The Domestic Problem Of Child Sex Trafficking In The United States

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).

Have you ever walked into Wal-Mart and taken the time to look at the numerous pictures of missing youth that is plastered on the wall? When looking at how long they have been missing, it ranges anywhere from months to years. Looking at their age, both boys and girls, it is hard not to wonder if these kids are being trafficked. Child sex trafficking, also known as human trafficking, is a major issue that is not only plaguing the United States, but the world. Residing in a state where teen sex trafficking is very common, it is imperative that not only adults, but the youth understand what child sex/human trafficking is, what is a sex-trafficker, and the data that reveals the seriousness of child sex

Human trafficking is a public health problem within the United States and Internationally. The victims subjected to the lifestyle of human trafficking can have sexually transmitted disease, HIV virus, and AIDS. It is an estimated 30,000 victims of human sex trafficking dying each year from abuse, disease, torture, and neglect. According, to U.S. government an estimates, of 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders annually, and up to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year (Hodge, 2008). “According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over the past 30 years, over 30 million children have been sexually exploited through human trafficking” (Random Facts, 2015, para. 24).

Imagine knowing that your parents set you up to be raped, just so they can make money. This violence leads to depression and even suicide, making the children feel extremely weak and empty. Weak law enforcement and poverty has driven sex slavery out of hand. A solution to end this violence begins with people who raise awareness. To raise awareness, it is important to meet with the federal and local government to inform them on the issues and convince them to combat sex trafficking. Come up with different fundraisers for battered victims, host awareness events so people become familiar with the issue, and eventually the victims can become educated and well equipped with the proper care they need. Consider working with different organizations that help women who have fallen victims of prostitution, pornography, trafficking and other forms of sexual violence. Work with a religious community that can help raise money for families in poverty. This can decrease the amount of women and children traded for sex. Internationally, we need to become more familiar with, knowledgeable of, and aggressive to end this suffering of dehumanization and advertise what the poor victims have to face on a daily

The United States has always been known for sticking their nose in places where it does not belong. America has been part of wars that could have been avoided, scandals that had nothing to do with the United States. Millions of lives over the years could have been spared if America would have just simply stayed where they belong. What if though, America feels like they have to get involved in forging affairs if they think it can cause or is causing a problem on American soil or with the Americans themselves? Human trafficking is issues that most people do not necessarily knows about or even really think about. There are several different types of human trafficking and smuggling crimes that are in today's society. The number one kind of human trafficking is sex trafficking. The handlers usually kidnap someone, ninety percent of the time, a girl under the age of eighteen, and sell them to different people all over the world for sexual reasons. The girls they kidnap and sell can be from the area or just passing through and get in the wrong place at the wrong time. Forced labor is the second most common type of human trafficking in the world. This is where a person takes advantage of a worker and changes labor laws to make them work longer hours or harder, more tiring jobs with very little pay. Victims of forced labor most of the time do not even know what is happening to them. Most of the people that get sucked into the forced labor trade are very vulnerable;

Human trafficking is one of the largest growing criminal activities. The commercial sexual exploitation of children, also known as CSEC, is often perceived as a hidden atrocity that occurs in an international setting. However, this manifestation of sexual abuse has increased and has become a recognized health issue in the United States. You may hear this problem to be known as domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). Domestic minor sex trafficking is defined as the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the person is a citizen younger than the age of 18 years by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. This includes sexual acts like survival sex, prostitution, and stripping, where the child is the victim of criminal exploitation in exchange for remuneration in the form of money, food, shelter, or other valued entity. Approximately twenty-eight percent of US minors living on the streets are reported to exchanging sex for drugs or money. The estimation so far is that 150,000 to 300,000 children are falling at risk of being victimized each year, and the average age at which they are recruited is twelve to fourteen years of age. By raising awareness we are avoiding children suffering from long-term health consequences such as severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. By raising awareness a family may not lose their little boy or girl to human trafficking. Consider how many young women have been kidnapped, drugged, tricked or even sold by

Human sex trafficking and its sister category, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking also referred to as DMST, (Kotrla,K. 2010) is the most common form of modern day slavery. In the United States there are an estimated 293,000 youth who fall under high risk factor or DMST (Walker-Rodriguez, A. & Hill, R. 2011). Many men prey on the at risk youth to make a fortune for themselves. DMST exposes the youth to a life filled with violence, abuse that is both mental and physical as well as a isolation. The Victims of the Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 defines sex trafficking, “in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced to

On decemeber 18, 1865 slavery was abolished by Abraham Lincholn why has it become so easy for women and children to have their rights taken away from them? Many can argue that slavery doesnt exist in our society today, yet women all over suffer from slavery as they are taken and forced into the sex trafficking business. If slavery were truely abolished why is it so easy for women and children to become worthless and traded for a few dollars?

