• Sex trafficking is a huge illegal enterprise - on a global scale, and in our own San Diego neighborhoods.

  • Each year this underground industry generates approximately $810 million in San Diego County alone.
 
  • There are estimated to be between 8,830 to 11,773 victims of sex trafficking in the County of San Diego each year. 
 
  • ​This form of abuse involves the targeting of vulnerable individuals, intense psychological manipulation, and dehumanizing treatment.
 
  • These attacks on the dignity and identity of victims can result in intense and complex trauma with long-lasting effects. 
A breakthrough research report titled “Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking in San Diego County,” (2016) shone important light on the extent and nature of sex trafficking's presence in San Diego. Read more about the findings at: ​ https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/gangs-sex-trafficking-sd.4-5-16-1.pdf      

Frequently Asked Questions

What is sex trafficking?
“Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Minors under the age of 18 engaging in commercial sex are considered to be victims of human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion.”
​
​Source: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/sex-trafficking
Who are the victims of sex trafficking in San Diego? 
​The breakthrough research report titled “Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking in San Diego County,” (2016) uncovered that local sex trafficking survivors are:
  • predominantly women and girls,
  • US-born,
  • from various ethnic backgrounds,
  • and from neighborhoods throughout the County. 

Read more about the findings at: ​ https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/gangs-sex-trafficking-sd.4-5-16-1.pdf      
Why don't they just leave? 
​Often, the bonds that hold victims in sex trafficking are primarily psychological. Most victims have been manipulated to believe they are to blame for their situation, and many do not self-identify as sex trafficked victims. 

Common reasons victims are unable or unwilling to seek help:
  • Threats of violence to the victim and victim’s family​
  • Being guarded, watched, and controlled by a trafficker
  • Intense psychological manipulation and brainwashing by the trafficker, often leading to the victim’s self-blame and loyalty to the trafficker (known as Stockholm Syndrome)
  • Financial, social, and emotional dependence on the trafficker due to long periods of control and isolation from other support structures​
  • Feelings of low self-worth, resignation, hopelessness, and shame
  • Lies, deceit, and false promises from the trafficker about a “better life”
  • Lack of knowledge about where to turn for help and distrust of law enforcement and service providers
What can I do? ​
Prayer
Prayer is essential. Sex trafficking is an evil we cannot effectively combat without divine help. Please pray for the freedom and restoration of survivors, the conversion of traffickers, the transformation of our culture, and an end to modern-day slavery.

​Awareness & Education
Help to spread awareness about the reality of sex trafficking in our community. Subscribe to CIH's newsletter and follow our social media to continue learning, and share what you learn with those in your circle.
Prevention
Help prevent sex trafficking by promoting the sacredness of marriage, strengthening family bonds, educating on the true beauty and plan of God for human sexuality, promoting chastity, upholding the dignity of every person, and discouraging the use of pornography.

Give Support
Donate or volunteer your time in support of healing services for survivors of sex trafficking.
This reality is dark and we know it can feel heavy.

But in Christ, hope & restoration are possible - we see it in the lives of our clients!
Our work is rooted in that hope.
​*Please note: all photos are for illustrative purposes only and do not depict actual clients or survivors.
"By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
​
Luke 1:78-79