Sex Trafficking in the United States Imagine yourself leaving for a trip that you have been looking forward to. You get packed, board the plane, and then finally you arrive at your destination. After settling in you go explore the area. At this point, you are kidnapped. You cannot do anything to protect yourself or to escape. You end up being forced to strip your clothes and have your body sold. You are now an object, no longer a person. Welcome to the victims’ world of sex trafficking.
Because sex trafficking is an underground business, it may be difficult to completely stop this exploitation. Knowing the signs, watching for human sex trafficking, and acting quickly can save countless lives. Sex Trafficking is any practice that involves moving people within and across local or national boundaries for the purpose of sexual exploitation (Farr 2). It is the fastest growing crime in the United States and the second largest illegal trade after the drug industry. Human Traffickinghas been going on for over one hundred years.
Human Sex Trafficking happens all over the world, including the United States. There are approximately twenty-seven million victims of sex trafficking worldwide; three undred thousand of them are women and children bought and sold yearly here in the U. S. Of the three hundred thousand sex slaves sold in the US, 25% are forced into the business by parents orfamilymembers and 75% are former runaways. Each year, 1. 7 million children run away from home. From that number, 90% will be approached by traffickers within 48 hours. Many of which do not make it out the industry alive.
In the state of Texas alone, there are only 99 known survivors in the last 20 years whoVe managed to escape sexual slavery (Preda. org). Victims of sexual slavery are not all kidnapped, majority are tricked into the business. Most of the women trafficked into brothels posing as massage businesses are not U. S. citizens, and many do not have documented status. Therefore, traffickers use the threat of deportation to maintain control of immigrant women. Without legal status, the women frequently fear and distrust police or government authorities.
Immigrant women are vulnerable due to language barriers, unfamiliarity with their legal rights in the US, and/or the lack of a local support network. Others can be women with financial need or in debt leave the women vulnerable to recruiters, who appear to be offering legal Jobs. Sex trafficking thrives because it is low in risk and high in pay off. The United States FBI estimates about three thousand Russian mobsters control gangs in American cities that involve forced prostitution (Stoecker, Shelly 14). These groups generate 7 billion dollars yearly in the United States.
Since there are currently no consistent or accurate ways of tracking these crimes, statistics may vary. Because this is a large and very detailed business, many people are involved throughout the process. Everyone involved has a role to play to ensure the process is done quickly and smoothly. The recruiter finds and brings the victims into the industry usually by force or deception. The recruiter then sells the women to brokers or directly to employers. Brokers are the ” middleman”; they buy the women from recruiters and sell them to employers, those who own brothels or bars.
If the women are being transported from overseas, a contractor organizes the transaction. Next an Employment or Travel agent is needed. Their main purpose is to arrange a ” legitimate” Job and Job description or a” legitimate” trip. A document theft or forger obtains all the legal documentation needed to travel from country to country. The transporter travels with the women to each destination and delivers them to the recruiter. Who then sells them to the employers. The employers provide the women with a place to live and work; telling them of the working conditions, living arrangements, and lifestyle.
A large number of employers are bar or club owners, while a very small percentage of them are street pimps. For large establishments an enforcer serves as security for the place of business (Farr 63). The life of a sex slave can be compared to an animal caged in a zoo. You are brought out only to do your trick, and then locked in a cage again. Victims, usually ages 11-17, are chained to a bed or confined in small living quarter’s majority of the day until they are fed, usually something light to keep their weight down. Then they are given ice-cold showers to reduce the swelling on their bodies.
Attendants then cover-up their bruises from the night before, put make-up on the girls, and then present them to another group of men for more abuse and profit. The women usually serve 5 to 30 men a night. Many of these victims turn to drugs as a solace for the life they have been brought into. Drugs and beatings numb their capacity for thoughts of escape and further iscourage the energy or alertness required to act on their desire for freedom. Many never make it out of the industry alive (preda. org). Stopping Sex Trafficking is harder than it may seem.
There are signs of human sex trafficking that everyone should be aware of. Visible indicators may include: Heavvy security at the commercial establishment including barred windows, locked doors, isolated location, and electronic surveillance. Women are never seen leaving the premises unless escorted. Victims live at the same premises as ‘the brothel or work site, or are driven between uarters and ” work” by a guard. Victims are kept under surveillance when taken to adoctor, hospital or clinic for treatment; trafficker may act as a translator.
High foot traffic especially for brothels where there may be trafficked women indicated often by a stream of men arriving and leaving the premises. Physical signs of a person being trafficked include: malnutrition, dehydration or poor personal hygiene; sexually transmitted diseases; signs of rape or sexual abuse; bruising, broken bones, or other signs of untreated medical problems; critical illnesses includingdiabetes, cancer or eart disease; post-traumaticstressor psychological disorders (humantraffcking. org).
