Victims of a Devastating Crime
Sex trafficking takes on a variety of different forms, but in general the U.S. Department of State describes it as the “act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud or coercion.”
Women and girls can end up forced into the sex trade for a variety of reasons, including false promises of a better life — perhaps in a safer place with a good job. They may be offered jobs as nannies, models, dancers, or waiters in vibrant cities that seem to present the opportunity to break free from the chains of poverty. Men and boys could be offered construction or farming jobs that similarly promise steady wages.
But people from safe, middle-class or wealthier homes can end up caught in the trade, too, through other promises, such as modeling or acting opportunities or some kind of companionship, such as a romantic relationship, friendship, or familial bond.
Regardless, the opportunities do not exist.
Instead, the traffickers use violence and psychological manipulation to control their victims. Sometimes they say the victims have to pay back some kind of “debt” the traffickers say the victims owe. Or they might threaten the victims’ families.
Those are just some examples. The problem of sex trafficking is pervasive and affects families across the social spectrum.
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Sex trafficking of women and girls is a devastating crime affecting communities everywhere in this country, including your own backyard. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center has received reports of trafficking cases in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. You might think you’re far removed from this modern-day slavery, but you’re not.
How can women and children be trafficked in the commercial sex trade so easily? Hotels, casinos, resorts, nightclubs, and other establishments allow this practice to flourish in your community, because turning a blind eye can be more profitable than actually doing something about the problem.
Globally, an estimated 4.8 million people, mostly women and children, were victims of the commercial sex trade, according to the International Labor Organization. In the US. In 2017, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimated that 1 in 7 runaways reported to them were likely sex trafficking victims.
This is a massive problem‚ a $32 billion a year criminal enterprise — and we’re here to try to help. Holding hotels, casinos, and other companies accountable for allowing women and children to be violated is crucial.
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