States fight sex trafficking of kids.

• Position: STATESTATS

Human trafficking sells people into forced sexual servitude and labor and is one of the largest illegal enterprises in the world, but determining the exact number of victims trafficked annually is difficult. The State Department places it at 2 million worldwide, with 15,000 to 18,000 of the cases in the United States. The majority of sex traffic victims in the United States are citizens, while most labor trafficking victims are immigrants, according to government studies.

In 2003, Washington became the first state to criminalize human trafficking. Since then, all 50 states have outlawed sex trafficking, and most have outlawed labor trafficking.

Recently, lawmakers have concentrated on helping children and teens who have been sold into prostitution by passing "safe harbor" laws that treat them as victims rather than criminals. Often, they are at-risk, vulnerable youths with troubled backgrounds who are homeless or drug dependent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force.

This year, states are considering more than 220 bills that address human trafficking, including 24 bills in 11 states that call for expanded services to sexually exploited youth.

Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children

Life on the Streets

* About 293,000 U.S. children--mostly girls aged 12 to 14--are at risk of being exploited and trafficked for sex, according to a March 2011 FBI report.

* Minors recruited or abducted into prostitution often are runaways or come from abusive homes or foster homes.

* The minors are advertised on websites and taken to streets, hotels, brothels, strip clubs and truck...