8 MILLION
CHILDREN GO MISSING
EACH YEAR
By
Søren Nielsen
2023
The Truth About Child Abduction.
Far from the days of seeing kids show up on the milk carton of your morning cereal, missing children in the United States and worldwide is a deeply concerning issue.
Child abduction statistics show that the prevalence of this type of crime is more often than you think, but the perpetrators are who you’d least expect.
It’s easy to get swept away in the myths about who and why children go missing. Less sinister than the news would have you believe, most children go missing because a non-custodial parent has picked them up.
While stranger danger is real, it’s not as real as we’ve been made to believe. Check out these latest statistics to find out the truth about kids going missing.
Child Abduction Statistics.
- Every year, approximately 8 million children are reported missing worldwide.
- In the US, 2300 children are reported missing per day.
- In the US, nearly 800 000 children are missing every year.
- Every two minutes, a child is reported missing in Europe.
- Turkey had an abduction rate of 14.86 cases per 100,000 people.
Child Abduction Statistics by Country.
Child abduction is sometimes seen as an American problem. With many high-profile cases that reach global scales, this stereotype is far from the truth.
While the US has a fair number of abductions every year, the rest of the world isn’t doing much better.
Reporting is an issue with this topic, as many lower-income countries simply don’t keep track of missing children or follow up on reports.
Turkey was the country with the highest child abduction rate — 14.86 cases per 100,000 people.
Canada was a close second, with a rate of 13.82 abductions per 100,000 residents.
Kuwait, with 11.52 abductions per 100,000 people.
Switzerland wasn’t far behind, with 8.61 abductions per 100,000 people.
Abducted child statistics are difficult to estimate, however, as many countries don’t report this activity at all.
Around 20 000 children go missing every year in Australia.
Australia also deals with a significant missing child problem.
With similar barriers to the United States and Canada, this issue is even more severe for indigenous kids.
Studies show that 20% of abductions are indigenous teens, and 70% of cases are children living in out-of-home care.
In India, around 100 000 children go missing every year.
It’s speculated that the number of missing children in India is unknowable since most cases are never reported.
With a population of 84 million, Germany reports the same number of abductions, granted with a much higher rate.
20 000 children are abducted each year in China.
It’s reported that 70,000 people go missing every year in China, 20,000 of which are children.
The latest stats on child abduction indicate thousands of children in China are abducted for the purpose of being sold.
Sexual exploitation.
The Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography is a protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Essentially, this protocol formally requires states to prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.
According to the ILO, sexual exploitation of children includes all of the following practices and activities:
- "The use of girls and boys in sexual activities remunerated in cash or in kind (commonly known as child prostitution) in the streets or indoors, in such places as brothels, discotheques, massage parlours, bars, hotels, restaurants, etc."
- "The trafficking of girls and boys and adolescents for the sex trade"
- "Child sex tourism"
- "The production, promotion and distribution of pornography involving children."
- "The use of children in sex shows (public or private)."
The ILO estimates that there are as many as 2 million children sexually trafficked worldwide each year.
Likewise, Kendall and Funk justifies how "young girls age 10 and under are malleable and more easily trained into their prospective roles as prostitutes, and because virginity is highly prized by certain consumers willing to pay a premium".
In fact, in 2009, Illinois Sheriff Thomas J. Dart sued the owners of Craigslist, a popular online classifieds website, for its "allowance" and "facilitation" of prostitution, particularly in children.
In response to public and legal pressure, Craigslist has since blocked all access to its "Adult Services" section.
U.S. Is a Top Destination for Child Sex Trafficking.
In 2018, over half (51.6%) of the criminal human trafficking cases active in the U.S. were sex trafficking cases involving only children.
Kara was 11 when her family first sold her body for drugs.
Sydney was 14 when she met an older man online who promised her financial security and a better life.
And after another stint in the foster care system, Marcus decided that anything, including homelessness, would be better than the foster family he was living with.
