The New Slaves: Sex Trafficking in America
When most Americans hear the term ‘sex trafficking’ thoughts of helpless women and children in poor, developing, countries come to mind. However, most Americans would be downright shocked and dismayed to learn that many victims of sex trafficking reside right here in the United States. Moreover, many of the victims of sex trafficking in America were victimized by other Americans. This is a pressing national issue to which neither small, rural towns or large, urban cities is immune.
What is Sex Trafficking?
According to the US State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons report, Sex trafficking is defined as:
The act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion…
defining what constitutes sex trafficking is important because it allows for non-victims to identify possible victims of sex trafficking, and it creates a clear and distinct framework in which to identify, capture, charge, and convict the perpetrators of sex trafficking in the United States.
Who are the victims of Sex Trafficking?
Sex trafficking victims span all races, ages, gender, etc. Many of the victims of sex trafficking in america are usually impoverished, poorly educated, and live in areas that afford very little upward mobility or opportunities to make a living.
Many adult trafficking victims in the United states were swindled by seemingly innocuous work opportunities only to learn that these “opportunities” are anything but. Some victims may enter the sex trade as consenting prostitutes but quickly fall prey to traffickers who often employ manipulative, and in many cases forceful, tactics to ensure that the victim rem...
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...sons both worldwide and domestically. The Acts authorized the establishment of G/TIP and the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to assist in the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts.
The TVPA was passed as a means of prohibiting trafficking, punishing traffickers, and protecting victims. The act was the first of its kind, in that it comprehensively addresses the issues inherent to sex trafficking, creates criminal statutes that prohibit trafficking, and calls for the creation of public awareness programs that aim to prevent human trafficking. The revised version of the act also offers protections and aid to victims of sex trafficking. While some critics of the act argue that the law does not do enough to prevent trafficking, many laud the act as a huge step forward in eradicating sex trafficking in the United States.
In America, prostitution, pornography, and stripping are all considered acts of sexual trafficking when they are forced on the victim. This increased crime has led to victimization, physical and psychological effects and after-effects of American and international victims. The government is aware of the slavery of humans taking place in this country and it has to release funds in creating programs for sex trafficking survivors and re-authorize the act that protects sex trafficking victims, in order to support the equal rights for every citizen. In 2000, the United States Congress came together in Washington D.C, to take a stand against sex trafficking. Laws and programs that protected women from violence were implemented, and they made sure that people who violated such laws were put to justice....
As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
This journal article examines the issue of minor sex trafficking in the U.S and provides the reader with the results of the research that was conducted on the matter at hand. A data analysis consisting of 115 minor sex trafficking was thoroughly examined and studied. The information surrounding these cases was collected using two specific methods. One method included the reviewing of press releases of human trafficking cases issued by the Department of Justice. The second method was to obtain information via online searches of media reports.
Sex trafficking is a sex act by force where money is involved. Buying or selling someone for sexual acts. Examples are strip clubs, porn, and prostitution. Sex trafficking is todays slavery. Many of those involved in sex trafficking were minors when they first got involved and have been involved for many
Psychological aspects generally play a huge role in these cases, and victims are often verbally and emotionally abused.... ... middle of paper ... ... Whether it be a matter of turning a blind eye or simply not knowing, human trafficking takes place every day, in every state in the United States of America, home of the free.
Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation and provision of a person for the purpose of commercial sex. American trafficking victims are estimated to be between 100,000 and 300,000. Most of these are from the million are so children that are thrown out of their home or they have run away usually to escape abuse and/or sexual violence. (Shelley, pg. 230) The law says that a person under the age of 18 has to have been defrauded, forced or coerced into the sex trade against their will. Sex trafficking venues are wide and vast. Victims of sex trafficking can be found in brothels, strip clubs, esc...
Sexual exploitation exploits women and provides a vehicle for racism in a “first world” country like America, where victimization rates are disproportionately higher with “third world” women (O'Connor & Healy, 2007). Goodson is an anti-trafficking activist, is director of international programs for Shared Hope International which is an organization who works with victims of sex trafficking. From her experience, many victims are poor and are sexually abused children and young adults who are swayed by the promises of a better life. Once they reach the United States, the victims are psychologically and physically abused. In the United States, victims of international sex trafficking come primarily from South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa through states such as Florida, California and New York (Goodson, 2006). The U.S. Department of State estimates that about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked across national borders annually. Furthermore, it is estimated that 17,500 to 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. annually, with Florida receiving a high percentage of those victims. Although the people who enter the United States are often not legally permitted to enter the United States, Lagon asserts that it is important to note the difference between human
An estimated 20.9 million people are currently being trafficked worldwide (The Polaris Project, 2014). According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, reauthorized in 2013), sex trafficking is defined as, “A commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, and/or in which the person induced to...
