Jada Pinkett Smith Raises Awareness About Sex Trafficking

10 Facts She Wants the Public to Know

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith appeared on “The Katie Couric Show” on Monday to raise awareness about human trafficking. Her organization Don’t Sell Bodies aims to wipe out sex trafficking across the globe. Pinkett Smith told Couric that she didn’t realize how pervasive sex trafficking was until her daughter, Willow Smith, brought up the issue to her. Pinkett says she was shocked to learn that young children are sold as sex slaves and that sometimes their parents are responsible. Pinkett Smith launched the Don’t Sell Bodies website because she couldn’t find a centralized location on the Web to find information about trafficking. Here are 10 facts Don’t Sell Bodies wants the public to know about the issue.

Human trafficking doesn’t just take place abroad but domestically. It is believed that about 40,000 people are living in bondage in the United States at present.

Approximately 83 percent of trafficking victims in the United States were born here.

Anywhere from 700,000 to four million women and children will be trafficked across the globe this year. Most will end up as sex slaves.

Anywhere from 600,000 to 800,000 individuals are trafficked across international borders each year.

Up to 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. annually.

Fifty percent of trafficking victims are children.

Human trafficking yields about $32 million annually.

Anywhere from 12 to 30 million people are currently enslaved worldwide because of human trafficking.

The average price of a slave is $90.

Approximately 46 percent of trafficking victims know the person who recruited them into slavery.

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