Trafficking in women has its origins in slavery and reduces women to objects. While some hoped it would end in the 1970s, sex trafficking has grown into a large, clandestine international industry that forces women into oppression and sexual exploitation for high profits. Factors promoting trafficking include increased poverty, cuts to social services, and recruiters taking advantage of women's poverty to bring them into prostitution, escort services, brothels, and other forms of organized sexual exploitation. The UN estimates that about 4 million women have been trafficked internationally annually in a $5-7 billion industry.