Grooming is when a trafficker or scout finds and slowly prepares a young person for a particular purpose through trust and relationship building. More than ever, traffickers are finding their victims online. A 2018 survey of sex trafficking victims reports that 55 percent of new recruits after 2015 was first contacted via texting, apps, or websites, whereas surveys conducted prior to 2015 showed 84 percent were first contacted in person. While these technological avenues make up the majority of first encounters, scouts also regularly find young people in shopping malls, through friends, at bus stops, and at school. Alternatively, traffickers may play the role of a target’s boyfriend or girlfriend, slowly conditioning the young person for sex work.

• Complain about their parents or have a poor relationship with their parents
• Feel they don’t have enough money or status items.
• Want a boyfriend, or a circle of friends, or seek social acceptance
• Base their self-worth on popularity or relationships
• Are willing to keep secrets, including the relationship
• Are bored with free time
• Are willing to take directions and believe false promises
• Have substance struggles
• Have previous sexual or physical abuse in their lives
• Identify as LGBTQ+

Like any crime, human trafficking can occur in any community where there are teens to manipulate and a marketplace of users with money to service. In 2017, there were over 10,615 cases of human trafficking reported in the United States according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

This is only a small percentage of the actual occurrences of trafficking as many cases go unreported. There are so many unreported cases because most victims are too afraid and/or ashamed to ask for help and very few people recognize the trafficking that is happening all around them. Visit National Human Trafficking Hotline website to get statistics specific to human trafficking.

Victims of human trafficking, and those that are targeted by traffickers, can be from any race, age, ethnicity, social or economic group, gender, sexual orientation or level of academic achievement.

TRAFFICKERS TARGET YOUNG PEOPLE WHO:

• Lack a sense of belonging to others
• Don’t feel well respected or valued by family or friends
• Base their self-worth on popularity or relationships
• Are willing to keep secrets, including their relationship
• Don’t have a good relationship with their parents
• Are looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend
• Are often bored with not much to do
• Spend a lot time away from family and friends
• Are willing to take directions and believe the lies and false promises of the trafficker

Those with pre-existing physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities may be at greater risk of falling victim to human trafficking due to their vulnerable state.

Like victims, traffickers come from all parts of society – every race, gender, and socio-economic group.

Boyfriend/Girlfriend: A common type is an attractive polished man (or woman) in their early 20s, who pretends to be a girlfriend or boyfriend to the teen.

Gangs: Criminal gangs also play a significant role in trafficking, sometimes using associates with a less threatening appearance to make the initial approach.

Employers: Fake employers also lure victims in, to both sex and labor trafficking with promises of modeling or other glamorous careers.

Family: Finally, some victims are trafficked by their own family members (or foster parents).

• 2nd Largest Criminal Enterprise Worldwide
• Estimated to overtake the Drug Trade
• National Center for Missing Exploited Children reports an 846% increase in reports of child sex trafficking
• National Human Trafficking Hotline has tracked over 36,000 calls since its inception $150 billion industry
• US Department of Justice reports that 50% of victims are under the age of 18