Local:

• Trafficking Hope’s partner, the Rescue and Restore outreach team, has identified 95 victims since April 2009
• The age of the youngest confirmed victim of sex trafficking in Baton Rouge, LA is 6 years old (Rescue and Restore Coalition of Louisiana)
• The current number of beds available in Louisiana designated for human trafficking victims is 0.
• According to Shared Hope International, Baton Rouge is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. for human trafficking (February 5, 2010. Wafb.com. http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11940245
•  There are approximately 200,000 homeless children in Louisiana.  Our state has the highest rate of child homelessness of the 50 states (National center for family homelessness)
• 30% of homeless shelter youth and 70% of street youth are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. (Reichard Estes and Neil Weiner, University of Pensylvania)

 National:

• It is estimated that there are between 100,000 and 300,000 child victims of human trafficking in the U.S. alone (Ernie Allen, President of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, reported in the LA Times)
• 2.8 million children live on the streets (Shared Hope International)
• Within the first 48 hours of being on the street, 1 in 3 children are lured into commercial sexual exploitation (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrown-away Children)
• 75% of minors engaged in prostitution have a pimp (Shared Hope International) By law, this makes them victims of human trafficking
• Pimps can earn up to $632,000 per year by selling 4 women or children (Shared Hope International
• In the 2009 fiscal year, the DOJ Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, charged 114 individuals and obtained  43 convictions (21 labor trafficking and 22 sex trafficking, both involving adults). 306 child victims were identified leading to 151 convictions of traffickers at the state and federal levels. (Department of State 10th Annual Trafficking in Persons Report)
• It is estimated that there are only 100 beds available in the U.S. for sex trafficking victims (cite: Shared Hope International)
• The average age of entry into human trafficking for girls and boys ranges from 11-14 years old.  (Cite: Ernie Allen, President of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, July 21, 2009
• 49 states have passed human trafficking legislation- Wyoming being the only one without. (Cite: http://www.wowktv.com/story/17343206/west-virginia-passes-criminal-laws-against-human-trafficking)

FBI Innocence Lost National Initiative:

Statistics (as of April 2011) 

- Founded: June 2003 
- Children Recovered: Over 1,600
- Seizures: Over $3.1 million
- Convictions: 719
- Task Forces & Working Groups: 43 

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/cac/innocencelost

 General Facts: 

• 27 million people in bondage world wide
• 99% of victims are not rescued yet
• Within 48 hours one in three runaways will be approached by a pimp
• 77% of adult prostitutes were trafficked into the trade as children
• The human trafficking industry earns more than $32 billion per year, six times more than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.
• There are more slaves today than ever before in human history
• 75% of minors engaged in prostitution have a pimp (Shared Hope International)
• 2.4 million people globally are victims of human trafficking at any one time- 80% of them are sexual slaves (United Nations)
• One out of 100 of victims of trafficking are ever rescued. (United Nations)
• "10% of police stations across United States have any protocol to deal with human trafficking." (Mira Sorvino, U.N. Goodwill Ambassador against Human Trafficking)
• “After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing.”  (Department of Health & Human Services, Rescue & Restore Campaign)
• An estimated 9.5 billion is generated in annual revenue from all trafficking activities, with at least $4 billion attributed to the worldwide brothel industry. (Office of Justice Programs)

Summary

Unfortunately local statistics on human trafficking are extremely hard to come by. In most cases the victim is arrested as a prostitute and therefore the arrest is counted as just that, prostitution.  Even if later through the court process it is discovered to be a case of human trafficking and not prostitution, it is not recounted as such. If an arrest for human trafficking is made in East Baton Rouge it would be counted as “other” in the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report.

 *Please note that local law enforcement does not have the authority to choose what arrests are counted. Arrest categories for the Uniformed Crime Report are chosen by the federal government.

“Misidentification of victims is the primary barrier to properly addressing America’s trafficked children. This misidentification often leads to the criminalization of victims, barring them from receiving proper treatment and care. Nearly every location American child victims of sex trafficking are being arrested for the crime committed against them while their abusers walk free.”  (Shared Hope International)