SEX TRAFFICKING

What is sex trafficking?

Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery. A victim is forced, in one of a variety of ways, into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s) and then used by said trafficker(s) to give sexual services to customers.

Sex trafficking is one of the biggest criminal businesses and it has been described as ‘the fastest growing criminal industry in the world’. Due to the covertness of sex trafficking, obtaining accurate, reliable statistics is difficult for researchers. The global commercial profits for sexual slavery are staggering.

Most victims find themselves in coercive or abusive situations from which escape is both difficult and dangerous. Locations where this practice occurs span the globe and reflect an intricate web between nations, making it very difficult to construct viable solutions to this human rights problem.

Sex trafficking occurs in a range of venues including fake massage businesses, via online ads or escort services, in residential brothels, on the street or at truck stops, or at hotels and motels.

Sex trafficking misconceptions

Human trafficking (of which sex trafficking is one kind) is not to be confused with human smuggling. Human trafficking for sexual or other labour may involve transporting victims across international borders, but to meet the definition of trafficking, there needs only to be exploitation of an individual after they have been coerced or deceived, so it does not necessarily involve transportation across national borders.

Sex trafficking is also commonly conflated with prostitution. The difference is that prostitutes claim it is entirely their choice, while those who have been sex trafficked are victims. Some argue that prostitution is also a kind of sex trafficking in the sense that it is often their last option to earn money.

Types of sex trafficking

The situations that sex trafficking victims face vary dramatically. Many victims become romantically involved with someone who then forces or manipulates them into prostitution. Others are lured in with false promises of a job, such as modelling or dancing. Some are forced to sell sex by their parents or other family members. They may be involved in a trafficking situation for a few days or weeks or may remain in the same trafficking situation for years.

Pimp-controlled trafficking

In pimp-controlled trafficking, the victim is controlled by a single trafficker, sometimes called a pimp. The victim can be controlled by the trafficker physically, psychologically, and/ or emotionally. To obtain control over their victims, traffickers will use force, drugs, emotional tactics as well as financial means. In certain circumstances, they will even resort to various forms of violence, such as gang rape and mental and physical abuse. Traffickers sometimes use offers of marriage, threats, intimidation, brainwashing and kidnapping as means of obtaining victims.

A common process is for the trafficker to first gain the trust of the victim, called the grooming stage. They seek to make the victim dependent on them. The trafficker may express love and admiration, make lofty promises such as making the victim a star, offer them a job or an education or buy them a ticket to a new location. The main types of work offered are in the catering and hotel industry, in bars and clubs, modelling contracts, or au pair work. Once the victim is comfortable, the pimp moves to the seasoning stage, where they will ask the victim to perform sexual acts for the pimp, which the victim may do because they believe it is the only way to keep the trafficker’s affection. The requests progress from there and it can be difficult for the victim to escape.

Another tactic is for traffickers to kidnap their victims, and then drug them or secure them so they cannot escape.

After the victim has joined the offender, various techniques are used to restrict the victim’s access to communication with home, such as imposing physical punishment unless the victim complies with the trafficker’s demands and making threats of harm and even death to the victim and their family. Sometimes, the victims will succumb to the Stockholm syndrome because their captors will pretend to love and need them, even going so far as to promise marriage and future stability. This is particularly effective with younger victims because they are more inexperienced and therefore easily manipulated.

Those who traffic young girls into prostitution are often women who have been trafficked themselves. As adults, they use personal relationships and trust in their villages of origin to recruit additional girls.

Gang-controlled trafficking

Gang-controlled sex trafficking and pimp-controlled sex trafficking run their operations in very similar ways. The largest difference between the two is that gang-controlled trafficking is run by a large group of people whereas pimp-controlled trafficking is run by only one person. One money-making source that many people do not necessarily associate with gangs is human sex trafficking. Gangs are now turning to sex trafficking as it is seen as safer and more lucrative than drug trafficking. The gangs can make larger amounts of money quicker by selling other people’s bodies and are less likely to get caught.

