Sexual Exploitation on the Rise

Sexual exploitation, which includes but is not limited to prostitution and sex trafficking, has escalated throughout the 20th and 21st century. This increase in objectifying and degrading women is creating a world where there will never be true equality between men and women because it ensures that men will refuse to quit viewing women as objects of sexual pleasure rather than beings, unless sexploitation comes to an end.

There are many false beliefs about prostitution in today’s world. Many people consider prostitution to be the world’s oldest profession, but contrary to popular belief “prostitution is not the world’s oldest profession...although it is probably one of the world’s oldest forms of men’s violence against women and girls.” (Hughes). Another popular belief about prostitution is that the women always choose to partake in it and therefore they must want to do it. What some people seem to lack understanding of is that yes, some women do simply choose it because they want to do it, but the majority of prostitutes are forced to choose it. It’s almost always a last resort. “Most women only “choose” [prostitution or the the sex industry in general] because [sexploitation] is a way to abuse and control women that socializes and coerces women until they comply, take ownership of their own subordinate status, and say, “I choose this.”” (Hughes). This mentality is especially true for young women who are born into poverty because most girls who live in poverty follow a very similar cycle which is that they get pregnant at a very young age, sometimes as young as fifteen, and then if they survive childbirth they choose to sell their bodies in order to support their family. Although most women emerge from prostitution as poor as th...

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...f jail time needs to be enforced. Also there needs to be someone or something put in place which focuses solely on the capture of those who traffic to take down and eventually eliminate the system of sex trafficking as a whole.

Next, there are things one can do as an individual to possibly help eliminate the issue of sex trafficking such as being able to tell the difference between a brothel that supplies prostitutes and a brothel that trafficks women. …….

Lastly, it also has to be recognized that a woman's body must be hers. It must be her choice to do with her body what she pleases one hundred percent of the time which would most likely lead to the abolishment of sex trafficking as a whole. Women shouldn’t be able to be treated as if they’re slaves by being bought and sold. Women should be treated as if they’re human beings who deserve all the same rights as men.