Sex Trafficked Victims And Their Perpetrators

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.

In the article, Characteristics of survivors of juvenile sex trafficking: Implications for treatment and intervention initiatives, the authors conducted the survey to understand what factors could have possibly contributed to the decision made by teenagers to consider the act of sex trafficking. The belief amongst the authors was that those who have survived juvenile sex trafficking have had experienced some abuse/neglect or even trauma (Hargreaves-Cormany & Patterson, 2016, p. 32). Not only are the researchers wondering about the abuse/neglect, but do the young women have a secure attachment with their family and peers or more of an insecure attachment. By having a secure attachment means that the child has a close relationship with those around them and s/he feels as though their basic needs are being met; physically and emotionally. The teenagers with an insecure attachment are not surrounded with love, respect and nurturing; all the things that one needs to grow in a positive way. The group of individuals that would be interested in this type of research would be that of counselors in trying to figure out what would entice young ladies to want to be sex traffickers and how would one implement interventions and counseling methods. In having teenagers experience situations such as neglect, lack of support, homelessness or even stress, one could be at risk in pursing the act of juvenile sex-trafficking.

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.

Nothing drives emotions out the window more than hearing about innocent children being used for sex. In Cambodia, sex trafficking has grown into a troublesome issue. Sex trafficking has become one of the fastest growing crimes occurring internationally. It is the third largest crime-business in the world, after drugs and arms trafficking. Women, girls, and even men and boys are victims of the billion-dollar sex trafficking industry. Sex trafficking occurs everywhere, and it is not culturally specific, but a gender specific issue. There are numerous cases of sex trafficking within Cambodia, however child sex trafficking is extremely captivating and distressing to learn about.

“ 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.

Human trafficking affects our children and our schools more than most realize. It is estimated that more than 200,000 American children are trafficked each year in America. Victims of trafficking often come from vulnerable populations, including migrants, oppressed or marginalized groups, runaways or displaced persons, and the poor (Talati). The children most likely to be targeted by traffickers are those not living with their parents, who are vulnerable to coerced labor exploitation, domestic servitude, or prostitution. Sex traffickers target children because of their vulnerability and gullibility, as well as the market demand for young victims. Studies have shown that it is not just high school children at risk, demonstrating that pimps prey on victims as young as 12 years old. Victims

This essay also focuses on the issues of child – sex trafficking. The study claimed that trafficking women especially children for sexual slavery is one the fastest growing common criminal and a social issue in the world. The study states that in the united states, almost 6 in 10 identified trafficking survivors were trafficked for sexual abuse. Out of that figure, 98% of the victims are female and 70% of it are children. This because the number of victims of sex trafficking is children, this may go as young as the age of eight. This is because children are easy targets when

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.

In this article we got to see the struggles that the girls went through from start to finish. It explained how the girls were promised better live but instead were forced to do these acts for many hours of the day every day of the week. It included the threats and rules the girls needed to follow. This information allows you to feel that you can understand and relate to what they went through. He explained that the police are trying to figure out what is the next step and what they can do to free other victims around the world.

Chapter seven is principally about providing helpful suggestion that can further enhance encouraging efforts to combat sex trafficking. The chapter starts off by implicating the use of the research findings that were found to be effective with sex trafficking victims. These proposals are not meant to be perceived as the remedy to aiding sex trafficking, but to cultivate additional research on these methods. These methods include survivor-informed programming, survivor defined practices, trauma-informed practices, and sex-trafficking-specific services. Further, the chapter begins to talk about the services that are needed for labor trafficking victims. Translating agencies, labor-specific services, and housing are examples of services that labor

Human sex trafficking as defined by the United States Department of health and human services is force pertains to the physical restraint or serious physical harm that traffickers use to obtain and maintain control. According to Chesnay (2013), methods of force are typically used to break down the victim’s spirit. Examples of force as a means of control include rape, physical violence, intimidation, physical & confinement and restricted freedom (Williamson & Prior, 2009; Zimmerman et al., 2008). Furthermore, social justice issue of human sex trafficking in children is a global form of oppression that places children at risk for sexual exploitation. Knowing that good research questions must be clear, focused, concise, complex, and arguably.

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

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).

Trafficked children are often pressured into believing that the abuse they receive from their trafficker is a sign of love or affection. In reality, the physical abuse they receive is not a sign of love and no child should have to go through that. This proves that the owner tends to fail at maintaining a physical well being of the children he or she is trafficking. These children are faced with serious physical issues which are cause by the types of abuse like getting beat, whipped, raped, burned and much more. In some cases, when the child chooses not to do what their owner has told them to do, they are faced with consequences that could possibly cost their life. In one situation, a young boy had gotten mad because he did not receive the money he was promised for having sex with another. His owner then got mad which led to