Sex Trafficking
"Sex trafficking is defined as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act." (Polaris Project) Sex trafficking is happening in the United States more than people truly know. "An estimated 293,000 children are in danger of being sexually trafficked in the U.S. (Sexual Trafficking) In the United States some women sell themselves for sex for their own benefits, but countless others are made to be slaves for the benefit of the "pimp" by threats, fraud, abuse, coercion, and many other reasons.
Sex trafficking victims can be men or women, child or adult, male or female, foreign or U.S. born. Most often the victims are females between the ages of five and twenty-five with the average age range being twelve to fourteen. (Crisis Aid)
Pimps often look for victims that won't be missed, such as drug users or runaways, but sometimes victims are taken right out of a nice family and moved to a new location
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Once a sex trafficking victim is trusted to go out and sell herself for sex she is will more than likely be given a nightly quota. The victim must use whatever she can to get the money that is required, which is normally around $500-$1000. The victim can sell herself for sex but often when they get desperate to get enough for money they turn to theft. Quotas must be met. If they don't get met the victim may be forced back on the streets, or denied food, water, and sleep. The victim must turn over 100% of the profits to their pimp. This makes the victim completely dependent on the pimp. To give an idea on how much a pimp makes in a year Polaris Project estimates "that if one girl was forced to meet quotas of $500 per night, seven days a week and gave all of her money to her pimp, and the pimp had three other victims in which he was gaining money from he would make an estimate yearly salary of
A trafficker, also known as a pimp, is anyone who receives cash or other benefits in exchange for sex with a victim (Smith 7). This form of organized crime is solely responsible for the wide spread of sex trafficking throughout the world. Corruption and greed of these traffickers makes it possible for sex trafficking to quickly and easily flourish. Traffickers can be anyone. They are both male and females from several different ethnic backgrounds. Child sex traffickers transport children away from home to avoid exposure and to lessen the chances of the child returning home. Throughout the United States, most major cities refer to the “track” as a street
In the news report “Human Trafficking”, author Olivia Neeley, a correspondent for the Tribune Business News, explains the procedure of luring a young individual into human trafficking, and gaining control of the modern-day slaves. The author explains that the traffickers, also called pimps, exchange basic needs in order to make the victim work for them; once they successfully subdue the victim, they use drugs and debts to control them. Human trafficking is much more common than we think; this crime can take place in just an average neighborhood, as when Neeley states, “Traffickers love rural areas” (Neeley). This article is helpful to the topic because it demonstrates how the trafficker persuade victims into this industry without using force,
Out of the thousands of people that have been human trafficking victims each year, only an insignificant amount of them is actually reported. Imagine being in 8th grade. Having all sorts of hopes and dreams. Now flash forward to dreams being taken away by a pimp that lures people into human trafficking. In short, this is true for Holly Austin Smith, a survivor of human trafficking. The punishment for the pimps that ruin the lives of these young girls is not severe. Therefore, there is not much help for the girls after they get rescued from this tragedy. A realization Holly had soon on and explains, “...Although I was soon recognized to be a victim, the specialized aftercare needed for a trafficking victim did not yet exist... Twenty years ago, there were no anti-trafficking laws in place. This pimp, who raped and lured a child into prostitution, served only 365 days in jail” (Smith). This young girl had recovered from this horrible incident all by herself. Many other girls in her position have gone through similar experiences and have been hurt by their pimp. In addition, the pimp will not receive much punishment. A sad story repeated across America and is very prominent in other countries. In America, most of the time victims are the ones that usually serve time in jail since in some cases it’s considered prostitution, even if it was forced by the pimp. In most cases, the pimps stay uncovered and if the victims of trafficking come forward as to who their pimp is, they
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
provide. So, they find “boyfriends” who are actually pimps. The younger that girl is, more
“43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98% are women and girls” (UNGIFT). Women and girls are ensnared in sex trafficking in a variety of ways. Some are lured in with offers of real and legal work in restaurants, massage parlors, or anything else. Others are promised marriage, education and a better life. Still others are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents (SOROPTMIST). Many of the girls and women are also forced into pornography. With all of the types of sexual exploitation comes abuse. Sexual, physical, and emotional are all types of abuse put onto females in human trafficking. Many people traffic others in hopes of getting money, work done, or just pure pleasure.
Sex Trafficking has been a key component in “ degradation of human and women's rights” because they believe that these people are only good for sex (Deshpande Para 1). Often victims who come back, if they ever can, have a hard time adjusting back to normal life. These girls have trust issues towards men, and sometimes even women. They also could have numerous health problems ranging from STD’s to unplanned pregnancy or even worse “ broken bones, concussions, bruises and burns” can all be found on these victims of sexual assault. These girls could also have mental issues, such as anxiety toward older men and women, fear of going outside ever again and social issues. The saddest thing about this is not only are these victims going through a horrible amount of sexual abuse, they also have been ripped away from what they know and may love. Some people believe that women and some men are just objects and they are the ones that are often pimps in the sex trafficking, but this is a completely skewed way of thinking of people.
Human trafficking are the illegal activity of people, usually for the purposes of obligatory workforce or commercial sexual abuse. In other words, it is also defined as a modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal occupation of persons for exploitation or sexual abuse. Human trafficking is a hidden crime as victims rarely try their best to seek help because of language problems, scared of the abuser and lack of law enforcement. Every year, millions of males, females, and youngsters are trafficked in many countries around the world, including the United States. It is estimated that human trafficking produces many for almost a billion dollar profit per year, and second only to drug trafficking as the most market profit form of international crime. Traffickers use force, scam, or intimidation to lure their victims and force them into workforce or commercial sexual abuse. The trafficker look for people who are susceptible for a variety of reasons, including mental or emotional liability, economic poverty, and lack of a social safety net, natural disasters, or political uncertainty. The trauma affected by the traffickers can be so great that many may not identify themselves as targets or ask for help, even in highly community surroundings.
Sex trafficking is a problem that is happening and occurring all over the world. Many families and individuals suffer due to sex trafficking. Many people are not even aware of what it really is. Sex trafficking is when young girls, as young as five or six, get kidnapped and are used for the sexual pleasure of others with a profit, or are sold as sex slaves to other people. The official definition is, “Human sex trafficking is a form of slavery and involuntary servitude resulting in grave human rights violations. Sex trafficking involves individuals profiting from the sexual exploitation of others and has severe physical and psychological consequences for its victims.” (The
Sex Trafficking is the act of forcing someone into performing any sexual act. Anyone under the age of 18 who is selling or being sold to perform a sex act is a victim to sex
Sex traffickers target victims through internet, cellphones, friends who have already been victimized, public places and even in after-school events where family members believe they are safe. Ansley Joye
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
One woman in “Sex Trafficking on the North Shore article,” who wishes not to be identified, stated that she met her pimp at age 17 when she was a college student. She was forced into prostitution as well as recruiting other women and girls. Social Services from Fond du lac work with dozens of girls that fall victim to traffickers. Traffickers search malls and schools for girls as young as 10 and 12 years old. Part of the problem is families living in poverty. This issue
The main reason thousands of women are forced or have to enter into sexual slavery and prostitution is because of poverty. According to the VTVPA, sex trafficking “means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act" (p. 8) and that a commercial sex act is "any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person" (p. 7). It is critical to understand that this includes the "pimping" or "prostituting" of
Different age groups fall victim to trafficking as well. Not only adults, but also children, are trafficked worldwide. Child trafficking is defined as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation" (Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse). Children make up almost twenty percent of trafficking victims around the world. "However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West