• Human trafficking, or the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States, currently involves more than 100,000 children. — FBI / State of California AB1730

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• The San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego metro areas comprise three of the nation’s 13 “high-intensity” child exploitation regions in the United States. — FBI / State of California AB1730

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• 45.1% of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) victims knew their trafficker prior to becoming a victim. — National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children & Youth in the United States

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• Family members are involved in 36% of child sex trafficking cases. — Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative

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• Minor victims of sex trafficking can no longer be detained in juvenile detention facilities for prostitution-related offenses, which were decriminalized under SB1322. — Human Trafficking Report: San Diego Needs Essential Services

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• According to the Child Welfare Council, there is a lack of services available to help youth when sexual exploitation occurs. Legislation has been enacted to allow victims to enter the Child Welfare System because specialized services do not yet exist. (See Fact #4 above.) — State of California AB1730

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• The Department of Children and Families in Connecticut reported that 86 out of 88 children identified as victims of child sex trafficking had previously been involved with child welfare services in some capacity. — National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children & Youth in the United States

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• The average age at which a girl is lured or forced into sex trafficking is just 15 years old. — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

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• In San Diego County (population 3.27 million), there are only 15 beds available for minor victims of sex trafficking. — Human Trafficking Report: San Diego Needs Essential Services

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• 83% of victims in confirmed sex trafficking incidents were identified as U.S. citizens. — U.S. Department of Justice

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• Online forms of sex trafficking increased by more than 45% during the COVID-19 pandemic. — Polaris Project

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• Online forms of sex trafficking are more likely to involve minors (55% vs. 24%) and males (15% vs. 7%), and are less likely to be reported by someone with direct knowledge of the situation (50% vs. 70%), according to two years of data collected by the Polaris-operated National Human Trafficking Hotline. — Polaris Project

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• There are fewer than 600 beds available nationwide for child sex trafficking survivors, yet there are more than 13,000 animal shelters across the United States. — The Humane Society of the United States / U.S. Department of Justice

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• In 2020, of the nearly 26,500 missing children reported to NCMEC who had run away, 1 in 6 were likely victims of child sex trafficking. — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

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• In 2019, 16% of the children who ran from the care of social services and were reported missing to NCMEC were likely victims of child sex trafficking. — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

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• 27% of sex trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline involved familial trafficking. — Polaris Project, 2018 Fact Sheet

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• In a 2018 survey of child sex trafficking survivors, 55% of respondents reported being enrolled in school while they were being trafficked. — Thorn, Survivor Insights

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• In the same 2018 survey, 45% of respondents identified as Black or African American. — Thorn, Survivor Insights

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• 40% of confirmed sex trafficking victims between 2008–2010 were Black or African American. — U.S. Department of Justice, 2011 Report

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• In 2021, 100% of all federal sex trafficking prosecutions against buyers (“Johns”) involved child victims. — 2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report, Human Trafficking Institute