In certain circumstances, gangs may team up with other gangs in the area and work together as a sex ring. There are a several reasons that gangs make this decision. One reason is that it enables them to increase profits by trading different girls, women, boys, or men. This gives their client, also known as a john, a greater variety of options to choose from. Clients are often willing to pay a larger price for a sexual experience with someone new. Another reason that gangs will share females is because this makes it more difficult for law enforcement to keep track of the victims, ultimately preventing them from making a positive identification.

Gang members often wear certain types of clothing or colours to prove their commitment or loyalty to the gang. It is also very common to represent your gang by branding your body with tattoos. Unfortunately, many victims of sex trafficking are being branded as well. By forcing a tattoo onto their victims, they are essentially marking their territory and officially displaying ownership of that person.

Familial trafficking

In familial trafficking, the victim is controlled by family members who allow them to be sexually exploited in exchange for something of value, such as drugs or money. For example, a mother may allow a boyfriend to abuse a child in exchange for housing. Usually, it begins with one family member and spreads from there. Familial trafficking may be difficult to detect because these children often have a larger degree of freedom and may still attend school and after-school functions. These children may not understand that they are being trafficked or may not have a way out.

Familial trafficking is considered by some to be the most prevalent form of human sex trafficking. Many families from impoverished areas (India, Thailand, Philippines, etc.) find themselves in situations where debt or tradition calls for the selling of a loved one, most commonly female. In Thailand, there is a tradition known as bhun kun, which establishes the youngest daughter as financially responsible for her parents as they grow old. Many children are sold to repay debts, or merely to put food on the table for their family for a month.

Forced marriage

A forced marriage is a marriage where one or both participants are married without their freely given consent, often being threatened by family members or the bride/groom.

A forced marriage qualifies as a form of human trafficking in certain situations. If a woman is sent abroad, forced into the marriage, and then repeatedly compelled to engage in sexual conduct with her new husband, then her experience is that of sex trafficking. If the bride is treated as a domestic servant by her new husband and/or his family, then this is a form of labour trafficking.

Survival sex

In survival sex, the victim is not necessarily controlled by another person but feels they have to perform sexual acts to obtain basic commodities to survive. In addition to money, persons engaging in survival sex may trade sexual favours for food, shelter, or drugs. The most reported cases are the youth that perform sexual acts for shelter or a place to sleep. Those who perform the trafficking include immediate family, boyfriends, employers, and strangers. Those who are at a higher risk of survival sex include runaways, homeless, foster kids, and orphans.

Who is most at risk of sex trafficking?

When people think or talk about sex trafficking a very common question people will ask is, ‘Where do they find people to traffic?’ In many cases, traffickers will scope girls out at malls and parties. They also often seek out female runaways from their neighbourhood. Many of the girls they look for have been physically or sexually abused, have low self-esteem, struggle with drug and alcohol dependency, or are seeking a home/family environment.

Traffickers are using the Internet and social media at an increasing rate to find victims, research potential victims, control their victims and advertise their victims. Traffickers also use social media posts to establish patterns and track the locations of potential victims. Traffickers often target people who post things that indicate that they are depressed, have low self-esteem or are angry with their parents.

Vulnerable populations are frequently targeted by traffickers, including runaway and homeless youth, as well as victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, war, or social discrimination

How to prevent sex trafficking

As social media can be a large form of recruiting victims, it can also be a useful tool in preventing sex trafficking. Since teenagers are constantly going through Twitter and Instagram, posting possible prevention methods and information on the topic is a great way to inform your peers. It is also a fast way of posting potential dangerous/suspicious areas to avoid.

Small but crucial safety tips should be taught in school and at home for children to be more cautious and aware of their surroundings when they could be in danger.

One of the most common forms of abduction/coercion are in parking lots, especially if it’s dark outside and not many people around. It is important to always be looking at your surroundings if you are in this position.