Sex trafficking, at least in America, generally involves girls being either deceived by false promises or straight-up kidnapped before being forced into prostitution.
The issue in the United States is serious. Project Rescue, an international organization that fights sex trafficking and tries to rehabilitate young girls, claims that around 18,500 people are trafficked into America each year. According to a 2006 story by ABC News, over 100,000 women and children are currently being trafficked in the U.S. alone. The average age of those being trafficked is only 11 years old.
The process can often be brutal. The ABC News story (which is well worth reading on your own), tells the story of "Debbie," a girl from the Phoenix area who was forcefully kidnapped on her own driveway at the age of 15. She was kidnapped at gunpoint, and was taken to a place 25 miles from her home, where she was gang raped and put into a dog kennel. Her captors even tried to feed her dog biscuits.
Ads on craigslist brought over 5o men to the place she was kept, all of them using her as a prostitute, with all the profits going to the pimps.
Debbie was kept there for over 40 days before police found her alive, stuffed in a drawer. She never tried to escape due to threats on her family.
This kind of activity happens on a daily basis in America, and it's made all the more horrific because of how young the girls are. My sister is 17 years old, and I can't even begin to imagine her being treated like that. However, it is a daily reality for thousands of girls around the country, and for families who have daughters, sisters, cousins, or nieces who are subjected to this type of abuse and slavery.
The best thing we can do is inform our friends and family, and educate those who can be at risk. The Department of Justice says that about 293,000 youth in America are at risk of becoming victims of sexual trafficking. This includes girls as young as 9 years old.
With more informed and educated people out there, change is more apt to happen.
This problem, of course, is also an international issue, and there are things you can do to help there as well. Project Rescue has many projects and bases throughout India, Nepal, and Moldova, and you can go to these locations and help Project Rescue help rescue and rehabilitate the girls. A friend of mine recently went to Moldova for a month, and called her experience life-changing.
Either way, sex trafficking is a serious and prevalent issue that demands our attention and action. Right now, the best action is to inform those you know and love. Spread awareness, and let our officials know that we demand some serious action. Only then can this problem begin to get better.
Good topic and well-written for the most part.
ReplyDeleteTo make it stronger, though, the writer needed to source better. A 2006 news report seems a little weak.
Perhaps more data on this rescue group and how successful it is - or isn't - might have made for a stronger case.
Also, while the plea for action is straightforward, "Spread awareness, and let our officials know that we demand some serious action." because the writer doesn't say what serious action means, it loses impact in its vagueness.
One other thing: some historical perspective might also help.
Is this a growing problem, or not?