Sex Trafficking
By Maya

When most people think of slavery, they think about someone laboring in fields, factories, or mines. Of course in the United States, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution makes slavery illegal. But slavery still exists in the form of something called sex trafficking. Sex trafficking means illegally forcing someone else (whether child, teen, or adult) to work as a sexual slave. These people are sometimes kidnapped and sometimes tricked with promises of employment or a better life. They wind up in situations where they are beaten and raped every day.

Sex trafficking is a problem, not only in the United States but all over the world, as sex traffickers often transport their victims across international borders. This form of involuntary and brutal servitude generates so much money each year that it ranks third highest as a revenue source for organized crime, beaten out only by drug smuggling and arms dealing. In fact, experts estimate that 800,000 to 900,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year and that 75 percent of all trafficking is for sexual purposes. Almost all (80 percent) of people trafficked are female and about half of these are minors.

Sex trafficking is a brutal reality that shows no signs of disappearing. Traffickers use cruel methods to keep their victims from escaping. For example, traffickers may tell the victims that they must repay their debts (for the food, shelter, clothing, and transportation they use while they work as sexual slaves). Traffickers terrify victims by confiscating their legal documents (passport, birth certificate, green card, etc.) and telling the victims that they will be imprisoned for violating the immigration laws of the host country. Traffickers often threaten to harm the victim’s family. Traffickers also work to severely limit victims’ contact with the outside world. These methods are then reinforced by brutal beatings.

Thankfully, there are national and international laws to protect people against sex trafficking. For example in October 2000, the United States Congress passed a law called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) that prohibits trafficking people across borders and that promotes the protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers. In 2003, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. This Act provides financial resources to help the 18,000 to 20,000 people who are trafficked into the United States each year. Congress also passed a law called PROTECT (Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today). This law requires that those convicted of trafficking children for sex receive a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Although it will be difficult to abolish worldwide sex trafficking, our government is taking steps in the right direction. In 2003, the U.S. government spent about 74 million dollars for anti-trafficking activities across the globe. If you know or suspect that someone is involved in human trafficking, visit the listings of Federal Agency Human Trafficking Websites; or call the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at this toll-free number: 1-888-373-7888. The hotline offers trafficking information and referral for help. Please, if you suspect that someone is involved in human trafficking, report it immediately. You may be the best hope for the victims of human trafficking.