Looking at all the numbers the 100,000 is quite believeable. Every report out there references the difficulty in obtaining accurate statistics because of the very nature of this act.
Sorry but I give ABC the benefit of the doubt in this case because it hasn't been definitively shown they lied or exaggerated, especially on purpose.
Frankly, I find the number quite silly to be arguing over. It's a problem that's growing and affecting all parts of this country.
You of course are right. I agree the problem is growing. And I lost focus on that. I applaud that the Bush administration is taking the problem both here and overseas seriously. I had used the term sex trafficking because that was the emphasis of the report. But I would not limit that to mean just prostitution. For instance I would include pornography in that definition.
It also needs to be emphasised that a lot of money is being made from these children and women. And big money always attracts organized crime. These people not only endanger the victims but the communities they operate in.
We are naive if we think prostitution, participation in pornography and the like are always victimless crimes.
And I apologize for losing the point. I think 300,000 at risk is even more chilling than 100,000 estimated. Because if we know there is a population at risk so do the bad guys and they are targeting them all the time.