The recent murder of Shaniya Davis in North Carolina is raising the issue of child prostitution in the United States.  For those who may not know, Shaniya’s own mother, Antoinette Davis, is charged with Human Trafficking, allegedly prostituting her own child.  It is enough to make anyone sick.  For the last couple of days, I’ve been doing more research into child prostitution, focusing the first part of my research to the United States specifically; then taking a look at the problem on a worldwide level. 

The U.S. Department of Justice says, “it is estimated that about 293,000 American youth are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation.”  The report goes on to say that “children are mainly recruited into prostitution through forced abduction, pressure from parents, or through deceptive agreements between parents and traffickers.”

I cannot understand why anyone, especially a parent, would want to do this to their child… Aren’t parents supposed to protect their children for life? 

Through all of this, I would like your input.  I am looking for non-profit organizations in the United States that help to protect our children from this trade.  I want to highlight their great work, and add them to my resource page.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and information below at the comment link.