The U.S. Department of Defense has characterized human trafficking as the world's fastest growing crime. The sex trafficking industry pulls in an estimated $99 billion each year. While trafficking victims can be individuals of both genders, the majority of victims are women and girls. According to data from the UN, 51 percent of victims are women while another 20 percent are girls, accounting for 71 percent of victims. With prostitution and related convictions on their records, sex trafficking survivors face significant barriers to obtaining housing, employment, loans, education, public benefits, custody of their children, and medical care, not to mention dealing with the negative social stigma that comes from being labeled a “criminal” and “prostitute.”