A University of Pennsylvania report on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in America notes:
- Over 1 million children are currently involved in sex trafficking in US
- Half the children in America involved in sex trafficking are African-American (US born citizens)
- Poverty is the main driving issue, but many also come from middle-class families
- Child sexual abuse is currently the least frequently reported abuse in America
- 47% of child sexual abuse confirmed cases were committed by a family member, 49% by a friend of family, only 4% committed by a stranger
- 1/2 of all reported sex abuse cases are of children 12 or younger, 1/3 of all rape cases
- Greatest age of risk for females is 14, drops to half the peak at age 17, and 1/5 the peak by age 27
- Over half of those rescued from sex trafficking admit to being physically or sexually abused before leaving home
- Most runaways are female, between the ages of 11-17 years old
- Traffickers use other children already involved to invite and trap victims
See the full report on our Recent Articles Link section