Sex Trafficking in America

When one thinks about sex trafficking they immediately think about the problems in Southeast Asia or Europe but they fail to recognize the issue in America. According to Sexual Politics in an edition of Women Worldwide, trafficking affects virtually every region of the world; The United States is not excluded at all. Now what is sex trafficking exactly? Well it is exactly what it sounds like. Just as there is trading for drugs and stolen art, there is trading of people.

In my opinion it is another way to view modern slavery. When a person sees that word “slavery” they flash to the history lessons in high school when they had to learn of the past involving African American slaves. That is the problem; they only think that it is a problem of the past. They need to understand that the slavery today takes the form of sex trafficking. The only change is the difference of jobs the slaves are forced to perform. Some people fail to recognize that slavery is all around us today and a growing problem. Others think that it is not important as other subjects such as murder or financial crashes but they are wrong.

This post seeks to increase awareness and knowledge of sex trafficking in America. The state department estimates that approximately 14,000 to 18,000 people are trafficked into the United States annually. Although estimating a more specific number is difficult because many rape victims do not report the crime and some may be reluctant to contact any form of authority because of they fear the outcome. They may fear that the original trafficker could find out what happened and want revenge on them or fear that the police may not believe them or take them seriously. There is also the shame that the victim could be feeling and they could possibly think that the best way to feel better is forget everything instead of dealing with the stress of trying to put their perpetrator behind bars.

Why does sex trafficking happen? Why does anything illegal happen? Simple: quick profits. The International Labor Organization estimates that global profits made from forced labor averages a little over $44 billion every year. Human trafficking is a crime that reaps high profits at low risks for traffickers. Of course none of the profits go to the ones doing all the work, the people being forced to have sex with strangers. For some if they are even caught with money they get beat. 60% of trafficked victims into the United States are females and 50% are children. That means that sometimes the victims don’t have the physical capabilities to fight back or even defend themselves.

Some people wonder how girls get dragged into the industry in the first place. They think “don’t they know not to trust strangers?” or “Why wasn’t anyone watching over them?” Assumptions are made but few know the true power of traffickers. Many times the victim knows the perpetrator and has a certain amount of trust in them. Traffickers make a living charming and tricking people, so when high-tense situations come around, victims think they’re the good guys. Without fully knowing what they’re getting into, victims get dragged into the dark world of sex trafficking.

According to an article on the official CBS Minnesota website, because of the explosion and expansion of social media in the last few years, it has become easier and to find targets. Young girls and boys now and days will friend anyone without fully knowing who they are or what their intentions are. They have become too trusting of strangers on the internet. It has given traffickers a direct path into peoples’ lives. Sex traffickers tend to target children and women, using creative schemes designed to trick, coerce, and win the trust of potential victims. Some may think this only happens in movies but they do not know the harsh reality of fake profiles online. If one tries hard enough, they can find out all the information they need to know about a person online; where they work, where they go to school or live. That makes it easy for kidnappings to happen or for the perpetrator to purposely insert themselves in the victim’s life.

Modeling industries are used as common bait also. Ambitious young teens look to become famous by finding modeling agents and they trust them because of their smooth talking ways and promises to make them famous. Some may even create elaborate fake profiles and portfolios to impress and gain the trust of hundreds of girls. There could also be real modeling agencies but corrupt members of the company looking to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, after finding the true intentions, some girls have no way out. Some are threatened; intimidated or even kidnapped and they are left with no other choice but to comply.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation ranks Minnesota as 13^th in the nation for the highest incidence of sex trafficking. Some would be surprised that a normal mid-western state like MN could have such a problem. So why is this terrible business rampant here? Jeff Bauer of the Twin Cities based family Partnership Organization says part of it is because of geography of the state. We have 94 going east and west and 35 going north and south and so that makes it easy for a lot of traffic to go through. The Mall of America also is a big human trafficking hub. Because it is the biggest mall in America, it generates a lot of activity and attracts over 40 million people yearly. According to the official Mall of America website, 4 out of 10 visitors that go to the mall are tourists and that makes for a lot of potential threats. With so many people to monitor, security can also have trouble keeping track of potential traffickers or victims. Luckily, there are some precautions taken like how on weekends and certain weeknights, security will only let people under the age of 18 in if they are accompanied by an adult over 21.

On a national security level, The U.S. Department of Homeland security is responsible for investigating human trafficking, making arrests and protecting victims. They have hundreds of deep investigations every year and make sure to see traffickers behind bars. To further the effort to end sex trafficking, in 2010 DHS launched something called the Blue Campaign. It was something that could combat human trafficking more efficiently. It was a plan to enhance public awareness, training, victim assistance and law enforcement. The campaign created a variety of resources to inform people about the crimes happening around them and how to report suspicious behavior.

Although there have been serious efforts made to raise awareness and prevent sex trafficking, the results don’t show the progress that is wanted. Trafficking has been going on for so long it is difficult to create an immediate big change. Luckily there are groups that do not give up and spread the word when possible about the crimes. They remind that sex trafficking does not only belong to “developing” countries but “established” countries such as ours. It shows that as great as our country is, there are major issues that need to be addressed by more people and major changes that need to happen to make us a stronger nation.

Works Cited

Hodge, DR. "Sexual Trafficking In The United States: A Domestic Problem With Transnational Dimensions." Social Work 53.2 (2008): 143-152. CINAHL Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

Logan, TK, R Walker, and G Hunt. "Understanding Human Trafficking in the United States." Trauma, Violence & Abuse. 10.1 (2009): 3-30. Print.

Heiges, M. "From the Inside Out: Reforming State and Local Prostitution Enforcement to Combat Sex Trafficking in the United States and Abroad." Minnesota Law Review. 94.2 (2009): 428-466. Print.

Kotrla, K. "Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking In The United States." Social Work 55.2 (2010): 181-187. CINAHL Complete. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

GARRETT-AKINSANYA, BRAVADA. "Human Trafficking: The New Slavery."Http://www.insightnews.com/. N.p., 2 Mar. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Pereira, Charmaine. "Sexual Politics." Women Worldwide. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2011. 178-84. Print.