Jayshawn Pickett Sex trafficking in the U.S

Jayshawn Pickett

Professor Moore

History of sexuality

31, March 31, 2014

                                                                                Sex Trafficking in the U.S

When we hear the phrase “sex trafficking”, as citizens of the U.S we automatically think of women and even kids overseas who are being forced into the sex trade or are brought here to be sexually molested. Those who think this are wrong, sex trafficking is taking place everywhere and it could be taking place right on your street corner. Seeing young women on the streets in skin tight dresses and extremely tall heels should be an implication that its taking place. We often look away when we should be trying to help these young girls. We only face this harsh reality when we hear about child abuse that takes place physically and mentally. To understand the aspects of sex trafficking in the States, we all have to think outside of what we have seen or heard. We have to open our eyes to the mind altering control that these pimps have and exercise on these young women and children. There have been cases of girls as young as 9 years old that are being sold on the streets for sex. The average age of a person entering the prostitution field is twelve to fourteen years old. It all begins with these teens trying to find themselves. Many of them are abused at a young age which pushes them to find comfort on the streets. They are comforted by their pimp and often fall in love quickly. They are often asked “why don’t you just leave?” or “Can’t you get out?”. We don’t understand that they are practically kidnapped and would be tortured or even killed if they tried to tell anyone. On television, we often see pimps being uplifted and glamorized which is a great marketing tool for the streets. Tv shows, music videos and movies often portray the lives of pimps and make it seem like being a pimp is the way to go and the right thing to do. Us young people even use the term “pimp” in our conversations with our peers, when we really don’t understand the true reality of this term. Pimps often lurk in the shadows looking for young girls and women who have a weakness. They then exploit this weakness  and manipulate that person like a puppet. Once the pimp gets inside the womans head, she will do whatever he wants and when he wants her to do it. The same with children, but maybe a little easier. “Sex trafficking has been found in a wide variety of venues of the overall sex industry, including residential brothels, hostess clubs, online escort services, fake massage businesses, strip clubs, and street parties” ⁽¹⁾

Polaris Project, "Sex trafficking in the U.S." Accessed March 31, 2014. (1)http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/sex-trafficking-in-the-us.