10 Surprising and Counterintuitive Facts About Child Sex Trafficking

At present, the commercial sexual exploitation of children has become a staple of often scary tabloid and other media coverage. The sensationalist sex trafficking narrative commonly depicted in mass media by celebrities and activists doesn't always reveal the full story of this complex and misunderstood phenomenon, which is often buffeted by data and themes that detract from potential remedies. Here are 10 child sex trafficking statistics that you most likely didn't read….

1. Boys make up 50 percent of the sex trafficked victims in the U.S.
2. Most children who are sex trafficked don’t have a traditional ‘pimp’.
3. Many youth show a surprising amount of agency and control over their work.
4. For most exploited children, their trafficking situation is not the greatest trauma they've endured – the majority has a history of sexual abuse and neglect.
5. Trafficked children are treated as criminals despite federal law classifying anyone under 18 years of age a victim.
6. Women make up buyers and traffickers as well.
7. Online websites such as backpage.com can be a sex trafficker’s haven.
8. Criminalizing commercial sex work and branding ‘trafficking’ as the same thing raises the stakes for victims.
9. Most kids engaged in sex trafficking don’t consider themselves victims.
10.Sex trafficking funds and resources are misappropriated.