|
These facts and resources were compiled by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Women’s Center in advance of its April 3-4 conference, “Combating Sex Trafficking: Prevention and Intervention in North Carolina and Worldwide,” at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education, to help journalists covering the conference and the issue of sex trafficking.
Statistics: - The United Nations estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.
- The United States is the second highest destination in the world for trafficked women.
- Cases of sex trafficking have been reported in all 50 states and in more than 90 cities in the United States.
- The U.S. State Department estimates 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into this country each year. Of these, more than 80 percent are women and 70 percent of them are forced into the commercial sex trade.
- The FBI estimates approximately 23 percent of those trafficked into the United States arrive in the Southeast.
- The U.S. State Department estimates the average price for trafficked prostitutes is $2,500.
- Reports of trafficked or potentially trafficked victims have been documented across North Carolina, both in cities and rural areas.
North Carolina legislation:
N.C. State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, Orange and Person counties, introduced two bills related to sex trafficking to the state legislature, S1079 (Aug. 2007) and H974 (Mar 2007), both of which passed and were signed into law by Gov. Michael Easley on Aug. 31, 2007:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2007/Bills/Senate/HTML/S1079v5.html Definitions and terms: - Sex trafficking: “The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the victim induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.” (Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000).
- Natasha: Refers to women from Russia or the former Soviet Union who have been prostituted and may have been trafficked.
- John: Someone who pays for services of a woman who has been prostituted and may have been trafficked.
- T-Visa: Visa available for trafficking victims that meet specific criteria; grants immigration benefits and ensures victim will not be deported.
- U-Visa: More comprehensive visa for victims of trafficking
Resources: - Polaris Project: www.polarisproject.org
- Freedom Network: www.freedomnetworkusa.org
- Human Trafficking: www.humantrafficking.org
- Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons: www.state.gov/g/tip
- North Carolina Victim Assistance Network: http://www.nc-van.org
- North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault: http://www.nccasa.org
- Carolina Women’s Center: http://womenscenter.unc.edu
Note: For a tip sheet on covering sex trafficking, visit http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/
tips-for-covering-the-sensitive-topic-of-sex-trafficking.html
Conference Web site: http://womenscenter.unc.edu/08conference/ Carolina Women’s Center contact: Pam Lach, (919) 962-8305,
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415,
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
News 
