Sex trafficking is a crime that involves the sexual exploitation of another person for personal/commercial gain. Sex trafficking usually includes the trafficker exercising power and control over a victim. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological, but it must be used to coerce a victim into performing commercial sex acts unless the victim is under 18 years of age. Proof of force, fraud, or coercion is not required under federal law if the victim is under 18 years of age. 18 U.S.C. §1591

 

There is an unfortunate lack of reliable data on the problem of sex trafficking in Indian country; this lack of reliable data is tied to the limited amount of methodologically sound research, articles, and reports on the topic. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that Native women and girls are over represented in the sex industry and that sex trafficking disproportionately impacts Native women and girls.