Foster Children Are at Risk of Being Drawn Into Human Trafficking

Eva Horner , Chief Operating Officer
for Heartland for Children

BARTOW | The saga began when Wendy was living in a foster home in Polk County. Feeling unloved and unappreciated as a teenager, she began sneaking out at night and meeting truck drivers, who paid her for sexual encounters.

By age 16, Wendy was living in New York City, dependent upon a man who choked her if she didn't deliver enough money after a night of walking the streets.

"When I didn't come back with a certain amount of money, he beat me," she said. "He was always grabbing for my throat."

Wendy (not her real name) is among the fortunate ones. She eventually escaped from the sex trade and is now 21 years old and living back in Central Florida as the grateful mother of a toddler girl.

For many, the phrase "human trafficking" suggests illegal immigrants kidnapped and forced into slave labor. But the human trafficking umbrella also covers minors coerced into the commercial sex trade. Experts say as much as 80 percent of worldwide human trafficking is for sex.  (more...)

Foster Children Are at Risk of Being Drawn Into Human Trafficking