The next big issue?

I don't have any stats for child trafficking in New Zealand - though it appears that this country is doing reasonably well in keeping tabs on the problem, which is a phenomenal global evil. I suspect it will become the big issue of the next decade; certainly the fight to overcome this evil is already well and truly begun.

In the meantime, here are a very few stats from the US:
*300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk every year for commercial sexual exploitation. -U.S. Department of Justice

*600,000 – 800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year; 50% are children, most are female. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. – U.S. Department of State, 2004, Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, D.C.

*An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. – U.S Department of Justice Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons

*An estimated 2.5 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion dollar commercial sex industry – UNICEF

*Investigators and researchers estimate the average predator in the U.S. can make more than $200,000 a year off one young girl. – NBC Report by Teri Williams

If you want a good overview of the way in which women are exploited throughout the world, read, Half the Sky: turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide - it's written by husband and wife, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn