Know the Facts

Sex Trafficking Defined

Under federal law, the Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) includes sex trafficking under the category of “Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons,” and it defines sex trafficking to occur when “a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.”

Under South Carolina law, the definition of sex trafficking is similar, rendering unlawful “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for [a sex act] when it is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or the person forced to perform the act is under the age of eighteen years and anything of value is given, promised to, or received, directly or indirectly, by another person.”

Under both federal and state law, it is enough simply that a victim under the age of eighteen is trafficked. If the individual is over the age of eighteen, then force, fraud, or coercion must be proved in order to establish sex trafficking.

- South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force

The average age a child enters sex trafficking is 14-16 years old. Due to their ages and social/cognitive development, all children are vulnerable to being targeted and recruited by a trafficker/pimp because they do not recognize or understand the manipulation tactics employed against them. - Shared Hope International

what are the numbers?

Sex trafficking is the third largest organized crime in the United States.

The largest group of at-risk children are runaway, abandoned, or homeless American children who use survival sex to acquire food, shelter, and clothing. According to the National Runaway Switchboard, 1.3 million runaway and homeless youth live on America’s streets every day. Approximately 5,000 die each year.

The average lifespan of a victim of sex trafficking is reported to be 7 years, often found dead from attack, abuse, HIV and other STD’s, malnutrition, overdose, or suicide.

According to the 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, the United States ranks third in the world for human trafficking.

There are an estimated 300,000 enslaved in the United States.

Sex trafficking happens in every state, including South Carolina.

See South Carolina’s Stats Here->

The Protected Innocence Challenge by Shared Hope International is a comprehensive study of existing state laws designed to inspire and equip advocates.

South Carolina moved from an F rating in Shared Hope International’s study in 2021 to a D rating in 2022. While progress has been shown in South Carolina from 2021 to 2022, there are still gaps remaining in areas including training for child welfare within the juvenile justice agencies, law enforcement, prosecutors, and school personnel. Please read the 2022 Report Card below in order to gain a better understanding of why South Carolina has been given a D ranting.

CLICK TO VIEW SOUTH CAROLINA’S 2022 REPORT CARD

Please note: The rating indicates South Carolina’s resources to uphold the law of trafficking as well as the resources available for survivors; however, this ranking does not reflect the state’s definition of the sex-trafficking.

For additional information on what is happening in South Carolina, visit the State's Human Trafficking Task Force website:

humantrafficking.scag.gov

Now What?

You have learned some of the basic facts that could be provided and about the gaps in our state which need to be improved in order to help those who are currently trapped in modern slavery. Let us present a question; How can you help?

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