About New Horizons Life & Family Services

Human Trafficking Prevention Month takes place every January. This month is designed to educate the public about human trafficking and their involvement in preventing and responding to it.

NATIONAL STATISTICS

• The number of persons convicted of a federal human trafficking offense increased from 2011 (464 persons) to 2019 (837 persons), before falling in 2020 (658 persons).
•  At yearend 2020, for the 47 states that reported data, 1,564 persons were in the custody of a state prison serving a sentence for a human trafficking offense.
•  392 state prison admissions were for a human trafficking offense. 
•  In 2022, more than 115,000 victims of human trafficking were identified worldwide. This is 25,000 more than in the previous year, and the second highest during the period of consideration. The number of human trafficking victims has significantly increased in the past decade. 

Teen dating violence affects millions of young people in the United States.  Dating violence can take place in person, online, or through technology. It is a type of intimate partner violence that can include the following types of behavior: 

• Physical violence is when a person hurts or tries to hurt a partner by hitting, kicking, or using another type of physical force.
• Sexual violence is forcing or attempting to force a partner to take part in a sex act and or sexual touching when the partner does not consent or is unable to consent or refuse. It also includes non-physical sexual behaviors like posting or sharing sexual pictures of a partner without their consent or sexting someone without their consent.
• Psychological aggression is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to harm a partner mentally or emotionally and exert control over a partner.
• Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted attention and contact by a current or former partner that causes fear or safety concern for an individual victim or someone close to the victim.

Teen dating violence profoundly impacts lifelong health, opportunity, and wellbeing. Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime. The good news is violence is preventable, and we can all help young people grow up violence-free.

Teen dating violence is common. Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2019 indicate that among U.S. high school students who reported dating during the 12 months before the survey:

• About 1 in 12 experienced physical dating violence.
• About 1 in 12 experienced sexual dating violence.

In April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month is recognized. During this month, victim advocates, related professionals, survivors of abuse, their loved ones, and members of the surrounding community come together to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals about sexual violence prevention.

NATIONAL STATISTICS

• One in five women in the United States experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime.
•  Nearly a quarter (24.8%) of men in the U.S. experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. 
•  Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime. 
•  One in three female victims of completed or attempted rape experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17.  
•  The prevalence of false reporting for sexual assault crimes is low — between two percent and 10 percent. 

Domestic Violence Awareness Month takes place in October. During this month, victim advocates, related professionals, survivors of abuse, their loved ones, and the surrounding community gather to honor the lives lost to domestic violence, the survivors of it, and to educate others on the importance of spreading awareness.  

NATIONAL STATISTICS

• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. 
•  1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men is a victim of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner during their lifetimes. 
• Almost half of intimate partner homicides are committed by dating partners. 
• Slightly more than half of intimate partner physical violence is reported to law enforcement.
• 1 in 3 female murder victims and 1 in 20 male murder victims are killed by intimate partners.