Child Prostitution As An Illegal Act

Sex trafficking, particularly that of children, has become a growing concern in the United States over the past several decades (Kotrla, 2010). By definition, child sex trafficking is “when a child (under 18 years of age) is induced to perform a commercial sex act” (U.S., 2013, para. 4), and includes forms such as prostitution and pornography (Kotrla, 2010). Researchers suggest that children are the most vulnerable to becoming victims of prostitution (Kotrla), and it is estimated that there are at least 100,000 victims in the United States (Estes & Weiner, 2001). Sex traffickers, otherwise known as “pimps,” often lure children with promises of food, clothing, love, and shelter, and then the pimps manipulate the children to keep them in prostitution (U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ], 2015). Awareness of the issue has led to the development of organizations, such as Children of the Night, that seek to help victims escape the sex trafficking industry (Children of the Night [COTN], 2016d).

Children within the United States who are being trafficked are part of what is called, domestic minor sex trafficking. These adolescents are citizens who have been forced, coerced, or misled to become a part of the commercial sex industry. Some of the most common ways to force minors into trafficking is through exotic dancing also known as stripping, brothels, porn, escorting, and massage services just to name a few (Minor Domestic Sex Trafficking). It is disturbing to know that there are children who are going through this. In order to create prevention and intervention programs for trafficking, it is important to understand what a sex trafficker is and the strategies they use to recruit children.

Child pornography is a multi-billion-dollar online industry with over one hundred thousand sites and is one of the fastest growing online businesses. Approximately three hundred thousand children in the United States are prostituted each year and are victims of child sex trafficking (DeGarmo.) Dr. DeGarmo, an expert on the Foster Care system and author of several foster books, reported that children as young as 12 years of age, and even younger, are being forced into the sex industry. Most youth who fall victim to human trafficking and

The adult services ads on the internet offer an accessible means for the commercial sexual exploitation of children, but the truth is that the demand for sex with underage girls precedes the technology. Closing down such avenues may temporarily interfere with business, yet the industry of selling children for sex continues as long as there are buyers. (Axtell, pg.2) According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking is the second fastest growing criminal industry- just behind drug trafficking. Approximately half of all victims are children. (Axtell, par.2) The buyers have it made so easy when they can just go online and purchase their girl of choice. The internet has black market pages for buying humans, but most are only open for a certain number of hours then deleted completely. Websites such as Backpage and Craigslist are monitored but not all are captured. Backpage accounts for about 70 percent of America’s prostitution ads (many placed by consenting adults who are not trafficked), according to the AIM Group, a trade organization. Backpage cooperates with police to screen out ads for underage girls. (Times, par. 9) With all of these portals being available it makes capturing some of the sick people out there buying their own kind close to impossible. Craigslist used to have an erotic section but it was removed from the page after the infamous “craigslist killer” case. However, there is a personal section

Every year thousands of people of all genders, race, and age become victimized in sex trafficking. These people who become victims are usually vulnerable and are living in poverty structured areas. Many countries around the world are dealing with this serious issue, even in the United States. The United States federal law has defined sex trafficking as an act, “in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age” (Polaris Project). Sex trafficking is not only seen as a crime but is also seen as a business of supply and demand to many people. This business makes a profit of about 9.8 billion dollars a year. In recent events it has been shown that sex trafficking increases during big sporting events. As a result, some actions have been taken to combat the issue, but not enough. Therefore, due to the fact that sex trafficking is a worldwide issue and it is increasing over time; I will argue how there needs to be changes to the approach we have on the issue of sex trafficking.

Human trafficking is one of the largest growing criminal activities. The commercial sexual exploitation of children, also known as CSEC, is often perceived as a hidden atrocity that occurs in an international setting. However, this manifestation of sexual abuse has increased and has become a recognized health issue in the United States. You may hear this problem to be known as domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). Domestic minor sex trafficking is defined as the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the person is a citizen younger than the age of 18 years by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. This includes sexual acts like survival sex, prostitution, and stripping, where the child is the victim of criminal exploitation in exchange for remuneration in the form of money, food, shelter, or other valued entity. Approximately twenty-eight percent of US minors living on the streets are reported to exchanging sex for drugs or money. The estimation so far is that 150,000 to 300,000 children are falling at risk of being victimized each year, and the average age at which they are recruited is twelve to fourteen years of age. By raising awareness we are avoiding children suffering from long-term health consequences such as severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. By raising awareness a family may not lose their little boy or girl to human trafficking. Consider how many young women have been kidnapped, drugged, tricked or even sold by

Next, to make a difference to end child prostitution is people should treat them as the victim, rather than treating them as the criminal. One clearly does not know what is going through their mind, so making judgements and statements does not help their situation at all. Julian Sher discusses that “When these children go get the attention of the system, they are almost always treated as criminals, not victims” (13). For what we can assume is that they did not choose this lifestyle but have just got caught up in it and have a hard time getting out. They are scared of their “pimp” who tells them if you do not do what I say I’ll kill you, hurt you, we’ll sell you to another pimp, etc. In the article, Report urges new approach to child prostitution: “ ‘These are children that are prostituted. These are children that are harmed. These are not criminals, Ellen Wright Clayton, a physician and member of the team, said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on

Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.

