Children Are Not for Sale: Combating Child Exploitation and Trafficking

The exploitation of children takes many forms, including child labor, sex trafficking, the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material online, harassment, and sextortion. Child labor trafficking devastates children's health, deprives them of an education, denies them a normal childhood, and violates their fundamental human rights. Equally horrific is child sex trafficking, where children are lured from the safety of their homes, families, schools, and communities, stripped of their humanity, and forced into exploitation for various nefarious purposes. Shockingly, approximately 25 percent of all trafficking victims worldwide are children, the majority of whom are trafficked for sex. The exploitation of children is an unconscionable reality that must be eradicated at all costs.