In the past ten years, the sexual slave trade has been picking up dramatically in popularity. “Importing” women and children from other countries for the purpose of sex has grown to become the third largest money-maker for organized crime, with an estimated 14,500-17,500 slaves being shipped into the United States each year (Hodge, 2008). Fifty percent of the sex slaves bought by the United States are children and 70%-80% are female. One third of all prostitutes working the streets are under the age of 18 while half of those employed by escort services are children. Traffickers tend to target the most vulnerable candidates they can find, looking in orphanages, poverty stricken areas, and those with physical disabilities, providing them with images of a better life in better developed countries, only to give them a life of sexual slavery in exchange for this so-called better life. These sex slaves are forced to suffer for the rest of their days, not only from the trauma of unwanted sex, but many are abused physically as well. It is difficult enough for victims of rape to come forward and press charges against their attackers, the victims of this inhumane slavery rarely come forward. The silence of the victims makes true estimates of the number of people affected by this injustice practically impossible. Advocacy strategies must be established to protect others from being trafficked overseas for the purpose of falling prey to the sex trade industry.
Hodge’s article identifies a social problem that does not get much attention. Since all social workers have an obligation to identify social injustice and strive to correct it, more studies need to be conducted so all can see the true severity of the sex slave trade. The article excellently portrays available data to demonstrate the significant increase in trafficking of slaves, those targeted, and the ease of obtaining fake documents to bring these slaves into other countries. The fact that the United States is the largest producer of child pornography is shocking enough to force everyone to take a closer look at the issue and work to find ways to crack down on it. No person deserves to suffer the many tortures that come along with being forced to have sex on a regular basis. The emotional trauma involved with repeated rapes, whether the victim is a child or an adult, should not have to be felt by anyone. The fact that these victims are not United States citizens make their chances of coming forward slim to none. Advocates are needed to fight for them.
Article referenced:
Hodge, D. (2008). Sexual trafficking in the United States: a domestic problem with transnational dimensions. Social Work, 53(2), 143-152.
That is just awful. I could have never guessed it was that bad...and in the U.S.! I'd expect such a problem in third world countries where girls are married against their will and couples are picked out soon after the babies are born. This is just so wrong on so many levels.
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Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
Most of the girls are coming over from the third world countries. They get promises of a better life in a more developed country, Like the U.S. or Germany. Travel documents are easy to forge and if organized crime is seeing a large profit in the sex slave trade, I am sure they are willing to pay for a couple of forged documents. Plus, with people, they can continue to make money for a couple of years from one single investment, where things such as drugs and guns can only be bought and sold once before they are forced to buy more.
That's just incredible...of course in a bad way. And surely, with the way diplomatic relations work out, there's really nothing we can do for the girls outside our country. We can hardly take care of the prostitution problem in the U.S.
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Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
It’s a global problem, sadly enough governments are turning away their focus, they have no clue upon how to address this.
Some countries have their economy which flourishes upon sex trade, in which one can actually buy a female or male regardless of age and purpose!
To address this should “be” a global priority because it affects much more than people are aware of!
It is said,
Serpents Egg – The Host of Seraphim
I think there's a miscommunication problem somewhere in the line of information from the "organized crime" and Hodge.
Obviously, DH gets his information and statistics from somewhere. If they know how many people are being moved into the US, are police so inept that they cannot prevent it? Seeing as how these stats sound pretty big, I'd guess....yes.
Also, if they're able to find out how many people are being moved into the States, is it that hard to figure out where they're being moved in to? Can they not find a dock with a ship that has containers of people?
And then the people lies in the fact that we know what happens to these sex-slaves. This is probably due to a couple of them turning up dead in the streets - forensics runs their tests and finds CoD and abuse markers.
In the end, the problem lies in the fact that DH knows about the problem, is able to identify "sex-slaves" vs. "street walker." And the police (better known as "historians with guns and shiny badges") do nothing.
(Maybe the organized crime syndicate is paying off the police to look the other way!?!)
-acertainsaint-
I believe that many authority figures ARE simply turning a blind eye. I am sure they get their cut in pay for simply letting it slide. Money is definitely power!