In 2009, Japanese officials investigated 507 cases of child pornography in the country, double the total from the previous year.

Source:  AFP, “Child porn, ID theft drive record cyber crime in Japan,” Yahoo News, March 4, 2010.

Between 2007 and 2008, a human smuggling gang was smuggling people from Iraq into the United Kingdom and charging $10,500 (7,500 British Pounds) a person. The gang, who authorities believe smuggled 1,000 people into the country, would often charge up to $21,000 (14,000 British Pounds) to people who were desperate to leave Iraq.

Source:  Peter Allen, “‘Baghdad ring’ of people-smugglers ‘helped hundreds of migrants sneak into Britain’ ,” Telegraph, March 4, 2010.

According to a hearing in the United States Senate, US Senator Richard Durbin stated that an estimated 100,000 children fall victim to sex trafficking in the United States each year.

The Senator further stated that the  average age that a girl enters prostitution in the United States is 13.

Source: Richard Durbin, “In Our Own Backyard: Child Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, February 24, 2010.

38 percent of all calls to the National Human Trafficking Resources Center originated from the state of Texas in 2008.

Source:  Alex Branch, “Texas cracking down on human traffickers,”Fort Worth Star Telegram, February 23, 2010.

Between 60,000 to 100,000 children are estimated to be working in the sex industry in the Philippines, according to the International Labor Organization.

Source: David Challenger, “Filipino group helps women find life outside of trafficking,” CNN, February 22, 2010.

South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission found that 20 percent of women in refugee camps bribes North Korean guards with either sex or money in order to defect from the country.

Source:  AFP, “N.Korea women refugees suffer abuse: watchdog,” Google News, February 22, 2010.

According to a 2003 study, up to 20 percent of all Internet porn involves children.

Source:  Regan McMahon, “Porn addiction destroys relationships, lives,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 22, 2010.

In 2009, 480 illegal immigrants from countries in Asia and Africa were arrested in Colombia as the country became a staging area for human smugglers on their way into the United States.

Source:  Sibylla Brodzinsky, “Colombia becomes new hub for human smuggling into US,” Christian Science Monitor, February 22, 2010.

A task force in Ohio reported that 1,000 children who were born in Ohio are forced to work in the sex trade.

Source:  Associated Press, “Report: Hundreds forced into labor, sex in Ohio,” Washington Post, February 10, 2010.

A task force in Ohio reported that up to 800 immigrants are trafficked into Ohio each year and are forced to work in the sex trade or in sweatshops.

Source:  Associated Press, “Report: Hundreds forced into labor, sex in Ohio,” Washington Post, February 10, 2010.