HeartFire Children's Sanctuary

• 47% of Antiguans report that Domestic Violence is a "Major issue" in the country..
• 1 out of 4 Antiguan girls report having considered suicide. 
• 25% of children in Antigua live in poverty. 

The HeartFire Children's Sanctuary helps to provide support to children who have been exposed to domestic violence, abuse, neglect, and/or sex trafficking. Our holistic, trauma-centered program addresses several important goals including: Health and Well-being, Social Protection, Child Protection, and Education, all in an eco-friendly environment. 

 In 2012 the (UNODC) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported the percentage of child victims had risen in a 3 year span from 20% to 27%, and the rates of continued to increase steadily.

• 600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex (U.S. Government)
• When internal trafficking victims are added to the estimates, the number of victims annually is in the range of 2 to 4 million
• 50% of those victims are estimated to be children
• It is estimated that 76 percent of transactions for sex with underage girls start on the Internet
• 2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)
• There were 20.9 Million victims of Trafficking World in 2012
• 1.5 Million victims in the United States
• Average age a victim enters trafficking is 11 to 14 years old
• Approximately 80% are women and children bought, sold and imprisoned in the underground sex service industry
• Average life span of a victim is reported to be 7 years (found dead from attack, abuse, HIV and other STD's, malnutrition, overdose or suicide)

The largest group of at-risk children are runaway, thrown away, or homeless American children who use survival sex to acquire food, shelter, clothing, and other things needed to survive on America's streets. According to the National Runaway Switchboard  1.3 million runaway and homeless youth live on America's streets every day. [5,000 die each year] It would not be surprising to learn that the number of children trafficked in the United States is actually much higher than 300,000.

Children are often targeted by traffickers as they are deemed easier to manipulate than adults. More money can be earned by younger girls and boys exploited in sexual exploitation, especially virgins. Pre-pubescent girls are reported to be injected with hormones to bring on puberty. Younger girls are expected to have a greater earning potential, and as such are in greater demand.