Sex Trafficking Research

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.

There have been enormous questions on the effects that globalization has had on sex trafficking. Some have argued that globalization is characterized with the global efforts, funding and regional legislation that undermine the spread of the sex trading. However, the increased liberalization and other factors such as the presence of the internet have heavily favored sex trade globally and especially in the United States of America (U.S.A). The United States has been a destination for the many immigrants from third world countries and others that have been encroached with wars and terrorist activities.  According to the National Human Trafficking (2017), 4460 cases of the trafficking were recorded in the U.S.A of which 3186 cases reported were linked to sex trafficking. In 2016, the reported human trafficking cases tremendously increased in 7621, and the sex trafficking cases reported also increased to 5593. The reported sex trafficking cases were 4183, 3593, 3380, 2382 in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 respectively (National Human Trafficking, 2017, 1). From the cases recorded by the National Human Trafficking Hotline, it is evident that globalization has created a favorable environment for the sex and the human trafficking. The economic, political and legal environment created by the globalization favors the spread of sex trade in the United States of America.

Human sex trafficking is an epidemic that has been continuously growing by the minute worldwide. And is the most common form of modern day slavery; slavery today and 200 years ago share the same notion. Around the world there are 12.3 million people being sold into the human sex trafficking industry(caeact.org). It mainly deals with women along with some men and young teens, typically young girls, who are around the age of 16 being used essentially as prostitutes and being sold to random people on the black market worldwide. This problem has grown tremendously over the years because it’s hard to catch those who are in charge of this business in the act especially when the business keeps getting bigger by the second. The policy problem with this policy issue is no one knows exactly who is a victim of human sex trafficking so it’s hard for authorities to spot him or her. Although there are programs that help authorities identify such victims the fact of the matter is those who are at the head of this ring are often more than one step ahead of everyone else.

These structures are lasting patterns of behavior and social organizations that uphold, inform, stipulate, and restrict other behaviors. Sex trafficking has its own subculture that has its own rules of behaviors making it easier to function while consecutively going undetected with law enforcement. Operations online and decentralization makes sex trafficking difficult to track. Human trafficking produces $32 billion in profits each year. Traffickers stop at nothing to find victims due to the high demand. Each year, approximately 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States (Freedom House, 2013). The “pimp,” “perpetrator,” or “john,” names that some of the traffickers go by, lie to potential victims to retain loyalty or maintain control over them. Pimps provide an illusion of a better life, immigration benefits, employment, and make victims believe they are in a relationship with their traffickers to convince victims to work or do what they say. Victims are forced to live in inhumane conditions, isolated from family and friends, confined in a house or hotel, and often gang raped to create submission. Victims fear deportation and arrest, and threats are made shaming them for what they have done or threatening to hurt their family. Traffickers drive victims to different locations, cities, and other trafficking networks to continue soliciting (Polaris Project, 2013).

Human sex trafficking is an illegal trade that is steadily increasing in the United States. In particular, human trafficking starts with young children. Around the world today, 5.5 million children are victims of trafficking (Bales, Free the Slave). Young children become victims to sex trafficking for many different reasons. How they enter into the system is one issue, but who is there to help them get out is a bigger issue? Children are forced into the sex trafficking system multiple times a day, because traffickers stalk and track down vulnerable children. All of the outlets of socializing for young people are exactly the outlets that traffickers search to capture their victims and force them into the sex

Child sex trafficking is a crime people do not like to think about. Most Americans assume that trafficking is a problem that only happens in other countries. This assumption is wrong. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children child sex trafficking occurs in all fifty states (NCMEC, n.d.). The United States Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines sex trafficking as, “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex 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 eighteen years of age,” (TVPA, 2000). In order to eradicate this heinous crime vulnerable children must be protected, traffickers must be stopped, and those who seek sex with children must be exposed and prosecuted.

