Signs Of Sex Trafficking

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

Recently I learned about human trafficking and it is where organized criminals smuggle immigrants in and out of different countries for, sex, drugs, forced labor, and people even volunteer themselves to gain legal documentation. Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry and criminals profit from the exploitation of others. The facts are vulnerable people are trafficked in the commercial sex trade and labor industry every day in America. In 2014, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline received multiple reports of human trafficking cases in each of the 50 states and D.C. Stopthetraffik.org say “Our economies are affected by increasing unemployment and the number of working poor.”

Sex trafficking, even of minors, terrorizes human beings with females significantly at risk. Many women are taken from countries outside of the United States and told that they will be given jobs making around $60,000 a year. However, once they arrive in the United States, many work for massage parlors or in discos to solicit sex, and most work under the threat where not making a monthly quota may mean being viciously beaten and brutalized. Some are also "required to work as prostitutes or topless dancers in conditions ranging from bars in Chicago to underground Los Angeles brothels with twenty-four-hour surveillance." By the late 1990’s, American law enforcement officials became more aware of instances like these where immigrants were being trafficked into the United States and forced to work under harsh conditions. They were uncovering many different cases of human trafficking from cities all over America coming from all over the world. They discovered cases from Chicago, Maryland, New York, and other cities throughout America. Officials found instances of migrants who had been tricked into accepting a job or forced into one. Most of these jobs involved soliciting sex, but cases of sweatshop labor were found as

Many victims are looking for basic needs by escaping their dysfunctional support system. Juveniles that are considered “chronic runaways” are at the highest risk as they are likely to be taken in by a trafficker that provides the “survival needs” the juvenile is searching for (Perkins & Ruiz, 2016). Seventy-five percent of juveniles involved in prostitution have run away from home (Bergman, 2012).

The above reasons indicate that most victims will not disclose their status as trafficked victims to the police. It is up to police to proactively look for them. However, this also is problematic. Victims remain hidden for several other reasons as well. As most victims work in the sex industry as prostitutes, and police have historically viewed prostitution as a victimless crime, the police inconsistently make arrests (Vago, 2006). The United States is among many countries that have taken legislative action against human trafficking. Because of its prominent status as a world power, the United States has also been the leader in forcing others to do the same. Every year since 2000, the U.S. Department of State has published the Trafficking

Sex trafficking is also difficult to identify because of the stigma attached to being a trafficking victim. Victims are often labeled as prostitutes or hookers because they are selling the bodies for money or drugs. Both exist in the world. There are people who simply sell themselves for sex or drugs and then there are also people who are forced into this lifestyle. Identifying the real victims is also very difficult because of their lack of trust towards law enforcement. If victims do not say they are victims, law enforcement can easily just mistake them for a prostitute.

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.

Every year since 2001, the State has written the Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks countries according on their compliance with U.S. legislations minimum standards. This document alone raised the awareness of human trafficking and increased the amount of action foreign governments are taking (Melito n.pag.). Within the U.S., victims of sex trafficking are most likely to be rescued because of its close association with prostitution. To further help the situation, the U.S. can practice and enforce laws that protect victims of prostitution from unjust trials and use that energy to provide a more efficient form of identifying and assisting the victims. The United States is already making progress because every state has criminalized human trafficking. The U.S. has made major strides in recognizing human trafficking as a crime since 2000 when the TVPA was first enacted (Soohoo

Ronald Weitzer, Professor of Sociology at George Washington University, in his article “Sex Trafficking And The Sex Industry: The Need For Evidence Based Theory And Legislation,” states that sex trafficking is defined as “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.” Adults who sell sex with the help of someone, are not considered trafficking victims (1337). First, the important goal is to not eliminate trafficking but rather to eliminate prostitution (1344). Second, prostitution is said to “create the demand for trafficking”, but there is no reason why prostitution would “demand” trafficked participants if it is defined as involving deception or force with willing migrants, and why it could not extract from a local pool of workers instead (1344). For example, a few of Eastern European women who sell sex recruit their girlfriends in the home country to work with them. According to many writers and the government officials, sex trafficking has reached epidemic levels worldwide, victimizing “hundreds of thousands” or “millions” of people every year (1347). Third, claims regarding a growing worldwide epidemic are contradicted by the U.S. government’s own figures. For example,

Sex trafficking can happen everywhere. People do not even realize when it is happening. Someone could be living their life, just as they normally do, and decided to go to the mall. Sometimes they may not even know that a little kid is going to be kidnapped, and later raped. This is what sex trafficking is. Sex trafficking is commonly defined as when violence, drugs, lies, or any other form of coercion is used to force another person to have sex against their will. (Sex Trafficking in the U.S, 1) Sex trafficking is becoming a bigger issue more and more each day. As a society, sex trafficking needs to be known about by everyone so we could prevent, and eventually stop sex trafficking.

The definition of human trafficking has changed since the first reports in 1994. The U.S department of state began to collect reports on trafficking across borders as a severe violation of human rights. Its’ office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons originally focused on the sexual exploitation of women and girls smuggled by international prostitution. Over the years the definition has broadened to cover anyone recruited, transported, transferred, harbored, and compelled to work in prostitution, domestic service, agriculture, construction work or factory sweat shops, by means of coercion, force, abduction, fraud or deception. Any commercial sex act performed by a person under age 18 is considered human trafficking, regardless of

According to George Eliot, “Cruelty, like every other wicked behavior, requires no motive outside of itself; it only requires opportunity.” In today's society, there are many opportunities for people to be cruel, and instead of passing them up, man openly takes advantage of them. Even though there is some good in the world, the amount of violence and toxicity in the world proves that humanity is cruel.

We hear more about sexual exploitation more than forced labor, which makes it seem like it is not a huge issue, but it really is. Many nations, such as, Mexico, Central America, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Europe send many people to the United States in order to work involuntarily (Hepburn). Thousands of people are victims of trafficking each year, whether it be for cheap, or even free, labor or sexual utilization.

Human tracking is the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor. It is unjustified for anyone to experience being forced to do anything that they don’t want to do. Human trafficking is now the modern day slavery. Law enforcement officials should be aware for the signs of a human that is being victimized by a trafficker and help needs to be provided to those victims who are or have been victimized by human trafficking.

There are two main forms of human trafficking, labor and sex (Brewer). Both of these markets are international affecting various states around the world. This market is hard to identify because both men and women of all ages are trafficked around the world, in both forms of human trafficking although sex trafficking victims tend to be more female dominated (Brewer). In addition to having diverse victims, the traffickers themselves are diverse and spread out all over the world, making it difficult to track them down (Chang).