There are common misconceptions that human
trafficking victims are only foreign nationals, when in
fact, both U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen children are
trafficked within the United States.
Victims of sex trafficking are traditionally treated as
perpetrators and prosecuted for prostitution,rather than
being identified as victims. This occurs more frequently
on a state level. While federal law may identify a child as
a victim of sex trafficking, a state will charge the child with
juvenile prostitution. For example, in 2008, children were
three times more likely tobe arrested for prostitution than
to be identified as a victim of a crime.
Children are hard to find. They often act and dress like
adults, especially those in the commercial sex trade.
They are uninterested in being “rescued” because most
adults in their lives have failed them, and many of them
are teenagers who have suffered abuse.
Child trafficking cases, particularly those involving
international victims in the United States, can be
ambiguous as to whether they should be considered
smuggling or human trafficking schemes. Sometimes
