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Saturday, February 8, 2014, 12:00 AM - 12:00 AMThe USCCB designated Day of Prayer for victims and survivors of human trafficking is Feb. 8, the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of slavery victims.Many people do not realize how fast this billion dollar illegal industry is growing. Children are sold for sex in the South Plains everyday; because they are traded on the internet, they can be sold to johns in rural as well as urban areas. Here are some of the facts:- Domestic minor sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which victims under the age of 18 are subjected to force or coercion for the purpose of commercial sex.
- It is estimated that 100,000 to 300,000 children are forced into sexual slavery in the United States each year.
- The average age of victims of sex trafficking is 12-13 years old.
- Many of the victims are children made vulnerable through poverty, homelessness, violence and abuse in the home, parent abandonment, and lack of access to services.
- Within 24 hours of being on the streets, a child is picked up by a pimp and put into the sex trade.
- There are numerous accounts of children who were trafficked by family members within their own homes.
- The average life expectancy of a child forced into sexual slavery is 7 years.
- The billion dollar human slavery industry is reported to be tied with weapons as the second largest illicit trade following drugs.
- A drug or weapon can be sold only once, but a person can be sold over and over again.
- Sex trafficking of children occurs in all urban and rural areas of the state.
- The State of Texas passed one of the first state-level anti-trafficking laws in the United States in 2003.
- In 2009, the Texas Legislature passed HB 4009 creating the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force.
- Responding to Task Force recommendations, the 82nd Legislature passed anti-trafficking legislation that included stronger convictions for offenders and offered more protection and services for victims.