A group diversity poster on sex trafficking in the United States. This was completed for my Human Development and Family Sciences Diversity course at UGA.

1. Human Sex and Trafficking
Veronica Burchill, Catherine Ethridge, Aaron Schunk, Taylor White, Ashley McAllister, University of Georgia
Introduction
References
Who and What
One of the worst forms of human rights violation. It is a 13 billion dollar industry. This is
modern day slavery. This is a worldwide problem not just a United States problem. There are
millions of men, women and children worldwide who fall victim to the trafficking of humans.
The Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as modern day slavery that
involves the exploitation of children and adults. (DHS, 2018). Victims are often lured into
trafficking through promises of new work, new freedoms, or new financial income. Instead,
these jobs and false promises do not exist and they are coerced into manual labor, sexual
acts, prostitution or domestic servitude. (DHS, 2018). Everyone has a role to play in human
trafficking. There is a way to shine a light on slavery. There are people working daily in
organizations such as the EndItMovement, senators passing bills and celebrities advocating
to stop human trafficking.
● Women/girls make up 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors (Polaris
Project).
● People from SES, abandoned, runaways, etc. are offered at “better life” by the sex traffickers in an attempt
to bring them in. Once the individual is taken, then violence and threats are used to keep them in slavery
(Georgia Gov.).
● Personal level risk factors: being a young female, having a history of substance abuse, having unstable
family relationships or problems at home, being uneducated, being socially isolated, or being a runaway.
● Perpetrators of sex trafficking don;t fit a single stereotype. They have been known to represent every social,
ethnic, and racial group.
● Stereotypical school-aged victim
○ shows signs of physical abuse, such as burn marks, bruises or cuts; unexplained absences from class;
less appropriately dresses than before; new tattoo; hungry-malnourished; shows signs of drug addiction
During Super Bowl LIII, the FBI made an arrest of 169 people in Atlanta for sex trafficking. Nine
children were recovered from the arrest and the operation lasted 11 days leading up to the Super
Bowl.This investigation was conducted for a few months leading up to the arrests and the biggest
objective was to find sex traffickers that were communicating with children online and meeting
them to engage in sex. There were 34 sex traffickers arrested in this case, along with 34
individuals that were attempting to engage in sex with minors. The FBI worked with Metro
Atlanta’s Child Task Force to complete the “Operation Interception”. While this is only one incident
that occurred, it is an ongoing issue that impacts not only Atlanta, Georiga, but the United States
as a whole. The issue is far bigger than just one mission.
● Anti-Trafficking Program. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.safehorizon.org/anti-trafficking-program/
● Brinlee, M. (2018, December 17). 13 Sex Trafficking Statistics That Put The Worldwide Problem Into Perspective. Retrieved from
https://www.bustle.com/p/13-sex-trafficking-statistics-that-put-the-worldwide-problem-into-perspective-9930150
● C. (2013, June). Georgia Human Trafficking Fact Sheet. Retrieved from
http://www.htcourts.org/wp-content/uploads/GA-HT-Fact-Sheet-6.4.13.pdf?Factsheet=HT-GA
● Gateway to the South: Tackling Sex Trafficking in Atlanta. (2016). Retrieved from
http://globalhealth.emory.edu/resources/pdfs/2016_intramural_cc_case.pdf
● END IT Movement :: #enditmovement. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.Enditmovement.com/
● Human Trafficking & Georgia's Anti-Sex Trafficking Lobby Day. (2018, February 15). Retrieved from
https://georgia.gov/blog/2018-02-15/human-trafficking-georgia’s-anti-sex-trafficking-lobby-day
● Human Trafficking. (2018, September 21). Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/archive/topic/human-trafficking
● Johnson, A., & Johnson, A. (2017, January 31). Report shows human trafficking on rise in Ohio, nationally. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from
https://www.dispatch.com/news/20170131/report-shows-human-trafficking-on-rise-in-ohio-nationally
● Journey Out – Help Victims of Sexual Exploitation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://journeyout.org/
● Lemke, R. K. (2019, April 09). 7 Things You May Not Know About Human Trafficking, And 3 Ways To Help. Retrieved April 17, 2019,
from https://www.crs.org/stories/stop-human-trafficking
● Our Work. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hopeprojectusa.org/our-work
● Padgette, L. (2019, February 05). FBI: 169 arrested in metro Atlanta Super Bowl sex trafficking sting, several children recovered.
Retrieved from
https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/nfl/superbowl/fbi-169-arrested-in-metro-atlanta-super-bowl-sex-trafficking-sting-several-children-r
ecovered/85-949c965c-9fb2-4b03-9714-0690aaa53774
● United States. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/united-states/
● Statistics on forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking (Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking). (n.d.). Retrieved
from https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/statistics/lang--en/index.htm
● What We Do. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thejusticeproject.net/what-we-do
● 11 Facts About Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-human-trafficking
● The drivers for human trafficking are extensive and very complex. They include but are not
limited to economic, political, and social factors (Lemke).
● In North and South America 34% are forced into a marriage (Alliance)
● 65.8% of the sex trafficking cases reported in 2017 involved children (GSI 2018)
● Atlanta has become known as a sex trafficking hub.
○ Large events, busiest international airport, the four major interstates that run through our
city (Parker 2018)
○ Atlanta has the highest number is trafficked females in the nation (Center for Public Policy
Studies)
• 4.8 million persons in forced sexual exploitation (Polaris Project)
• Second largest criminal enterprise in the world bringing in more than $150 billion each
year (human rights 2014)
• “According to some estimates, approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual
exploitation, and 19% involves labor exploitation”. (DoSomething.org)
• “Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year”
(DoSomething.org)
• Human traffickers are using violence, threats, deception, debt bondage and manipulating
people into commercial sex or providing labor/service.
• According the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, human trafficking is divided into
3 parts: the act, the means, and the purpose
StatisticsBackground on Modern Day Slavery
Atlanta Super Bowl Incident