Keisha Head's Analysis

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

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

Sex trafficking is essentially systemic rape for profit. Force, fraud and coercion are used to control the victim’s behavior which may secure the appearance of consent to please the buyer (or john). Behind every transaction is violence or the threat of violence (Axtell par. 4). Just a decade ago, only a third of the countries studied by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had legislation against human trafficking. (Darker Side, par.1) Women, children, and even men are taken from their homes, and off of the streets and are brought into a life that is almost impossible to get out of. This life is not one of choice, it is in most times by force. UNODC estimates that the total international human trafficking is a

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

Human Trafficking is the exploitation of men, women, and children in order to gain a monetary benefit from the involuntary sex acts the victims are forced to commit. Trafficking rings are usually run by one pimp or a family of pimps that charm the victim by offering them a better future of love and promise. However, this life does not consist of those charming promises. As the testimonies below will show, human trafficking may be stated as a good monetary business and life choice, but instead, trafficking violates human rights and leaves victims isolated from those who love them, and rejected by the world that does little to protect them.

“ She was just seventeen when she got into prostitution- child trafficking- but she didn’t know she was a victim at the time. She had been beaten and raped by her father since she was twelve years old.” (Zhai Yun, 1.) Young victims of youth sex trafficking are not just kidnapped by unknown people into this. It can be by their father, mother, brother, or sister. It can be forced upon them by people who have come into their life claiming they can make it better. When in reality it just makes it worse. They have no idea what they are getting into and what is going to happen to them. They are fed with lies and false pretentions of what is going to happen. They are caught in a trap that is hard to get out of. Often they are to scared to try to run or be rescued. They just do what they are told so that they live or so their loved ones live.

A. Attention Getter: What if you were promised a better life with an advanced career, but instead were forced into prostitution? Many are unknowingly placed into this position by human traffickers.

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.

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.

Human trafficking has received increasing global attention over the past decade. Trafficking of women and girls for forced sex work and, to a lesser extent, domestic servitude, were the sole focus of advocacy and assistance. There is recognition in today’s society that women, children, and men are trafficked into many different forms of labour, and for sexual exploitation. In her article, “Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Women”, Cathy Zimmerman and Heidi Stockl focus on the commonality of human trafficking and how evident it is in everyday life. They bring in the health effects and possible solutions to human trafficking to help validate their opinion and argument. In the solutions they offer, Zimmerman and Stockl shine a light on policy-makers/decision-makers, health-care providers, and researchers/funders and what each of these groups of people can do to help combat the issue of human trafficking. In a quote from their article, Stockl and Zimmerman say: “Health care providers and organizations involved with trafficked persons should increase their capacity to identify and refer people in trafficking situations and provide sensitive and safe services to people post-trafficking”. This quote shows how Zimmerman and Stockl believe human trafficking should be combated by caring and talking to those affected by the issue but how they also believe awareness should be made about human trafficking so as to allow people surrounding the issue to identify and help victims of this issue. Zimmerman and Stockl’s view on the ways human trafficking should be combatted relate to those of Soroptimist due to the fact that the two groups of people are focused mainly on helping women and girls who have been trafficked and trying to get them to a better life after getting out of the trafficking situation. Both groups focus on helping men as well, providing options to help them such as raising money and awareness, and getting educated on being able to identify victims of human trafficking.

Victor Hugo, a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement once said, "Slavery still exists, but now it only to women and its name is prostitution."(Hugo) Pimps are finding new ways to get more girls to work for them. They do all this for money. They sell away someone's innocence just to make a few dollars. Pimps use the dependency the girls develop for them against them. They are finding new ways to recruit girls and they use love and emotions to manipulate girls. Dependency, love, and new ways of communication are things that pimps are using to win the war for prostitution.

Situations of human trafficking victims’ vary to a large degree. Many are romantically involved with a trafficker at first, then find the intention of the relationship to be altered once the subject of performing acts of a sexual nature is introduced. Others are victimized when they believe they are being hired to work as a dancer, model or nanny, when they agree to move to a distant location, only to find the job was never real. In nearly every instance, one or more methods of coercion are put into play by a

Human trafficking, more specifically sexual trafficking has existed for centuries luring victims in traps in which they cannot get out. However, what happens when they chose to enter the industry? What happens when women build emotional and psychological connections with the people that are trapping them in the industry? Does the answer to this change when a victim is removed from the sex trafficking industry, but replaced in a situation with a similar or worse lack of mobility? Contractualism and Feminist care ethics provide no firm answer, however, the juxtaposition of such arguments shows the flaws in each solution.

One day, her boyfriend claims they need money for food and that is when she is introduced to prostitution and starts working for a Romeo pimp (Trafficked Teen Girls, 2010). Romeo pimps are human traffickers who often attract young girls for the purpose of exploiting them later (Abolish Child Sex Trafficking, 2015). Romeo pimps tend to use psychological manipulation as the central means of control (Abolish Child Sex Trafficking, 2015). To explain, Romeo pimps come into the lives of the adolescents through comfortable locales or social media platforms to get to know the child’s vulnerabilities as well as to become the person the child desires in their life (Abolish Child Sex Trafficking, 2015). Once they gain the trust and love of the individual, the exploitation begins and the child is usually unable to withheld from their partner’s demands since he/she trusts them and feel life without them is unthinkable. Thus, the children are deceived into committing sexual and illegal acts as the pimps are psychologically manipulating them into believing these acts are done for love when in reality they are collecting money from these acts for their own advantages. In conclusion, due to emotional susceptibilities, traffickers are easily able to wield and influence

Women made vulnerable by poverty are most susceptible to the sex industry because they lack the resources, the education, and the economic alternatives to pursue other work possibilities. The lack of education diminishes women’s potential to gain paid employment, and desperately consent to prostitution as their survival strategy.