What Makes This Problem Grow So Large?

The root causes of sex trafficking are numerous and often vary from one country to another. But in a nutshell, there is a demand for it. Sex = Money, and lots of it. Men around the world profit in pleasure with the price being exploitation of women and children. Sex trafficking is an extremely complex process that is often influenced and driven by social, economic and cultural factors. However, there are some factors that seem to be consistent in many sex trafficking cases; this being that the potential victim desires to migrate to a "better" life. They might be mislead into a new job offer, marriage or a more stable living environment. To dig even deeper, we need to look at what forces potential victims to migrate in the first place, thus showing us what the root causes are.

Some of the common factors that drive victims to migrate is search of better conditions are:

• Poverty - Poverty is often aggravated by violence, injustice and lack of opportunities that make people vulnerable to potential criminals or traffickers. People in extreme poverty seek a better life and will go to great lengths to find a job; all the while taking risks which expose them to predators such as traffickers. Some may even be as desperate as to become traffickers themselves. They may see this as their only way of providing and supporting themselves and their families. 

• Oppression - In developing countries, the oppression of women is of great concern; with women considered as inferior, it leaves traffickers and johns thinking they are just "objects". With this in mind, this leaves women in a vulnerable state to be trafficked because they are seen dollar signs rather than human beings. Also, some social and cultural practices in certain regions and countries, for example, the marginalization of women and girls combined with gender discrimination against them, increases their vulnerability and facilitates the trade of young women into forced sex work.

• Lack of social/economic opportunity - When there is a lack job opportunities or social support, potential trafficking victims look to other countries for opportunities they do not at home. They become, then, easy prey for traffickers making false promises about job offers in foreign countries

A longer list of factors that lead the victim to become more vulnerable for sex trafficking  - Source: Google Images

Another contributing factor is that in many less developed regions of the world, children are entrusted to more affluent friends or acquaintances with the intention of improving their lives and relieving their families of economic burden. By doing so, this often sends children into the trafficking market for slavery

Recruiters and Victims - Source: United Nations