Sex trafficking occurs widely within the United States and generates billions in profits each year for traffickers. An estimated 300,000 American youth are at risk of sexual exploitation. Victims are often arrested and charged with crimes instead of receiving help after being rescued from traffickers. New laws aim to protect victims and allow their criminal records to be expunged.
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Abstract
Sex trafficking is a very prevalent issue that is not brought into the light in many countries.
Many people in the United States like to pretend that such a heinous crime does not occur in the
country. Sex trafficking very much exists in the United States and unfortunately, it is a very
lucrative business. Hopefully, word of this disease can spread so that others can advocate for its
destruction and salvation for its victims.
Keywords: human trafficking, forced labor, sex trafficking
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Introduction
Sex trafficking is the sexual exploitation of people who are often forced or coerced into
becoming prostitutes. Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking and involuntary servitude,
which is an umbrella term which can also refer to forced labor and domestic servitude (FBI,
n.d.). It is important to realize that trafficking and smuggling have their differences. Smuggling
is a criminal act which is voluntary, takes place before the border crossing, ends after the border
crossing, and is almost internationally committed (IACP, n.d.). Trafficking is often forced,
entails exploitation of the person being trafficked, and can absolutely happen domestically
(IACP, n.d.). Sex trafficking is definitely an issue in other parts of the world, however
Americans either do not know or do not like to think that it is taking place in the United States.
The fact of the matter is that sex trafficking absolutely occurs within the American borders and it
is not just women abroad who are being exploited. There are many women who are forced into
sex trafficking who are American citizens as well. This paper will entail the prevalence of sex
trafficking in the United States, the data on revenue generated, and the ramifications of victims
after rescue.
Prevalence of Sex Trafficking in the United States
As stated earlier, Americans often times do not know that such a heinous act occurs right
in the United States’ borders. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported that in
2016, they had received 3,646 cases of human trafficking reported and sex trafficking consisted
of 2,678 of the total reported (2016). Federal forces, between the years of 2008 and 2010, had
opened 2,515 suspected cases of human trafficking and 8 out of 10 of the cases were cases of sex
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trafficking (Banks and Kyckelhahn, 2011). Even more so, Americans like to believe that this
crime cannot happen to American citizens. The prevailing notion among Americans is that these
crimes usually are inflicted on people from abroad, however 83% of confirmed victims of sex
trafficking were found to be Americans (Banks and Kyckelhahn, 2011). The United States has a
population of over 300 million citizens, however an estimated 293,000 youth are in danger of
being sexually exploited due to several risk factors such as abuse and neglect (Walker-Rodriguez
and Hill, 2011). These troubled youths often would turn to prostitution in order to fuel their
habits, however most of the time, they are coerced or forced into becoming entangled in large
prostitution networks wherein they are sexually abused and exploited. Even more unsettling is
how accessible this industry is to many of the johns. Massage parlors are still used as a front for
brothels and many residential homes are used to run sex trafficking businesses. As recently as
this August, there have been two cases that involved both types of locations. A case in San
Gabriel, California saw 5 being arrested for using residential homes as their base of operations
(Gonzales, 2016). In Dallas, Texas, 15 women were arrested for running brothels in their
massage parlors (Downs, 2016). With the advent of the internet, johns have a much easier time
accessing resources in order to sexually exploit women. Sites such as Craigslist and Backpage
are infamous for thinly veiled ads that entice men to exploit women who are forced to take up
prostitution (ABC News, 2016). Posting ads on these websites requires the most rudimentary of
computer skills and can generally allow for much easier access to victims of sex trafficking. Sex
trafficking happens much more than people like to think and these criminal acts are often done
within the borders of the United States.
