What location is frequently used by traffickers to recruit child victims?

Traffickers often utilize the internet and social media as primary tools for recruiting child victims due to the wide reach and anonymity these platforms provide. The digital space allows traffickers to easily connect with potential victims, often posing as trusted individuals or peers to gain their trust. Social media platforms enable traffickers to target children in ways that can be difficult for guardians to monitor, exploiting vulnerabilities and creating opportunities for manipulation and coercion.

In contrast, while public parks, university campuses, and community centers can be places where interactions occur, they do not generally offer the same breadth of anonymity and ease of connection that the internet does. Each of those physical locations has its own challenges in maintaining privacy, and traffickers often gravitate towards environments where surveillance or parental oversight might be less likely, reinforcing the predominance of the internet in such illicit activities.