Drawing attention to sex trafficking

We are going to begin doing more posts on stories concerning child labor and human trafficking in the weeks and years to come. These are two ills of poverty that are not high in the public's awareness. So we hope to shed more light on these problems by beginning to post stories concerning these two ills.

We begin by noting a new report on slavery produced by the UN. The Voice Of America gathered reaction to the fact that the majority of modern day slaves are used for sex.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says the most common form of human trafficking is for sexual exploitation. In a recent report on modern slavery, the UN says that about 79 percent of people enslaved each year are coerced into prostitution. Some experts believe the best solution is to focus on decreasing the demand.

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation is a growing problem worldwide, according to experts. The victims are mostly women and girls.

In conflict zones in eastern Africa, many women have been abducted for sex.

But the United Nations reports 20 percent of all trafficking victims are children. Some are forced to be child soldiers.
In regions of extreme poverty, many women become trafficking victims as a means of survival, according to experts.

Mark Lagon, the director of a non profit group that advocates against human trafficking, says the economic crisis could make the problem worse.

"I do think the vulnerability of people to become trafficking victims remains intense because economic desperation, while not the singular cause of human trafficking, is an important one," Lagon said.