FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HUMAN TRAFFICKING COALITION OF THE PALM BEACHES

Downtown at the Gardens to be Outreach Venue

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl: The Human Trafficking Coalition of the Palm Beaches will host an Outreach event at Downtown at the Gardens on Friday evening, June 17th. Along with a constant video loop of PSAs informing Mall visitors about the warning signs of human trafficking, volunteers will be giving out pamphlets detailing services available to those in need.

Considered a form of modern-day slavery, human trafficking is a global industry affecting virtually every country as a source, transit or destination location. Experts estimate that anywhere from 700,000 to 4 million persons worldwide are trafficked across or within national borders every year. According to recent U.S. Government estimates, 18,000-20,000 persons are trafficked into the United States annually for purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor.

With annual revenues of over $32 billion, human trafficking has surpassed the drug trade with only illegal guns sales being more profitable.

The Human Trafficking Coalition of the Palm Beach's primary goal is to help reduce the incidence of trafficking in Palm Beach County. The Coalition provides community education and presentations to groups, agencies and other entities on how to identify victims. The HTCPB is staffed by a strong volunteer community response team.

For more information on human trafficking: www.htcpb.org

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Update: In response to some comments below, please note the following statistics.

83% of ht victims are used for sexual exploitation. 32% of those are children (starting around age 7).

71% of those trafficked for sex are under the age of 25.

70% of those trafficked for labor are over the age of 25.

20% of sex trafficking suspects (perpetrators) are women! 66% of suspects are U.S. citizens!

There are 27 million slaves in the world at any given time!