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The Supply and Demand of Sex Trafficking

vcgcb.ca.gov

The Human Rights Commission highlighted America’s sex trafficking problem Tuesday in Washington D.C. They focused on the demand for sex trafficking and how that plays a critical role in maintaining the sex trade.

Rep. Randy Hultgren of Illinois said the issue with the sex trafficking industry comes from the demand for sex trafficking.

“It is one of those things that if men stopped purchasing sex, the demand for sex trafficking would stop,” he said.

 

Former sex trafficking survivor Tina Frundt now runs a home for kids who are escaping the industry. She says a lot of people ask her whether those so-called "Johns" who purchase sex from children know they are actually dealing with minors. She said her ex-trafficking situation started when she was nine-years-old.

 

“Would you feel bad as a society for me when I was nine?” she said. “Would you feel bad when I was 13 and I got no help? Would you feel sorry at 16? Would you blame me and not the man who bought sex at 18?”

Taina Bien-Aime, the executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, said it is impossible to know the actual number of people who are victims of the sex-trafficking industry worldwide.

“The numbers range from four million to 27 million depending on the sources,” she said.  

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center says there have been 21 reported human trafficking cases in Utah so far this year. 16 of those victims were adults and five were children.