Targeted For Sextortion

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).

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

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

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 the state of Indiana, there are specific regulations that prohibit activities that are predatory against children. This is taking place under Section IC 35-42-4 of the criminal code. The different provisions of the law that deal with these issues include: rape, criminal deviant conduct, child molestation, the exploitation of a minor, sexual conduct in the presence of a juvenile, solicitation, seduction, sexual battery, sexual misconduct with a minor, inappropriate communication, using the Internet to target children and it is providing guidelines for the registration of convicted sex offenders. These different elements are demonstrating how the state has strict guidelines that are designed to protect children. (Hall, 2012) (Scheb, 2008)

Sex offending can occur a lot of places for example, in schools, at friends houses, but a lot of sex crimes occur through internet solicitation today. According to Mitchell, Wolak, and Finkelhor (2005) found that each year approximately one in five minors receive sexual solicitation from people they talk to online whether it be via chatrooms, or instant messages. Internet solicitation is so popular amongst sex offenders because it gives them anonymity to commit their crimes. This gives law enforcement a chance to proactive in investigating sex crimes that they could previously not, and could allow law enforcement to detect sex offenders before the actual victimization (Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, 2005). There are two types of investigations law enforcement can

Every year, hundreds of girls are taken advantage of and sold into prostitution. Sexual predators, especially in America, prey upon girls who are on the streets alone (usually due to problems at home). One such target was thirteen year old Salina, who lived in Las Vegas with her mother when personal distress caused her to run away from home. While detached from her family, Salina was picked up by a couple who forced her into sex work. It was clear that if she did not obey, went back home, or kept any of the money she earned, she would be beaten and possibly killed. But she was not held in a brothel or forced to walk the streets; no, this method is used by millions of people on a daily basis- the internet.

Social media, networks, and news stations manipulate their posts and the fears of their viewers in order to generate more attention towards their media. The attention economy is a metaphor of the economic profit and the payment of the attention from viewers. In Danah Boyd’s article “Whether the digital era improves society is up to its users – that's us”, she claims that we “live in a culture of fear” and that “social media is magnifying the attention economy” (Boyd). Boyd in both her article and her public talk “The Power of Fear in Networked Publics” focuses on three types of fear: fear of the unknown, fear for the young, and fear of the young. She also discusses the fearmongering content shared through networks.

Sexual exploitation is an atrocious wrongdoing that has become widely seen in Toronto. Although females are primarily targeted, victims also include trans people and youth of any race or gender (Global Mail: 2016). Sexual traffickers often look for victims that yearn for a better life as it is an effortless way to influence a victim into the sex trade. However, if the deception of granting a better life does not lure the victims into the sex industry other forms of coercion such as intimidation, romantic manipulation, violence, threats, lies, or debt bondage is taken into consideration. Once the victim is seduced the enabler is contacted by the trafficker, and johns (a name is given to male clientele) are awaiting for their services. Since

Child sex trafficking is the profitable sexual act induced by force, fraud, coercion or a person is lured to have sex before they reach 18 years of age. It includes all the activities of recruiting, harboring, patronizing, advertising, transporting or obtaining children for sexual services involuntarily, through servitude, debt bondage, peonage or slavery. Due to advanced technology, it has acquired new course. It has become a complex phenomenon involving multiple stakeholders at commercial as well as institutional level. It is the modern-day form of slavery perpetrated against minors regardless of their race, class, socioeconomic status, education, gender, cultural conditions or citizenship (“Department of Justice," 2015).

In 2005, the State Department surveyed that there are approximately 100,000-300,000 children who are being sexually exploited in the United States. In 2013, the FBI had decided to do a three day bust on sexually exploited children. They managed to arrest 150 pimps across the U.S. and save 105 children trapped in sexual exploitation. Child pornography can be described as the same thing as prostitution but in this situation, children are being photographed and filmed doing sexual things against their will. After the photographers and film makers are satisfied with their work the then, proceed to send it to paying clients and post it on the internet for all to see for a small price. The United States are one of the largest producers and consumers of child pornography. In 2005, “study revealed that 83 percent of arrested child pornography offenders had images involving children between the ages 6 and 12; 39 percent had images of children between ages 3 and 5; and 19 percent had images of infants and toddlers under age 3.” In the book, Girls Like Us, Rachel Lloyd interviews a young girl by the name of Danielle who is only eleven and she was controlled by a pimp. It tells of her experience and how her pimp was beating her. She was only eleven. In fact, most of the children who are sex trafficked in the United States are

Sex traffickers use violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, and other forms of coercion to compel adults and children to engage in commercial sex acts against their will. Under U.S. federal law, any minor under the age of eighteen years induced into commercial sex is a victim of sex trafficking—regardless of whether or not the trafficker used force, fraud, or coercion (polarisproject). That being said many of these women and children are either threaten or given a false promise or a good job, some fall in love with the person forcing them to prostitute themselves or some of these women and children are sold by their families to pay off debt. Sex trafficking is global issue but to attack the problem we need to start within our borders and try to minimize the situation at home. Human trafficking is widely known and practice, but we fail to protect the victims. Our failure to stop this allows the traffickers to continue abusing their victims, which sadly ae the most vulnerable out there, children and

While researching sexual exploitation, I have learned that sexual exploitation occurs all throughout the United States frequently. The more I researched, the more occurrences of child sexual exploitation I found. I discovered that children are often tricked into being sexually exploited by predators. Predators trick children by showing affection, pretending to care about the victim, engaging in false relationships, or threatening the victim. Granted that when children are sexually exploited, they are deceived to produce pornography or engage in sex trafficking. Pimp-street prostitution, escort services, and brothels are all forms of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking transpires in the United States daily even when laws are created to prevent and end the act. Stopping sexual exploitation is a difficult problem to prevent because many crimes go unreported. The effects of sexual exploitation of children are psychologically and emotionally scarring. Likewise, survivors often need help to recover after being traumatically exploited. There are several organizations and laws that help victims of sexual exploitation.

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

I watched the documentary film Teenage Sex for Sale which explains how incredibly young girls in Britain become involved and abused by older men. As well as how the law enforcement is dealing with it. The film shifts the focus to the personal stories of a few girls who were lured into the life of child prostitution due to the initial attention the men would give them. Eventually, the girl’s intent to stay became their addiction to the drugs the men would give them in exchange for sex. Some of these girls did not even identify the abuse they were enduring until it was too late. The film has the girls and even a mother talk about their stories, using a fake name and an actress’s voice to disguise themselves. This is what showed how the young