starting with wanting to be their significant other and buying the victim expensive gifts. Victims, seduced by the thought of a relationship or the presents, become involved with someone who “forces or manipulates them into prostitution.”v This “romantic” relationship tends to cloud the judgment of the victim and often makes it more difficult to leave.

Meet Mr. Familiar. Mr. Familiar, perhaps the most conniving, capitalizes on the victims’ trust. According to The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative, forty-one percent of sex trafficking victims are trafficked by a family member or relative.vi

There is no easy or well-defined solution to resolve this horrid injustice; however, there needs to be more awareness created to help prevent people from being coerced into the industry of sex trafficking. The topic of sex trafficking and the warning signs should be incorporated into the health/sex education classes that are a mandatory part of middle school and high school curriculum. This method will target the teenage demographic, which is typically the age kids are sold into the industry. It's imperative that parents don’t stray away from the discussion of the dangers of sex trafficking and how to help prevent such atrocious abuse. By having parents additionally educate their children on how to be safe, sex trafficking may become less of an issue in our society, country, and world.