Modern day slavery, otherwise known as sex trafficking, has been on the rise in our world, our country, and even close to home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sex trafficking is a problem for all countries, rich and poor. In fact, the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.5 million people trapped in sex trafficking globally (SOURCE). Everyday hundreds of johns, or purchasers of sex, are meeting with young girls at a variety of public and private locations. This highly unethical multimillion dollar industry is being performed behind the scenes and unfortunately very few arrests are being made against the attackers. If we don’t have a global effort to fight against sex trafficking, there is a good chance this problem will worsen quickly.

As human trafficking expands in the United States, adults are not the only ones being bought and sold. Children are also target of trafficking, online and in person, at a higher rate (Tidball, Zheng, & Creswell, 2016). Child trafficking is the recruitment and movement of people that are younger than 18 for the purposes of sexual exploitation (Ottisova et al., 2018). This type of trafficking occurs online when pimp’s lure unsuspicious minors with false promises (Tidball et al., 2016). Pimps commonly advertise children for sexual exploitation online, and they search social networking sites for young victims for ways to trap them and become sex slaves (Dysart, 2013).

In line with sexual exploitation, different sources have cited that the internet and online platforms provide traffickers with the platforms to advertise massage parlors and escort services to a wide audience (Farquet et al. 302; Limoncelli 73). To this extent, the traffickers can reach a considerable number of individuals willing to buy the commercial sex services offered by women trafficked from a different part of the world. Equally, empirical evidence shows that technology often provides adequate means of reaching obscure target audiences, including pedophiles looking to have access to young girls, people with extreme sexual desires, and those individuals interested in child pornography. Since most of the people within these target audience often fear to express their desire publicly, they exploit their desire privately through the internet. In the end, the increased interactions between traffickers and these

Today's society has made connecting to potential victims easier. Most girls are recruited through social media for sex trafficking. The internet is making girls more vulnerable to others around the world without being aware of it. This is why the agency Thai Internet Crimes Against Children was formed. TICIAC responds to children trafficking through internet connections. Since this problem has formed, Thailand's government has enacted legislation that criminalizes the production and distribution of porngraphy. Children sex trafficking has expanded to a form of pornography for another way of distribution to potential buyers. Making it easier to make money.

The third category concentrated on efforts to address traffickers themselves, as they are heavily involved in the recruiting process, introduce the victims to the trade, to the clients, and mobilizing the victims to provide services. Moreover, traffickers are one of the major players of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and profit the most from the business (Raymond & Hughes, 2001). They carefully plan “sexual grooming,” which is a combination of distinct tactics to establish trusting relationships, and gradually move the boundaries, to ensure that the victims remain isolated and loyal to their captors (Laurel House).

Sex and Human trafficking is the third largest crime industry worldwide (11 Facts). Millions of women, men, and children are sold into the sex trafficking business around the globe (Polaris). Victims of sex trafficking are often times forced into this horrendous job by the trafficker. Other times, as disturbing as it may seem, family members sell their relative into sex trafficking for money, usually due to poverty in their town (Polaris). Trafficking is a tremendous problem that is often overlooked. Sex and Human trafficking is taking the worlds global issues by storm, and we must put an end to this lunacy.

Human trafficking has become one and the same with prostitution and sex work. However human trafficking engulfs other types such as labor trafficking which involves the obtaining, harboring, recruitment, and transportation of people for labor or services. These are the two types most thought of but there are eight classifications of human trafficking, and they include: forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage among migrants, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child soldiers, and child sex trafficking (Dalton, 2013). These types of human trafficking are modern day slavery and they are not an isolated problem, it occurs all over the world and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Over the past decade the internet has given growth and expansion to this issue of human trafficking through websites such as Backpage and Craigslist. These are just a few of the sites used in the solicitation of humans.

Although millions of innocent females fall victim to the despicable realm of sex trafficking, only a negligible percentage is recovered. Sex trafficking occurs when individuals are forced to perform sexual acts without reimbursement; traffickers beat, torture, and emotionally abuse their victims into obedience. Traffickers use cunning methods to both hide their operations and force their victims into a life of submission. In a perfect world, human trafficking would be easily obliterated. However, sexual exploitation of individuals being trafficked throughout the world cannot be eradicated due to governmental corruption and cunning trafficking methods.