When a child (under the age of 18) is recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, or maintained to perform a commercial sex act, proving Force, Fraud or Coercion is not necessary for the offense to be characterized as human trafficking.*
To put it simply, it is
the use of Force, Fraud or Coercion to EXPLOIT victims for financial gain.
There are no exceptions to this rule: no cultural or socioeconomic rationalizations alter the fact that children who are prostituted are trafficking victims. The use of children in the commercial sex trade is prohibited under US law and by statute in most countries around the world.
Sex trafficking has devastating consequences for children, including long-lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease (including HIV/AIDS), drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and even death. *