Revenue Generated by Sex Trafficking
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As with most criminal enterprises, human trafficking is a very lucrative business. People
often choose to live a life forcing others to do their bidding because it often leads to revenue
generation. Anecdotal data from a trafficker in Canada stated that they earned about 180,000
USD from the first eight months of sexual exploitation and massage parlors in Australia have
earned 55,000-65,000 USD in their two years of operation (UNODC, 2014). The International
Labor Organization suggests that, in recent years, human trafficking has been able to yield over
150 billion USD a year in contrast to 2005 (which was 44 billion USD) (Luscombe, 2014). In
Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, Siddarth Kara estimates that, in 2007,
sexual slavery yielded 51.3 billion USD and after costs, had a profit of over 35 billion USD
(2010). In addition, Kara, mentions that all forms of human trafficking yielded 58.6 billion USD
and after costs, had a profit of over 39.7 billion USD (2010). This means that the profit margin
for sexual slavery was 70% and the profit margin for all forms of human trafficking was only
about 67%. Many of the larger companies recently have not been able to break 30% for their
profit margin (i.e. Google and Microsoft). The demand for sex will always be there as long as
there is a supply of “easy” ways to reach it. With the advent of the internet, many brothels have
had much more exposure than in the past. Johns are able to find these brothels much easier and
they are able to turn a much higher profit before, thus providing incentives to start such
operations.
Survivors of Sex Trafficking
Most people would expect that once a location has been raided and the perpetrators have
been apprehended, that the victims of sex trafficking are rescued. The expectation among most
people is that the victims are put through counseling to assist them through their ordeal and to
reintegrate them back into society. However, the truth is usually much grimmer. What usually
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occurs is that the victims are charged with various crimes and are often sent through the legal
system while having to assist prosecutors with their cases. Many victims often do not speak of
their experiences to the police and the police arresting victims is not conducive to their attempts
to obtain information from the victims (Soohoo, 2015). Being arrested is a traumatic experience
that is only heightened especially after being held captive for a long period of time. The
emotional and psychological trauma caused from captivity and arrest can carry on into daily life
and thus make reintegration into society very difficult. Prostitution is illegal in every state
(except several counties in Nevada) and many of these states do not make exceptions (Soohoo,
2015). Therefore, the prevailing logic among law enforcement is to arrest victims of sex
trafficking because they have technically committed a crime; even though they were forced to do
so. Law enforcement’s view on minor crimes is that, if left unchecked, it would lead to an
increase of major crimes; the police also enforces laws against prostitutions utilizing raids in
which they would arrest the sex workers as well as the traffickers. In New York, 2012, 2,962
arrests were made for prostitution chargers, while only 34 were arrested for trafficking (Soohoo,
2015). Luckily, in recent years, there have been steps taken to assist victims through their
ordeals. In 2016, Karen Gillibrand (a New York senator) introduced The Trafficking Survivors
Relief Act which would allow for victim’s criminal records to be expunged (Powell, 2016). The
TSRA is what would be considered a safe harbor law. Safe harbor laws are laws that assist and
protect those who have been sexually exploited (Polaris, 2015). Generally, safe harbor laws
have provisions that protect the victim, as well as, allow access to help that the victim may need
(counseling, medical services, etc.) (Polaris, 2015).
Conclusion
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Sex trafficking is a practice that is an epidemic worldwide. It is a criminal act in which
people are forced against their will to participate in sexual exploitation. As stated earlier, this is
an issue that many people are either just not aware of or would not like to think about. However,
as seen with the data provided, sex trafficking is not only occurring frequently in the United
States, it is also not stopping. Sex trafficking is run like a business and like most businesses, its
main purpose is to generate revenue. However, unlike most businesses, sex trafficking profit
margins are unusually high. The high profit margins and the ease of accessibility (renting a
business and intimidation tactics for recruitment) for such a crime gives many criminals
incentives into taking part of such an enterprise. If the brothel they were running were to be
raided, the victims would be arrested as well. These victims will have technically committed the
crime of prostitution, even though they were forced to do so. It has also been seen that the
victims were forced to commit other crimes and the police often times charges them with those
offenses. After being held in captivity for so long, only to be rescued by the police and be
arrested by them leads to a wide distrust in the police and the outside world. Not only would the
police not receive assistance in convicting the traffickers, but also this could lead to problems
with reintegration into society because the victims are not receiving the help that they need. In
fact, they would be receiving more emotional and psychological trauma that would only damage
them further. Hopefully, law enforcement could dedicate more time and resources to prevent
crimes such as this in American borders, as well as, protect and assist victims who desperately
require help after they have been rescued.
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References
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