
Every year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) assists thousands of children who have experienced human trafficking. OTIP child protection specialists review requests for assistance on behalf of children who have experienced forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and debt bondage. Sometimes the traffickers are involved in criminal organizations; more commonly, the trafficker is a family member or someone else the child knows. OTIP funds the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which identified more than 2,600 cases referencing one or more child trafficking victims in 2020. Other OTIP grant recipients provide comprehensive case management services to hundreds of survivors of child trafficking each year.
During Child Abuse Prevention Month , OTIP joins organizations across the country to prevent child abuse. This year’s theme— “Thriving Children and Families: Prevention with Purpose”—emphasizes the importance of moving beyond awareness and taking deliberate action to address the underlying risk factors for abuse. Children who experience human trafficking often have a history of abuse, neglect, and trauma. Traffickers exploit these adverse childhood experiences to target children through common online and offline schemes. When the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 changed the definition of child abuse to include child sex trafficking, child welfare agencies began increasing training, screening, and response to this form of maltreatment.
In 2019 (PDF), 29 state child welfare systems reported 877 victims of sex trafficking. Of those victims, 89 percent were female and half of the trafficking victims experienced another form of maltreatment. While there are no national prevalence measures on child trafficking, this emerging data from child welfare systems point to opportunities to intervene earlier in a child’s life. In 2020 (PDF), 35 states reported 953 victims of sex trafficking. As more states strengthen training, screening, and reporting of child sex trafficking, future data may provide more information for critical prevention actions.
Preventing child abuse before it occurs requires proactively addressing potential vulnerabilities using a whole-family approach. It is important to meet families where they are at. Providing direct support to parents bolsters prevention for children by reducing the likelihood of abuse, entry into the child welfare system, and the risk of human trafficking. Child welfare professionals and others can partner with parents to build strengths and resilience, develop coping strategies, and establish social connections. They can also identify areas where families need assistance, including expanding access to necessities like housing and employment opportunities. Promoting these protective factors targets the root causes of maltreatment. The 2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide (PDF) from the HHS Children’s Bureau outlines other prevention strategies that encourage sustainable wellbeing.
Children who have experienced trafficking may not self-identify due to complex trauma or distrust of service providers and/or law enforcement. Child welfare agencies should develop trauma-informed and person-centered screening tools and training so child welfare professionals can build rapport and establish the trust needed to address the complex and unique needs of this population. Children who have experienced trafficking may need medical and mental health services, a safe place to live, safety planning, and specialized counseling. Without proper acknowledgment and intervention, human trafficking can profoundly impact children, both their immediate and long-term developmental success.
Additional HHS-funded resources for states or organizations seeking to strengthen the prevention of child trafficking include:
- Recommendations and best practices for states on strengthening the prevention of child and youth sex trafficking provided by the National Advisory Committee
- Resources on child sex trafficking produced by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Toolkits for assisting foreign national child and youth victims of trafficking from OTIP and grant recipients
- Prevention education programs in schools and communities (PDF)
- Reports on state responses to child trafficking from investigations conducted by the HHS Office of Inspector General (PDF)
Our efforts to protect children from human trafficking and other forms of child abuse must be directly linked with wider strategies to advance racial equity . Black, Indigenous, and other families of color who have been historically underserved and excluded often have inequitable access to protective factors and resources needed to mitigate susceptibility to abuse. We must challenge systemic racism by infusing equity throughout family support services and providing meaningful support to families of color who disproportionately experience housing instability, persistent poverty, and other risk factors. Because these inequities lead to an overrepresentation of children of color in child welfare systems and other forms of institutional care, we must also ensure equitable intervention and that these children receive appropriate assistance. Learn more about what the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is doing to integrate these principles through our Equity in Action plan.
At ACF, we look forward to coordinating strategies to achieve a collective impact. By doing so, we can prevent human trafficking and other forms of child abuse by uplifting families and providing the support they need to thrive.