Throughout the 21st century, the number of human beings being capture and put into sex trafficking and prostitution has risen. In 2013, about 270,000 young boys, girls, and women were forced into human trafficking in the United States alone and estimated 20.9 million in the world. The UN has also estimated that nearly 4,000,000 are trafficked each year. UNICEF has estimated that as many as 50% of all trafficking victims worldwide are minors and that as many as two thirds of those adolescents are at some point forced into the sex trade. This is a 52 billion dollar industry. Two kids are sold every minute, 120 per hour. In other cases mothers of these children would sell them off for money due to financial reason, which

Oftentimes when people hear the term human sex trafficking, they think of heinous acts that take place in other countries where adults, children, girls and boys are exploited to perform sexual acts in exchange for money or goods against their will. They think it typically occurs in places that are less developed than the United States. However, the reality of this horrific crime is that it is taking place in the United States, and it occurs more and more each and every day. Young girls are not solely the victim of human sex trafficking, young boys are victims of this monstrous act as well. Individuals residing in the United States need to be made more aware of this issue as it has started to rise through social media, large events, and by those in other countries being promised work here. After researching, it is apparent that there is a great deal of information that is lacking, on sex trafficking in the United States. Not only is sex trafficking an issue, but the lack of awareness about sex trafficking is also an issue. This thesis proposes that human sex trafficking is an unacknowledged epidemic within the United States, and it seeks to discover why it has become so prevalent.

When some people hear the expression “child sex trafficking” inevitably unspeakable thoughts come to mind, others are unaware this is even happening. Sex trafficking is a serious criminal issue taking place within the borders of the United States, but on the outside of these boarders this crime stands as a reliable source of income for those who participate. Although child sex trafficking is a local crime it is obvious that multiple nations have different viewpoints on the topic. The problem at hand is meeting in the middle where this situation can exist without creating a riot with residents and eliminating the destruction of young children’s lives. Though this topic is a sensitive one, there are ways to allow it to coexist in everyday

Sex trafficking is a problem that sweeps across the nation. The number of children and teens on the street makes them more at risk of being taken into human sex trafficking. According to the Covenant House Institute, more than two million kids in America will face a period of homelessness. As many as 20,000 kids are forced into prostitution by the human trafficking networks every year in the United States

Today, in our society, human trafficking and prostitution are bigger than ever. Men, women and even children are being taken to trade as sexual exploitation every day. As a whole, we need to stand against traffickers and those who are involved. We need to execute a plan to eliminate trafficking, spread awareness and provide help for those who have been trafficked, to show them they do have a choice. While many believe the selling and trading of sex is only another job and therefore should be made legal and safe, others feel that even sex between consenting adults is wrong and exploitative. However, both sides agree that prostitution is equal to slavery when children and young people are involved because of how hazardous the work is and the fact they cannot give legal consent for themselves. Children around the world are being taken at all ages, most are unaware they are even in danger until it’s too late. A report from the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking in 2011 found that 234 out of 946 potential victims were children. Kids outside of Amsterdam, as young as ten years old, can be trafficked to work long hours on farms as house girls or in local bars. This can often lead to prostitution. The boys who are taken tend herds of

Imagine a four year old girl growing up in contemporary Cambodia. Each morning she wakes up miles from home, homesick and scared. She is forced to beg for money for the brothel that she belongs to, and all of her earnings go straight to her master. Then, that night, about seven men come to the brothel. These men, some as old as fifty, often pay as little as two dollars to partake in sexual intercourse with these school-aged children. The toddlers enslaved in the horrific sex trade are forever stripped of their purity, making human trafficking a major issue in present day Cambodia. Over 30,000 children are sexually exploited annually (“Children for Sale”), and millions have been forced into human trafficking

With child prostitution comes child pornography. Child pornography is the exploitation of children for sexual stimulation. It may produce with consent or non-consent. However, some people travel across the world to engage in “child sex tourism”. “Child sex tourism” is tourism for the purpose of child prostitution. “Child sex tourism” is most severe in South America and Asia, but is still a global problem.