So my new "trait" to work on is to become an advocate for those who cannot speak up for themselves. I have always been interested in bringing awareness to others about sex trafficking, so Ive decided to be more active and to start educating who ever wants to listen about the epidemic of sex trafficking happening right now. Anyone of you who wish to help please let me know and there are a few very simple things you can do to help.
First off I want to share some knowledge about sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others- people are coerced and deceived into commercial sex acts. Sex trafficking is considered to be one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world. 100,000 children are estimated to be in the sex trade in the United States each year and the total number of human trafficking victims in the US reaches into the hundreds of thousands. The demand for sex trafficking exists because of a couple of reasons:
1. Low Risk: the community is unaware of the issue, government institutions are not trained to respond, there are not laws to address the crime, there are no safety nets for the victims- therefore the traffikers are not effected.
2. High Profits: individuals are willing to buy commercial sex at whatever cost
Until demand is no longer there then the market for trafficked victims will continue. Most sex buyers are unaware of how these young woman/children are treated therefore they feel that the women are willing to engage in the sexual acts. In reality these victims are subjected to violence, threats, controlling behaviors, false promises, lies, and manipulation perpetrated by the traffickers/pimps. The only way to stop this from getting bigger and bigger is to educate more people and to have new laws and stricter punishments put in place.
The people who do this (The Traffickers) will lure individuals into trafficking thru control, force and coercion. Many traffickers can be or have been: Pimps/ Intimate partners/ Gang and Criminal networks/ Brother and fake massage parlor workers
Traffickers lure victims into exploitative situations by preying on their hopes to improve their lives and the lives of their families. They often promise a better life, then once the victims is where they were sent to the traffickers usually uses violence to force them into performing sexual acts.
Victims come in EVERY type of age group, socio-economic groups, nationality, and age. Human trafficking victims have been identified in cities, suburbs, and rural areas in all 50 states. Some victims are forced to work in legal and legitimate buisnesses or behind locked doors in brothels ad factories. Many victims appear to be "willing" and appear to be a prositute- when in reality they are being forced. Most victims are undocumented immigrants, runaway and homless youth, victims of trauma/abuse, and refugees.
Facilitators are also included in this "ring". In order for the sex acts to be able to occur and be advertised there must be people willing to allow it to happen in their facilities. Often the traffickers will pay these people running the places a certain amount of money each week/month making it worth it to them. Some common places are: hotels/motels, apartments, taxis and other driving services, airlines, buses, rail companies, online websites/phone books/news papers - to advertise, and banks/financial service companies.
The internet as been named the number 1 platform that pimps/traffickers are using to currently sell women and children. Traffickers use a different language that allows them to not be detected. They will often say younger girls ( such as 15 and below) are 19 or 20, or simply label them as "young" so it looks like theyre older or willing. They will also post a photo of an adult, when really the victim is a young girl. The traffickers can post anywhere they please which allows for them to sell to many more people. In the US Craigslist there were 10-16,000 adult service posting/day. The FBI found in 2008 that 2800 ads of prostituted children were posted on Craigslist. These are ALARMING numbers!!!!
A single victim may be required to sleep with as many as 15 different men per day. They usually have a standard quota to be met of anywhere from $500- $1000 per night to be made and then the money must be handed over to their trafficker.
Pimps frequently move their victims from city to city and often force their victims to engage in sexual behavior along the way at truck stops. Pimps will advertise their victims over CB radios using code. Truckers can also search online trucker boards for info on where to purchase prositution. Truckers will indicate that they are wanting sex by using their headlights or put stickers on their windows. Victims working at truck stops usually make anywhere from $5- $100 per act. So poor little children are being forced to engage in sexual acts for as little as FIVE DOLLARS!!!!
This is just a small amount of information but I wanted to briefly educate you on what I am hoping to start making people more aware of and stop this from happening so often. If your interested in helping I have some fliers that you could post at truck stops in your area or at any local buisnesses that will allow it. Also, dedicate your facebook page for a week or something like that to making this issue aware to others. You can simply put a tidbit of info from this post- or put this website: www.polarisproject.org, which has all of this info that Ive shared with you plus so much more. Thanks for taking the time to listen guys. Lets all help make a difference.
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