So what exactly is the problem? Well according to the US department of health and human services, human trafficking is second largest criminal industry making $12 billion per year off of a staggering 1.2 million child victims, all from the ages 5 to 17. Unlike other criminal industries children can be sold over and over again. The profits from one girl alone can range to as much as 250,000 dollars. This is not just distant problem but LA which hits close to home for me is the second larges trafficking city in the United States. I am going to share with your the one statistic that lead me to write this speech. (CAS Research and Education) fewer than 1% of all children in California are in the foster care system (SCEC 2012 study) and yet they make of 60% to 80% of all commercially sexually exploited children in California. This is as much as 8 out of every 10 kids. That is a problem. Not only that but the average lifespan for a trafficked child decreases to just seven more years. Subjecting these children to a horrible death of disease, drugs, murder, or suicide.

Human trafficking is a serious problem in modern society. In fact, the United Nations has referred to it as “one of the gravest human rights violations of our times” (“Secretary - General Calls Human Trafficking”). It is a fast growing industry that affects millions. No gender, age, or status is spared from the cruelty that is trafficking. To stress this point again, human trafficking is not just a problem of the “world” or “United States”, in general. As previously seen, it strikes very close to home, affecting hundreds of men, women, and children of our own community. In fact, “North Carolina ranked as a top-10 state for human trafficking with Charlotte being the top destination. It is estimated that more than 1,700 girls are trafficked

When some people hear the expression “child sex trafficking” inevitably unspeakable thoughts come to mind, others are unaware this is even happening. Sex trafficking is a serious criminal issue taking place within the borders of the United States, but on the outside of these boarders this crime stands as a reliable source of income for those who participate. Although child sex trafficking is a local crime it is obvious that multiple nations have different viewpoints on the topic. The problem at hand is meeting in the middle where this situation can exist without creating a riot with residents and eliminating the destruction of young children’s lives. Though this topic is a sensitive one, there are ways to allow it to coexist in everyday

It is absoultely unthinkable and heartbreaking to know that sexual slavery occurs in the United States of America. I was astonished when I had first read the article Pair Admit to Keeping Girl ,12,as a slave in Irvine for multiple reasons. One of the major reasons was how close Irvine was to Fullerton and how this young girl was robbed four years of her life because one of her sisters was caught "stealing"(Lin,1) and would have been reported to the "police" if her parents did not send the then ten-year-old over. But, I was more so disgusted at the fact that this was happening right under the our noses. Geographical locations transforms the way we feel towards sexual slavery for multiple reasons.For example, I had been watching a documentary on YouTube about homeless little boys who are raped by other men in random locations. These boys range from ages of eight to at least twelve. Without being exposed to this going situation previously before I would not have really though much of sexual slavery occurring in many parts of the world because they are farther away from the United States.

In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, but even after that the amendment was signed many individuals did not stop and abolish the idea of slavery as a whole. The action of slavery still existed after 1865 because individuals were still selling and degrading other human beings. It can be argued that trafficking human beings is one of the most profitable crimes today. Sex trafficking has been extremely profitable because some say that humans can be used for many different purposes, for more than one time. Unlike slavery in the 1800’s, there has now been a Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, which states that sex trafficking and labor trafficking is illegal, which helps prevent violence

The public believes that if there was an organization, whether the government funds it or non-profit organizations it should be able to help the victims from being vulnerable to human trafficking. Human trafficking has been around for decades, and in considerations in other terms modern-day slavery. Unfortunately, human trafficking is a terrible crime, against children, teenagers, women, and men who are being targeted. However, there are certain populations that are especially vulnerable to human trafficking, it has to do with the ones that feel less valued in society, with fewer rights and protections, such as youth, women, LGBTQ individuals, and those who are homeless or from low-income backgrounds (CSEC Community Intervention Project

It has been estimated that 199,000 incidents of sexual exploitation of minors occur each year in the United States (Jordan, 2013, p. 362). Children also make up of 50 percent of the sex trafficking victims globally (Jordan, 2013, p. 362). Since the number of children at risk continues to increase, we should be able to identify vulnerability factors, know a few strategies to help prevent this type of victimization from occurring, and also be aware of a few strategies that would be beneficial in helping victims readjust in society; after all, there is no telling when a child may be in need of assistance with escaping their current situation. Vulnerability factors include the young age of children, if they are runaways, and if there is some sort of family dysfunction experienced. Strategies to prevent this type of abuse includes federal and state laws as well as using technology in new ways. Lastly, reintegrating a child sex trafficking victim back into society could be a difficult process; however with the proper assistance from community resources as well as family the victim can be