Sex Trafficking Essay

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 of the largest targets for sex traffickers is a child. Since children are considered vulnerable they are easily coerced or kidnapped and made to perform sexual acts for others and live in debt to their owner or pimp. “Sex traffickers frequently target vulnerable people with histories of abuse and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage,

Females are targeted more than males due to their vulnerability, position as being lower than men, and the sexual preferences of society. Many cultures view woman as a possession used for sex and they do not have sexual rights to her own body. “Exploitative employers prefer to use trafficked women—traditionally seen as submissive, cheap, and pliable—for simple and repetitive tasks in agriculture, food processing, labor-intensive manufacturing, and domestic servitude” (US Department of State). Since women are more likely to depend on their husbands for support, often times they are forced into the migrant work of the sex trade if the husband is unable to provide or they become widowed. “As commercial sex is illegal in most countries, traffickers use the resulting illegal status of migrant women that have been trafficked into commercial sex to threaten or coerce them against leaving” (U.S. Department of State). Although women are targeted at much higher rates than men, Anti-trafficking programs and institutions do not focus their efforts directly on

Department of Health and Human Services).
Although many claim race to no longer be an issue in America, it is apparent through the treatment and abuse of racial minorities that race does play a factor in human trafficking and those being sexually exploited.
Sex trafficking is a world wide epidemic. It targets unknowing victims such as women and children enslaving them and exploiting their innocence. Human trafficking is becoming one of the biggest money making organized crimes in the world. The sex trade is one of the most profitable of all current slave trades. 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. In order to stop this monstrosity in the world, we need to start at the root of the problem. We must bridge the barriers between gender, class, and race in order to respect one another and live in harmony