Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition

1. Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition Chapter Sixteen: Sex Trafficking

2. Sex Trafficking • Sex trafficking involves a sex act for profit induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform the act is under 18 years-of-age. • This definition applies to most sex workers - anyone who works in the sex industry, performing sexual acts for money.

3. Sex Trafficking • Not all sex workers are necessarily being trafficked, though many are. • There are many different kinds of sex workers. Type of sex workers include: • Brothels • Escorts/Call girls • Strollers • Strip clubs

4. Statistics • Regarding incidents of trafficking: • 83% of human trafficking involves sex trafficking • 48.5% forced prostitution; 32% child sex trafficking • Regarding suspects in confirmed human trafficking incidents: • Males were dominant but not exclusive • Most were not white; they were predominantly Hispanic • Regarding victims in confirmed human trafficking incidents: • Females were by far more common than males • Most were either Hispanic or white

5. Statistics • Victim age is of particular concern, as many prostitutes start work at a young age. • With respect to these underage victims: • 55% of girls living on the streets in the U.S. engaged in prostitution • 75% of the girls engaged in prostitution work for a pimp • 76% of the transactions for sex with underage girls are conducted over the Internet • The average pimp can make between $150,000 - $200,000 per year from each girl

6. Predispositions • In many ways, it can be argued that a history of abuse leads to a predisposition to become victimized by sex traffickers. • Being the child victim of abuse or sexual assault pushes kids out of their homes early and into sex work. • Some run away from their homes or from foster care, and others are simply kicked out by a parent that no longer wants to care for them.

7. Recruitment • Recruitment refers to the means by which sex traffickers acquire sex workers. • This is not something that happens by accident. It is generally the result of a planned con, fraud, or even a kidnapping.

8. Recruitment • The Con • Traffickers who con their victims do so in a variety of ways that have remained unchanged over the generations. • Examples include the following: • The sex trafficker may send a girl in to befriend the target victim and recruit them. • The sex trafficker may coerce or reward the girls in their “stable: for recruiting “straight” girlfriends.

9. Recruitment • Indentured Servitude • An indentured servant is a person with limited means that is transported to a new location, presumably for better opportunities, and works off the cost of their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and any other necessities during the term of their indenture. • Kidnapping • In cases where less confrontational methods of recruitment may not be successful they may kidnap their victims.

10. Retention • The cycle of dependence retains victims, even when they have the opportunity to leave. • The primary element in this cycle is fear and once initiated, it is hard to break free. • Other tools of the sex trafficker, with respect to controlling their victims, include: • Extortion; • Threats of violence; • physical abuse; and • Drugs.

11. Sex Workers and Sexual Assault • Trafficked sex workers are victims of rape. And their victimization is essentially unending, so long as they are unable to escape their situation. • There is often a personal history involved. Many of these girls will have been raped as children, possibly by members of their own family. • Many of these girls will have been raped by their traffickers. • Rape is an occupational hazard for trafficked sex workers. Every new “client” is a potential rapist.

12. Easy Prey • Sex offenders frequently target those who work in the sex trade. They are easy prey for both sophisticated and inexperienced offenders alike. • Illegal sex workers far less likely to report any attack to police, due to their complicity in criminal activity (e.g., prostitution, drugs). • Sex workers are also targeted because of the vulnerabilities inherent things they are willing to do with any potential customer

13. Voluntary Sex Workers • There are many adult sex workers who participate in the sex trade voluntarily. • There are two things that police investigators must remember about the voluntary sex worker: • They must be taken seriously when reporting a sex crime. • They are an invaluable source of “street” intelligence.

14. The Law Enforcement Response • The law enforcement response to sex trafficking has been, generally, to focus on efforts to arrest the trafficked victims. • The result of arresting the trafficked sex worker can be secondary victimization; they may learn that the system does not recognize them as a victim, and that their trafficker has both power and immunity. • Treating them with respect is the first and only place to start. From there, and investigation of the facts can begin and the truth of their circumstances learned.