Teen Girls’ Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S.
International Sex Trafficking Is a Well-Known Problem, But It Happens Here as Well
Fifteen-year-old “Debbie” is the middle child in a close-knit Air Force family from suburban Phoenix, and a straight-A student — the last person most of us would expect to be forced into the seamy world of sex trafficking.
But Debbie, which is not her real name, is one of thousands of young American girls who authorities say have been abducted or lured from their normal lives and made into sex slaves. While many Americans have heard of human trafficking in other parts of the world — Thailand, Cambodia, Latin America and eastern Europe, for example — few people know it happens here in the United States.
The FBI estimates that well over 100,000 children and young women are trafficked in America today. They range in age from 9 to 19, with the average age being 11.
And many victims are no longer just runaways, or kids who’ve been abandoned. Many of them are from what would be considered “good” families, who are lured or coerced by clever predators, say experts. (Reported by https://abcnews.go.com/)