By: Julie Robinson
In the time it will take the average person to read this editorial four children will be sold into slavery. Child trafficking is the second most money-making crime in the world. In 2006 the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) believed that the number of children trafficked annually was around 1.2 million. Those numbers represent children and women who have no way out unless we take action.
When I researched this topic, I expected to learn that the majority of trafficking was taking place in many of the poorest countries around the world. I did not expect to learn that slave trade was taking place in America. I thought slavery in America was all over after the 13th amendment was signed, but this revolting trade is thriving in ‘The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave.’ Surprisingly, the United States actually has one of the highest rates of trafficked people in the world. Our country’s capital, Washington D.C., is among the places with the most trafficked people.
Young girls, teens, and women are treated like a commodity to be sold and bought. The victims generally range in age from nine to nineteen, though a majority of the girls are near age eleven. These girls aren’t runaways but are innocent girls persuaded on false pretenses or kidnapped. The predators usually know a lot about girls and their insecurities and eventually help the girls to gain their trust
The girls fall victim to the façade of a nice older guy or sometimes older women. These men and women are usually between the ages of 20 and 40. They do what they do because they are selfish and greedy for money. Generally the predator will take a girl back to his or her apartment to “pick something up.” Once inside the undercover brothel, the girl has a very small chance of getting out. Most girls don’t even try to escape, fearful of the consequences of getting caught.
The girls who do try to escape are usually caught by the brothel owner and are taken back to the brothel. If a girl does reach the police after an escape, the police usually don’t believe the innocent girl. I read a story online about a girl who had to beg the police to arrest her. They didn’t believe her story and kept her in jail for a year while other innocent girls were being raped. Going to jail was fine with her because anything was better than being in a brothel again, but after she was released, her brothel owner found her, kidnapped her, and continued to sell her body through prostitution.
Many girls are brought to America from different countries as foreign exchange students or to work as waitresses, nannies, etc. When the girls arrive from countries such as Russia and Ukraine, they are taken to brothels. They are told to make anywhere from $100 to $1,000 a night at strip clubs or through sex trafficking. The girls are intimidated and threatened physically and mentally. The girls are sometimes rescued or escape, but too many are still in captivity and have no way out unless we do something to help.
Fortunately, there are many ways we can help stop the growing epidemic of sex slavery in America because of the many organizations created to eradicate this disgusting trade. The organization Love146 is one of the many organizations dedicated to the prevention and abolishment of child sex slavery. You can donate to their organization on their Web site, love146.org. Love146 focuses on helping teens find practical ways to help stop sex slavery in America, but it also equips students with ideas for supporting the abolition of sex trafficking in many other countries around the world.
One of the best ways to help prevent sex slavery in America is spreading the word. Many people do not know how rampant this crime is in America but would be willing to help stop slavery. Slavery is taking place right here in America, and even though we are “just teens,” we can make a difference by helping to stop it in our own country.
