Sex trafficking starts with abduction, for the most part, it’s of a young, weak, troubled person. They are then dominated and made become subservient to another person. The reason for this is to exploit the victim. They are forced to have sex with others in exchange for money or other material things by their abductor.
Sex trafficking exists all over the world in both urban and rural areas. In The United States, Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPA) protects minors from sex trafficking. However, there are no laws to properly protect adults from sexual exploitation and human sex trafficking.
A major reason for this is that it is very difficult to prove that sex trafficking is actually going on. In order to bring a supposed trafficker to justice you must have actual facts and hard truth. The best way to do this is to have a victim come forward on their own. The majority of the time victims are often young. Runaways who are victims of prolonged abuse, sometimes from foster families, or have taken to drugs, are poor, foreign, and most of all very frightened. The majority of them come from broken homes. Due to all the above, they fall into sex abuse and sex trafficking very easily.
What is sex trafficking?
Forcing someone to work as a prostitute, in pornography, or for an escort service by putting pressure physically or mentally is sex abuse and sex trafficking.
- A victim is recruited by forcing them to work using lies, threats, and or violence. To dominate and control every aspect of their lives against their will is very effective especially if the victim is weak. Working in the sex business they work for a sex trafficker who completely takes over their lives. Usually, they are very badly treated and live in poor conditions.
Methods of recruitment
- The promise of a legitimate paid job is often offered. It is usually acting or modeling.
- Entrapment into a believed romantic relationship.
- Shelter and financial support are promised.
- Being sold to someone by a family member.
Causes of human sex trafficking
Poverty is the main factor in people becoming sex traffickers. Families sell their children to traffickers who claim that they will get them jobs. Instead, they sell them into a form of slavery for unpaid jobs like prostitution. Usually, the victim is minor and totally unaware of this and will only know that they will no longer be living with their family.
No jobs or legitimate work foster sex trafficking.
- Conflict and Natural Disasters force migration into other countries where there are no jobs but sex work.
- Profit exists only for the trafficker
- Migration Scams are where legitimate work is promised in another country, but only a sex-related job exists.
- Traffickers make a lot of money through sex exploitation.
- Lack of protection laws for adult victims encourages sex trafficking as traffic is not l. illegal.
- Demand for cheap sex labor in commercialized sex work. Pimps are the only ones who make money here.
Poor or no human rights laws to protect victims.
Causes of Human Sex Trafficking
- Poverty is the main factor in people becoming sex traffickers. Families sell their children to traffickers who claim that they will get them jobs. Instead, they sell them into a form of slavery for unpaid jobs like prostitution. Usually, the victim is minor and totally unaware of this and will only know that they will no longer be living with their family.
- The lack of protection laws for adult victims encourages sex trafficking as traffic is not illegal.
- Demand for cheap sex labor in commercialized sex work. Pimps are the only ones who make money here.
- Poor or no human rights laws to protect victims.
- No jobs or legitimate work foster sex trafficking.
- Conflict and Natural Disasters force migration into other countries where there are no jobs but sex work.
- Profit exists only for the trafficker
- Migration Scams are where legitimate work is promised in another country, but only a sex-related job exists.
- Traffickers make a lot of money through sex exploitation.
Who are the Traffickers?
- For the most part worldwide men play the part of traffickers. In many cases, they themselves are drug addicts, have some sort of gang affiliations, and are con men or convicts. Most innocent, troubled, insecure young girls find their traffickers strong and admire them for the false strength they portray. These girls fall into a trap because they believe that these men genuinely care about them, since these girls have been love-starved or troubled their whole life they fall victim to these men. In time some come to realize that they are just being used by the men for sex, and usually, the men convince the girl to also have sexual relations with another man at first, and in time with multiple men. Most of the time the girl is not aware that the man is a pimp and that she is his meal ticket. All too often it is too late for the girl to escape from this life as a sex slave as she lives in total fear of the man that she was sure loved her. She is convinced that there is no escape from this life.
- Women also of low moral standards work together with the male trafficker who is usually a pimp. Their primary function is to befriend troubled young girls who are women with apparent false pretenses such as friendship and concern. The young girls are in need of employment and need money, in some cases, these girls are given money by the woman to prove friendship or concern. The woman then introduces the girl to a pimp who paints a rosy picture of her promising work to repay this woman. Once the girl accepts the pimp will get only sex work for her. Here too, the girl feels obligated and frightened and accepts the sex work.
