The Risk Factors For Entering Street Level Prostitution

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.

“43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98% are women and girls” (UNGIFT). Women and girls are ensnared in sex trafficking in a variety of ways. Some are lured in with offers of real and legal work in restaurants, massage parlors, or anything else. Others are promised marriage, education and a better life. Still others are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents (SOROPTMIST). Many of the girls and women are also forced into pornography. With all of the types of sexual exploitation comes abuse. Sexual, physical, and emotional are all types of abuse put onto females in human trafficking. Many people traffic others in hopes of getting money, work done, or just pure pleasure.

Sex Trafficking has been a key component in “ degradation of human and women's rights” because they believe that these people are only good for sex (Deshpande Para 1). Often victims who come back, if they ever can, have a hard time adjusting back to normal life. These girls have trust issues towards men, and sometimes even women. They also could have numerous health problems ranging from STD’s to unplanned pregnancy or even worse “ broken bones, concussions, bruises and burns” can all be found on these victims of sexual assault. These girls could also have mental issues, such as anxiety toward older men and women, fear of going outside ever again and social issues. The saddest thing about this is not only are these victims going through a horrible amount of sexual abuse, they also have been ripped away from what they know and may love. Some people believe that women and some men are just objects and they are the ones that are often pimps in the sex trafficking, but this is a completely skewed way of thinking of people.

The main reason thousands of women are forced or have to enter into sexual slavery and prostitution is because of poverty. According to the VTVPA, sex trafficking “means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act" (p. 8) and that a commercial sex act is "any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person" (p. 7). It is critical to understand that this includes the "pimping" or "prostituting" of

Research on prostitution shows some basic patterns in the family backgrounds of people involved in prostitution. Often less than 18 years of age, most have few qualifications for other work. Various reasons can be invoked as to why young adults turn to prostitution; poverty, mental illness, homelessness, a history of childhood emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

Violence against women is an issue of concern in the United States. The truth is that prostitution can never be stopped and participants – especially

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).

The purpose of this research is to identify and determine if The Rates of Young Women Under the Age of 21 Who Are Taken for Involuntarily Prostitution by Human Traffickers in the United States is Rapidly Increasing. This methodology will include the Purpose/Background, Research Hypotheses, Research design, Sampling, Mode of Data Collection, and Measures. The purpose and background will describe and elaborate on the theory and crime. The research hypothesis will give a strong connection between the theory/crime and study through variables and research. The research design will identify a specific sampling technique and the target population by establishing a relationship between the variables and hypothesis. The sampling section in this research will consist of a specific population using a designated technique. Within the mode of data collection, the data will be articulated and the best approach will be giving based off the population and all variables that will be computed. The measures of this research will identify and a brief description of the independent and dependent variables to answer all research questions pertaining to the study. There are three statistical techniques; univariate, bivariate, and multivariate tests, all will be utilized for this specific study. The limitations in this study will

Prostitution has always been a worldwide problem especially in Chicago, Illinois. The exploitation of prostitution seems to be one of many serious issues in inner-city Chicago. Some may ask the question as to “what changes occur in a woman’s life to make her want to live this type of lifestyle?” Are prostitutes always the victim or do some control their work, and even enjoy sex? After experiencing human trafficking, drug addiction, and prostitution for 25 years of her teenage and adult life, Brenda Myers-Powell’s life story answered those questions. She survived the harsh lifestyle of prostitution and serves as a mentor to the youth to prevent them from encountering the trauma she did for many years of her life.

There are many cases as to why people get into prostitution. One of the most common reasons women decide to become a sex worker is usually to help pay for schooling, or other financial debt. Here in California minimum wage is now about ten dollars an hour which is not nearly enough money to support oneself, let alone pay for college loans. In an AlterNet article Celine Bisette talks about how people let ignorance get the best of them as they assume her being a prostitute is a product of sexual abuse. Celine states,” The reality is that I had a happy childhood that was completely devoid of abuse of any kind. I grew up in a very ordinary middle class family. My parents cooked dinner for me every night, helped me with my homework, and told me they loved me every single day.” When people make judgements about why sex workers are doing what they are doing it puts these workers in an uncomfortable position, making them regretful and embarrassed about a job that they like doing.

Women made vulnerable by poverty are most susceptible to the sex industry because they lack the resources, the education, and the economic alternatives to pursue other work possibilities. The lack of education diminishes women’s potential to gain paid employment, and desperately consent to prostitution as their survival strategy.

Many believe that prostitution is considered violent to a specific gender and a total violation of human rights (Ekberg, 2004; Giobbe, Harrigan, Ryan & Gamache, 1990; Valor-Segura & Exposito, 2008). It is said that some women become prostitutes by trickery or coercion, but in reality most women knowingly practice the profession of prostitution because of the financial gain over many jobs in the modern day world. These women could also use prostitution as their line of work because they enjoy what they are doing.

Prostitution is a global phenomenon requiring immediate intervention. Fluctuating opinions surround two different views on this social problem: punishment vs. rehabilitation. Individuals have different perspectives on why prostitution exists. Some see prostitution as a choice and others view this social issue as involuntary; these conflicting perspectives on prostitution influence individuals’ opinion on how this issue should be handled/solved (A Personal Choice; Prostitution, 2014). The legal punishment intervention surrounds around the idea of legal consequences, such as incarceration. The rehabilitation intervention includes providing services to those involved in prostitution, in order to decrease their chances of reentry.

The integral research question for this study is what factors lead to successful exiting of street-level prostitution? The hypotheses are that completion of a drug treatment program, and the use of informal and formal support will increase the likelihood of success. Completion of a drug treatment program will entail finishing the recommended number of days and attending all sessions of a program whose primary goal is drug rehabilitation. Informal support will be determined by whether the woman interviewed has a close family or friend they can talk to about the process, and formal support will be determined by the use of any formal group meeting that’s goal is to assist the women grow and change. Formal

A major concern with prostitution and sex trafficking is a negative trend that occurs with the health of women. One significant aspect is the deteriorating emotional well-being of former and current prostitutes. Both forced and voluntary prostitutes experience trauma that affects their mental health. An investigation done by U.S. Branch of Well-being and Human Administration's national symposium analyzes the impacts' prostitution has on women. The outcomes resulted in the pervasiveness of PTSD,