Human Trafficking: Sex Slavery in America

In the early 1990's Sabrina* was one of hundreds of minors trafficked and prostituted under the control of a pimp. Her pimp, Sly, seldom let her out of his sight.

Sabrina's life changed when she met Frank Barnaba on the streets of Manhattan near 11th and 26th Street. She took one of his business cards, cleverly hiding it in an empty condom wrapper.

For more than a year, Frank and other outreach staff at The Paul & Lisa Program in Connecticut, talked with Sabrina at least twice a week. They brought her sodas or hot chocolates and always lent a friendly hand or ear when she needed help. Over time, Sabrina's self-esteem improved and she began to trust Frank. Finally, she decided to take a leap of faith and entered a transitional living house in Connecticut.

Her stay at the house allowed Sabrina the escape she needed from her pimp as well as a chance to receive therapeutic counseling and gain "normal" job experience.

Sabrina's story is all too familiar. According to the U.S. Department of State, there are an estimated 800,000-1,200,000 victims trafficked across international borders each year. Of those, an estimated 17,500 are trafficked into the United States.

UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million people are trafficked every year throughout the world. That equates to two people every minute.

Sabrina's road to rehabilitation was long and arduous. She ran back to Sly twice but with the threat to her child's life and Frank's unconditional support, Sabrina finally managed to escape. Fifteen years have passed and Sabrina is still grateful for the new life that Frank and his agency opened up to her. Despite occasional nightmares caused by the trauma, she now has a successful career and is a mother of several beautiful, happy children.

Traffickers prey on hopes and dreams and promise high paying work elsewhere. The victims are told that housing will be provided along with a better life and that all of the details, work permit, visa, identification, etc., will be taken care of. Traffickers will even go so far as to plant another young trafficked victim in a school and befriend a specific child so as to eventually lure that child into prostitution.

Victims of trafficking are forced to work or provide commercial sex against their will in legal and legitimate business settings like restaurants, bars, strip clubs and massage parlors, as well as underground markets. Holding quarters are heavily guarded and surrounded by cameras so there is no chance for escape. These facilities are quite busy and only allow a certain clientele to have access. These victims are often raped and beaten to keep them from trying to escape. Psychological coercion can be more prevalent than physical barriers; this includes photographs of rape and used as blackmail.

Traffickers use threats to kill the victims family members like children, siblings, parents, etc., if they try to escape. The women are given monthly birth control shots and if they end up pregnant they are forced to have abortions. In some cases, pimps may allow the girls to have the child, which acts as yet another, but very powerful form of psychological threat. Also, some "johns" love sex acts with pregnant women, which in turn increases the profits. There is also a great public health risk because some of these predators pay extra to have sex with victims without the use of a condom.

Victims are hidden behind locked doors in brothels and factories and in other cases, victims are in plain sight. The victims see none of the money; it is all taken away from them by the traffickers being told that this is their debt repayment. The lack of awareness of trafficking leads to low levels of victim identification by the people who come in contact with them because they appear to be there voluntarily which is contrary to their actual situation. They or their families are in danger at all times.

When individuals are willing to buy humans, they create a profit incentive for traffickers. This business thrives because of the low risk, high profit factors which are two main reasons that human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, according to the U.S. State Department.

Humans can be sold 10-40 times a day every day; a gram of cocaine, only once. Many are involved in keeping this industry growing; landlords, hotels, transportation companies, advertisers, banks and financial service corporations. In some cases, they are aware of their involvement and the profits they make help them justify or over look their part in human trafficking. In other cases, they may be unaware. The internet is also a tremendous catalyst in the distribution of women and children. But the number one factor that keeps sex trafficking in business is the demand. The trade and sale of flesh would not be profitable if there weren't hundreds of thousands of men in the United States willing to pay for sex acts-sex acts that are violent and pornographic.

Human trafficking often seems like a problem elsewhere, but it is happening in every country, including the United States. Human trafficking thrives in the darkness and the only way to stop it is to shed some light. Everyone has a part to play in ending this horrific crime, but acceptance has to take place and education for children about this subject. Predators can be quite crafty when it comes to luring children and teens into their grip.

It's a frightening subject and of a graphic nature, but would you rather educate your child or have a stranger do it for you?

Sabrina's Story Source: The Barnaba Institute

Sources for this article include:

The Barnaba Institute
Human Trafficking.org
MSNBC - Undercover - Sex Slaves In America
Statistics