Alexis shares common “themes” with several sex trafficking victims both local to New York, and across the country.
According to the National Institute of Justice, an estimated 90 percent of children who become victims of domestic sex trafficking, were already victims of sexual abuse. Further, 50 to more than 90 percent of said victims have spent time in the child-welfare system.
Actor and human trafficking relief advocate, Ashton Kutcher, presented it to congress like this: Through research, experts have learned that there’s an extensive relationship between victims of sex trafficking and the foster care system.
Kutcher leverages that data to suggest that the inbound pipeline is a reflection of the foster care system. In order to put an end to slavery, we first have to identify where the victims are coming from — both at home and abroad.
“There are 500,000 kids in foster care today. I was astonished to find out that 70 percent of the inmates in the prisons across this country have touched the foster care system, and 80 percent of the people on death row were—at some point in time—exposed to the foster care system.”
He continued:
“The most staggering statistic I found was that foster care children are four times more likely to be exposed to sexual abuse. That’s a breeding ground for trafficking.”
Kutcher then provides fact-based evidence to suggest that the foster care system in the United States provides a specific data-set that reflects what happens when displacement occurs abroad. In order to “seriously put an end to slavery,” we have to first understand all of the factors that lead to the “unintended consequences of our actions or in-actions.”
“When people are left out, when they’re neglected, when they’re not supported and when they’re not given the love that they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking.”
I beg of you, educate yourself and KNOW the signs of human trafficking.
Sex slaves walk among us, and not a soul on this earth finds themselves “in the life” by choice. Speak up, give a voice to the voiceless, and recognize that this IS happening here. At home. In our backyards, our communities, and the streets where our children roam.