The United States is a major port for human trafficking and, “Due to the covert nature of human trafficking, it is difficult to ascertain which countries are the primary source nations for trafficking into the US” (Hepburn). People of all ages and genders are at risk to human trafficking (Hepburn). Women and girls make up about fifty-six percent of the people trafficked for forced labor, while men and boys make up the other forty-four percent; children make up forty to fifty percent of those numbers (Hepburn). Ninety-eight percent of the people trafficked for sexual explorations are women and girls (Hepburn). Children tend to be targeted more than adults because they are much more vulnerable. Human trafficking has different forms, and “While trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation is more publicized in the media, it is not the only form of trafficking that takes place in the US” (Hepburn). Trafficking for the purposes of forced labor is just as likely to occur as trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation (Hepburn). Many citizens have never heard of human trafficking for something other than sexual exploitation. Hepburn shows that, “Forty-three percent are trafficked for purposes of...
Defining human trafficking can be difficult due to the fact that it can be confused with other illegal activities such as smuggling and consented prostitution. In the essay Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery In The 21st Century , Shaden Mohajerin states that human trafficking can be defined as the transferring, harboring, and transportation of persons which is accomplished through force, coercion, kidnapping, and deception (...
Sex trafficking is when women, young girls, and young boys are held in slavery and forced into prostitution for the financial gain of others in brothels in the United States, Europe, and other developing countries such as Thailand and the Philippines (Sexual Slavery). It’s happened to many women and children throughout many years in many of these countries for money and more power. Often purchased or kidnapped off the street, women, girls, and boys are trafficked across international
In order to understand how sex trafficking affects its victims, one must first know the severity of sex trafficking and what it is. The issue of sex trafficking affects 2.5 million people at any given time (Abas et al., 2013). The form of sex slavery affects many women and children across the world. Even though both males and females are sexually trafficked and exploited, there is a deep emphasis on the sexual exploitation of women and children. This is due to gender discrimination (Miller, 2006). This is because women and children are more vulnerable and appeal to the larger populations of brothels and the so-called “clients” since the majority are men. Ecclestone (2013) stated that children as young as age three are trafficked. Sex trafficking has changed over time; “Today, the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent. These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). It is found that many of the victims of sex trafficking are abducted, recruited, transported and forced into involuntary “sex work”. These sexual acts include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, and sexual escort services (McClain & Garrity, 2011). What happens to these sex trafficking victims is extremely traumatizing.
Sex trafficking is essentially systemic rape for profit. Force, fraud and coercion are used to control the victim’s behavior which may secure the appearance of consent to please the buyer (or john). Behind every transaction is violence or the threat of violence (Axtell par. 4). Just a decade ago, only a third of the countries studied by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had legislation against human trafficking. (Darker Side, par.1) Women, children, and even men are taken from their homes, and off of the streets and are brought into a life that is almost impossible to get out of. This life is not one of choice, it is in most times by force. UNODC estimates that the total international human trafficking is a $32-billion-per-year business, and that 79% of this activity comprises sexual exploitation. As many as 2 million children a year are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, according the the U.S. State Department.-- Cynthia G. Wagner. (Darker Side, par. 4) The words prostitute, pimp, escort, and stripper tend to be way too common in the American everyday vocabulary. People use these words in a joking manner, but sex trafficking is far from a joke. Everyday, from all different countries, people are bought and sold either by force or false promises. Some are kidnapped and others come to America with dreams of a dream life and job. The buyers involved in the trade will do anything to purchase an innocent life just to sell for their own selfish profit. Many people wouldn’t think of a human body to be something you can buy in the back room of a business or even online. But those plus the streets are where people are sold most often. There are many reasons and causes for sex trafficking. The factors behind sex traffic...
Sex trafficking is a form of contemporary slavery that induces and forces people into a commercial sex trade against their will. Many factors contribute to the sex trade and the exploitation occurs mostly to women and children. Through the age, gender, class, and race many are trapped in a never-ending cycle of coercion and abuse in order to survive in the corrupt society around them.
One reason why human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of is because it secretly takes place in the United States. Between 2007 and 2012, there were reports of 9,298 different cases of human trafficking (Polaris Project). An example of how unknown this topic is is that 41% of sex trafficking cases and 20% of labor trafficking cases were proven to have United States citizens as victims (Polaris Project). And this is only what we know so far. There are thousands of cases that we don’t know about. Many people also don’t know that men, women, and even children are also taken hostage by human traffickers. An example of this would be that out of those 9,298 cases that were reported, women were victims of sex trafficking in 85% of those cases. Men were victims of labor trafficking in 40% of those cases (Polaris Project). Approximately 300,000 children are at risk of being prostituted in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice). Children are even more under the radar than we know about. On average, one in three teenagers on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving their home (National Runaway Hotline). For example, two female friends who were minors ran away from home and were prom...