What is Free?

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Every year hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked and exploited as slaves around our world. Human trafficking is illegal and the number of those trafficked annually is difficult to determine. Here in the United States, figures vary from 14,500 to 20,000 but many experts consider the numbers to be significantly higher. Victims of human trafficking are found in sex trade industries, restaurants, on farms, in manufacturing, as private domestic workers and in sweatshops. 80% of those trafficked are women and 50% of those are minors. In addition to being a major destination country for those trafficked into slavery, it is estimated that between 100,000 and 293,000 American children are being commercially exploited for sex in the USA each year.

New York City is an ethnically diverse city with a large population of undocumented migrants, some of whom have been trafficked. Although statistics are difficult to ascertain, New York City is considered to be a main port of entry and transit area for trafficking because of its airports, rail and bus stations, and ports. In a report on human trafficking in the United States published in 2000 by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport is listed as one of the top five ports of entry for victims of trafficking in the United States. The organization entitled End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (EPCAT)-USA, stated in a report on human trafficking in New York City that individuals from more than 30 countries were trafficked into the NYC for sexual purposes.

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