Each of these stories, from real girls and boys in the United States, reflects the most common entry points for children being pulled into child trafficking.
The facts are frightening:
- On average, a child enters the U.S. sex trade at 10 to 14 years old. Many are runaway girls who were sexually abused as children.
- Most of the time, victims are trafficked by someone they know, such as a friend, family member, or romantic partner.
- Predators can rent a child for a single sex act for an average of $90. Often, that child is forced to have sex 20 times per day, six days a week.
- Trafficking usually occurs in hotels, motels, online websites, and at truck stops in the U.S.
- About 50,000 people, primarily from Mexico and the Philippines, are trafficked into the U.S. annually.
- According to the Federal Human Trafficking Report, "In 2018, over half (51.6%) of the criminal human trafficking cases active in the U.S. were sex trafficking cases involving only children."
- Traffickers use social media platforms to recruit and advertise victims of human trafficking, according to anti-trafficking advocates.
These films deal with trafficking outside the U.S. The United States, however, is a top destination for victims and a major transit hub.
Studies estimate that 83% of child trafficking victims in the U.S. are Americans.
Like all crimes, trafficking has a context. In the U.S., child trafficking is aggravated by four main factors: the porous southern border, predatory social media use, pornography, and broken families.
The Southern Border.
The crisis at the southern border is directly linked to an increase in child trafficking in the United States.
In April, a whistleblower told Congress’ House Judiciary Committee that the "United States federal government has become the "middleman" in a 32 multibillion-dollar human trafficking operation targeting unaccompanied minors at the southern border."
In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered an average of 435 unaccompanied minors per day.
One study suggests that drug cartels and traffickers will exploit 60% of these children in prostitution, forced labor, and child pornography.
To make matters worse, in June alone, the Biden administration released 344 kids to non-related adults in the U.S.—most of whom already had multiple children in their care. These children are prime targets for traffickers—for sex or labor.
Notably, half of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s "most wanted" criminals for child trafficking are from Mexico.
Social Media.
Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok provide market access for traffickers and pedophiles in the United States.
These men first meet and groom minors for sexual encounters over social media, often posing as boyfriends. Once they have lured their victims in, they then use social media to advertise and sell the minors for sex.
One organization, United Against Human Trafficking, estimates that "55% of victims of U.S. sex trafficking aged 7 to 11 are recruited through social media apps and websites. … [Because of this,] fewer than 10% of cases happen by kidnapping."
Traffickers and pedophiles also use social media platforms like TikTok to distribute child pornography.
Pornography.
Child traffickers also frequently use minors to produce pornography.
This creates a double harm: Not only are children sexually abused, but videos of their abuse are uploaded to major pornography websites like Pornhub, and their abuse is played over and over again.
This is one area where public outrage and action have made progress.
After a series of articles exposing Pornhub’s hosting of child pornography, the website deleted 80% of its content overnight—about 10 million videos. And Discover, Mastercard, and Visa immediately cut ties with the site.
Broken Families.
The most vulnerable children in the United States are those raised in single-parent homes, especially if an unrelated male is present.
Children are 11 times more likely to suffer sexual and physical abuse in such situations.
Without the protection of a mother and father in the home, children are more likely to run away, go missing, or spend time in the foster care system.
In 2016, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that 86% of sex trafficking victims were in the care of social services when they went missing.
It’s Everywhere.
Child trafficking is easy to find if you know where to look. For example, an exit off an interstate highway with a truck stop, an Asian massage parlor, and an adult superstore.
Each of these locations separately is statistically more likely to be a location for trafficking, including the interstate itself. If they are grouped together, the statistical possibilities increase dramatically.
It’s also not hard to figure out the types of public policies that could reduce trafficking. Policymakers should focus on social media use, the porn industry, and broken families—all complex matters that demand thoughtful solutions.
But one thing that can be done immediately is less complex and more direct: The Biden administration must follow our existing laws and seal our porous southern border.
Much more must be done, but that is a critical first step that could save thousands of children each year from these horrors.
