The Department of Justice states that, “Pimps and traffickers sexually exploit children through street prostitution, adult nightclubs, illegal brothels, sex parties, motel and hotel rooms, and other locations throughout the United States” (DOJ 2013). These residential brothels and underground business are said to keep the children out of the spotlight and ran by criminal trafficking groups. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, “most residential brothels are advertised online, through newspapers, business cards, and word of mouth to keep law enforcement away. This is so, the through the public eye, the sex trafficking business is looked upon as an alternative business, using code language to indicate how to obtain commercial
Despite the initial intent for Redbook escorts and other adult service providers to have a place to advertise and discuss work-related topics on a private forum, such sites have been a concern due to the fact that those placing ads cannot be screened properly. These online communities become a hotbed for nefarious activity, including, in some instances, the exploitation of minors. Free escort ads attract pimps, despite the fact legitimate private strippers and clientele were able to pay a premium for enhanced site features. In an effort to combat human trafficking, such sites are being shut
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
Human trafficking has been identified as a profitable illicit business. Sexual exploiters have profited off the sexual exploitation of women and minors, while businesses have profited from nonconsensual labor from minors who cannot express their own interest. (Marcus, et.al, 2002, p.47). The regional director of “Not for Sale” makes a valid point about profitable gains of human trafficking. “You can sell a bag of drugs once, but you can sell a person multiple times,” (Marcus, et.al, 2002, p.47). That quote is basically the mindset of traffickers who look forward to making a profit and decide partake in this illicit business. In regards to sexual exploiters and minors, there are only a handful of
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.
Sex trafficking is becoming more of a problem as time moves on. Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion [Internet Safety 101]. Sex trafficking is increasing due to the evolution of modern day social services and sources. From safety sources, it is the second fastest growing criminal industry, [Internet Safety 101]. Increasingly, sex trafficking is coming about due to the evolution of the internet and the improved ability of GPS tracking. On social media, many people find other people and try to be their friend, even if they don't know who they are. This provides opportunities for fake people to create more of a problem. The internet is providing different advertising places that can increase the effect of sex trafficking and lure in citizens to becoming victims. Sex trafficking has to come to an end for the safety of citizens, for the safety of their pride and dignity.
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
Traffickers and pimps are looking for vulnerable, “at risk” young girls to come join the black market of sex trafficking. Whether this means the girls are in a foster care system, a group home, an already abusive home situation, or simply living in a family below the poverty line and struggling to make ends meet. These types of victims are easy to convince that a life of prostitution which seemingly offers protection and opportunities is what they deserve. Before the widespread use of the internet, traffickers had to send out pimps to “scope out” their potential victims, gather information, and determine whether or not they fit the criteria of the black market. But with the rise of the technological era and easily accessible personal info, traffickers simply require their pimps to scour online profiles, find vulnerable targets, and send out a message or set up an online ad that appeals to their
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
However a majority of the girls are abducted or forced while many are attracted in other ways. Fake agencies sometimes posing as massage agencies lure in women into the trafficking industry. These women are offered money, free transportation to these agencies to work, with an agreement that the costs will be paid back through the woman’s earnings for her work (Hodge, D. 2008). Other girls are lured in through brothels, escort services, hostess clubs, and strip clubs (Kotrla, K. 2010) where they are abused, manipulated, and have been forced to participate in sexual acts against their will.
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.
Traffickers manipulate adolescents and youth into the sex trafficking through targeting their emotional vulnerabilities. To begin, traffickers use threats, intimidation and violence to enforce or entice adolescents into trafficking. One adolescent, a runaway from Baltimore County, Maryland, is gang raped by a group of men associated with the trafficker, who thereafter executes a “rescue” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011) Following the “rescue”, the trafficker imposes she recompense him by working for him as one of his prostitutes (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). Unfortunately, in many cases youth are generally beaten up until they yield to the trafficker’s orders (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011).
Even though sexual exploitation is a major problem, it is not always obvious when it happens. Some sex trafficking is highly visible, such as street prostitution. But many trafficking victims remain unseen, operating out of unmarked areas in unsuspecting, and sometimes high class, neighborhoods. Girls have been forced into prostitution in Toledo, Atlanta, Wichita, Los Angeles, and other cities and towns across America (5 Things to Know about Human Trafficking). Sex traffickers may also operate out of a variety of public and private places, such as massage parlors, spas and strip clubs. Trafficking organizations can vary from single individuals to complex networks. Much concern has focused on large-scale
The United States, which is shaped by a culture that somewhat glamorizes pimping and prostitution. Growing numbers of children and youths are lured into commercial sex trade businesses "to service the demand resulting from the normalization and promotion of commercial sex across America". (Shared Hope International, n.d.-b, p. 2), resulting in what has essentially become a "shopping mall where buyers can choose from a variety of human products of various ages and colors". In addition to those on the streets, America's youngest also become victims through the Internet. Not only do traffickers advertise children online for sexual purposes through hundreds of Web sites, but they search for victims through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Recent research by Shared Hope International (n.d.-d) conducted across 10 cities in the United States found that the Internet was used in all 10 locations as a means for selling children for sexual purposes (Shared Hope International, n.d.-d). Sexual slaves live in deplorable conditions and lack hygiene, increasing the chance of getting sick and transmit sexual diseases. Since human trafficking is an illegal business, the places where they take place do not meet health and safety standards. The trafficking industry also generates violence, increasing the number of victims and death people in the country. We find them not only doing sexual work, but in all areas such agriculture, domestic service, construction work and factories. Many theories in the idea of human trafficking. Due to the low cost that owners that have to pay for this kind of slavery, businesses become very profitable. The lack of jobs, low wages and high cost of living caused by inflation creates an opportunity to human traffickers. Trafficked people usually are seduced with untruthful promises of employment, better pay and security. The reason why they become an easy
Human Trafficking is one of the many horrors that occur across the world that is not spoken about enough in society. Human trafficking can include organ trafficking, prostitution, child pornography, forced labor, debt bondage, child labor and child soldiers. In all cases of human trafficking, human beings are controlled and exposed for profit the most common type of profit being money. People who are victims of human trafficking can be found working in a myriad of places such as massage parlors, sweatshops, brothels, fields, online escort services, and even in private homes. This horrific crime occurs all over the world. Many people never know that this is highly prevalent in the United States as well. Traffickers often have a separate language that they use when discussing their “business”. For example, some words can include bottom, cathouse, daddy, circuit, branding, pimp, trap queen, seasoning, john, madam, queen pin, stroll and trick.