Title: Fight Human Trafficking With Covenant House
Headings: 
Human Trafficking in the United States, Canada, and Latin America
Why Do Human Traffickers Target Kids Facing Homelessness?
What Else Do We Know About Human Trafficking Among Children and Teens?
Covenant House Is on the Front Lines Against Human Trafficking
Direct Care
Advocacy
Human Trafficking Research
1. Prevalence and Nature of Human Trafficking among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in the United States and Canada
Here are some of the key findings from the studies.
Read the full texts of the Loyola and Penn studies here.
2. Risk Factors for Human Trafficking Among Youth Facing Homelessness in New Jersey
The New Jersey study found the following.
3. Attitudes and Behaviors that Put Teenage Girls at Greater Risk of Sex Trafficking in Canada
The Canada study found the following.
What Would You Do?

Content: Human traffickers exploit the lack of available beds in youth homeless shelters. They manipulate the young and homeless by telling them that shelters are full and promising them a soft bed elsewhere. Young people facing homelessness often have to make the desperate choice between sleeping on the street or going with a pimp who offers them food and shelter. Faced with dire situations like this, these young people are easily manipulated into becoming victims of human trafficking. According to U.S. federal law, there is no such thing as a “child prostitute,” and any child under age 18 engaging in commercial sex is, by law, a victim of sex trafficking. Despite this, far too many children are sexually exploited and do not know how to escape the vicious cycle. If a pimp forces a person to engage in sex for money against their will at any time, whether through threats, coercion, or physical violence, that person is a human trafficking victim, regardless of age or initial consent. While women and girls are most often detected as victims of sex trafficking, boys fall victim to trafficking, too. Just like girls, the exact number of trafficked boys is unknown; and boys are often less likely to ask for help.