References

1. An estimated 300-500 youths are victims of CSEC each year in King County, WA.
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2. In the U.S., the typical age of entry into prostitution is 13-15 years old.
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3. An initial study suggests that a peak time that people are procuring sex online is 2:00pm.
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4. 63% of prostituted people said that they met clients on company properties.
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5. In one 24-hour period in Seattle, 6,847 men solicited sex on one of the 100+ websites available to them.
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6. An estimated 6,847 people solicited sex in Seattle in a 24 hour period.
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7. Seattle Business Case: Of 104 people charged with soliciting sex from children in King County, the majority work in local businesses, in a variety of industries.
   National Business Case: Of 872 people charged with soliciting sex from children or adults nationwide, the majority work in the private sector.
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8. A 2012 study found that 63% of trafficking incidents involved hotels, ranging from economy to luxury hotels.
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9. Teenage girls visiting shopping malls have be targeted and approached by pimps within 45 minutes of their arrival.
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10. Over 89% report wanting to leave prostitution if they had an alternative.
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11. Of the 383 sex trafficking cases that identified the location where a commercial sex act took place, 81.5% (312) involved a victim who was exploited for sex at a hotel.

12. 71% of labor trafficking survivors in the U.S. traveled by airplane during their exploitation.
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13. 97% of training respondents said BEST's training will help staff to prevent sex trafficking, After training, respondents' understanding that most prostituted people are forced, coerced, or abused into prostitution increased from 53% to 84%., Training respondents reported that within the last year, 213 victims were identified.
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14. Of people charged with buying minors for sex, 71% are white men; 43% of the victims are black girls.
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15. Foreign nationals accounted for 57% of victims in active forced labor cases.
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16. In 2020, 287 victims of labor trafficking were served in WA state.

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[1] Debra Boyer, “Who Pays the Price?” A 2008 Study Commissioned by the City of Seattle, http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/domesticviolence/report_youthinprostitution.pdf.                      

[2] This number is an estimate based on findings in several studies.  M.H. Silbert and A.M. Pines, 1982, "Victimization of street prostitutes,” Victimology, 7: 122-133; D.Kelly Weisberg, 1985, “Children of the Night: A Study of Adolescent Prostitution,” Lexington, Mass, Toronto; Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner, “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children,” U. of Penn., 2001. In a small interview-based study of survivors by BEST and OPS, the average age that respondents entered the life was 15 years old.

[3] According to preliminary test data from a recent project by Seattle Against Slavery in partnership with Demand Abolition, April 2015. This data was further confirmed according in an ongoing study by the Organization of Prostitution Survivors (OPS) and BEST, January 2015 - Present, in which 72% of prostitution survivors who responded said that clients contacted them between 12pm and 5pm to set up meetings. The second study indicated that the top time for clients to contact them was after 5pm. The time of 12pm-5pm is listed as the second peak time.

[4] According to interview data in an ongoing study by the Organization of Prostitution Survivors (OPS) and BEST, January 2015 - Present.

[5] Follow up study to Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, et al, “Invisible Offenders: A Study Estimating Online Sex Customers,” Arizona State University. August 2013. Study of Seattle market completed September 2014.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Seattle information obtained through public information request by BEST, 2014-7; National data received from Cook County Sheriff's Office National Day of Johns Arrests, 2016-2017.

[8] Study of sex-trafficking related cases prosecuted by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, BEST, 2008-2012.

[9] Nicole Brodeur. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/a-shameful-side-of-the-city/.

[10] Prior three facts from Melissa Farley, et al, “Prostitution in Five Countries,” Feminism & Psychology 8 (1998): 405-426.

[11]  (2018 Federal Cases) ​ https://www.traffickingmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-Federal-Human-Trafficking-Report-High-Res.pdf

[12] The Urban Institute, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/understanding-organization-operation-and-victimization-process-labor-trafficking-united-states/view/full_report, Boston, MA, October 2014.​

[13] These stats come from a 2019 evaluation of our Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training.

[14] King County Commercial Sexual Exploitation Cases, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b71c32bec4eb7c684a77ff4/t/6104439472e43205ebb69ef3/1627669451950/FINAL+WEBSITE+2020+King+County+CSE+Data+7.30+Update+Final.pdf

[15] Human Trafficking Institute, https://traffickinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2020-Federal-Human-Trafficking-Report-Low-Res.pdf

[16] Office of Crime Victims Advocacy - 2022 Human Trafficking Data