A very high proportion of victims previously suffered from physical or sexual abuse before their entrance into the sex trade. As a result, they are already have traumas and behavioral characteristics that make them vulnerable to traffickers. One in ten people are sexually abused as a child, and then also abused as an adult. This cycle sets them up to fall victim to sex trafficking. Such chronic abuse throughout their lives leads to using alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism. Often hospitals do not know what to do with a girl who has been abused, but is not badly hurt. The girl is usually emotionally unstable and they can not turn to law enforcement for help so they are put in the psych ward for evaluation. The crime of sex trafficking is …show more content…
In 1999, of the 1,682,900 children who were considered runaways, 71% were considered at risk for prostitution. Pimps look for these vulnerable girls and lure them in with many different techniques and false promises such as money, drugs, love, family, education, and food. If traffickers show any love or affection in the beginning, the victims don’t realize what is happening until it is too late. However, as much as traffickers prey on vulnerable children who often have already endured abuse, the profile of victims are changing. After learning that one victim came from a family where her mom is a pediatrician and her dad a construction worker, Ernie Allen, the president for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said “Historically I would have said it is socioeconomic, that poor kids are much more vulnerable, but we are finding that the profile of victims is changing. And it really crosses the spectrum (Spears, 2009).” A police officer who often deals with human trafficking cases, explains that economic and racial spectrums vary with all the girls they come across. However, a common theme is that they came from a dysfunctional home with no positive male role