Category — Human Trafficking in the Media

There are many challenges which victims of human trafficking face. Frequently, victims  go unrecognized and the perpetrators of the crimes go unpunished. In a case last March, a pimp was convicted of sex trafficking and sent to prison for 7 years, the “john” or buyer walked away with just 2 misdemeanor charges resulting in probation. Earlier this year we were appalled by the outcome and implored readers to consider: Raping a 16 year-old is a crime. Why don’t we treat it like one?. On December 5, the victim invoked the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and sued Hall of Fame football star Lawrence Taylor for his role in the sex trafficking of a minor.

Under the TVPA, anyone under the age of 18 is not capable of granting consent thus will be seen as a victim of sex trafficking. This is the most publicized civil case of a sex trafficking victim suing the “john” or buyer, representing a crucial shift in perception. Rather than settling for just prosecuting the pimp, Christina Fierro wants retribution from the buyer as well. As Polaris Project’s Executive Director Bradley Myles put it, “men who buy sex from children have this sense they won’t be punished, that they’ll get away from it.” These types of cases, he said, are important because they “are creating a paradigm shift in how we think about children in the sex trade.”

Fierro’s case will send a clear message to solicitors that they will not be able to get away with raping a child without facing the consequences. This sends a clear message to “johns” that they can be prosecuted or even sued. Whether or not Fierro wins, she has laid the groundwork for change. Bringing an end to sex trafficking in the U.S. must start with supporting the victims of human trafficking, holding traffickers accountable, and ending the demand.

Recent articles regarding the “Sugar Baby” trend, where debt-burdened young people seek romantic relationships with older individuals for financial compensation, have portrayed these arrangements as a new and modern phenomenon.  These journalists have a point: college students entering into these relationships are a byproduct of the onerous cost of education in 21st Century America.  In a broader sense, however, the Sugar Baby craze is merely the newest installment of an age-old quest to seek salvation from economic deprivation. [Read more →]

Vulnerability to any crime is subject to a variety of socioeconomic, cultural, and independent factors that place some individuals at higher risk of entering dangerous situations than others. Although financial insecurity is a huge vulnerability for many college students and recent grads, it is not necessarily the only factor in a persons decision to be come a sugar baby. [Read more →]

Survival sex is a term commonly understood within the context of the runaway, homeless, youth (RHY) community whereby youth turn to prostitution as a means of survival – exchanging sexual services for basic necessities such as food and shelter. Today, educational debt is putting some young adults in the same dire situation. [Read more →]

The Village Voice recently published an article on what it described as the exaggerated numbers used by the anti-trafficking movement to garner attention and federal funds. The article focused on Ashton Kutcher and his “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” campaign as one example.

Within hours, a tennis-like sparring match had erupted between Kutcher and The Village Voice on Twitter. @AplusK faced off against the Village Voice on research methods, reputation, and defining modern day slavery.  Soon after, other voices emerged.  Amanda Kloer wrote this piece on Change.org and Maggie Neilson penned an article for The Huffington Post.

If you’re interested in reading additional sides of the debate you can view them here, here, here, or here.

Photo Credit: David Shankbone

This past weekend, we heard news that Craigslist removed the “Adult” or “Erotic” section from all of its global sites worldwide.  The action happened quietly, without much mention in mainstream media, perhaps because it’s not viewed as a newsworthy event.  However, for those in the anti-trafficking field, this is a huge change. It’s certainly newsworthy because we know that a major source of free advertising has been cut off for human traffickers worldwide. [Read more →]

Coming shortly after Craigslist’s decision to close its “Adult Services” section in the U.S.,  The Washington Post closed a chapter in its own history of advertising for brothels that have involved human trafficking and other violent crimes. [Read more →]

Black and white animal-printed lounge chairs and couches.  Deep pink and purple mood lighting.  DJ-spun tracks thumping through the speakers and floors.  Champagne-filled glass flutes and cocktail glasses.  From the appearances of the room, I could have been in any number of swanky and exclusive nightclubs in New York City.

[Read more →]

I distinctly remember a time, a few years ago in 2007, when craigslist became a point of focus at meetings and events throughout the anti-trafficking movement.  Sitting in conferences or at task force meetings, it became a frequent occurrence for a presenter from law enforcement or the victims services field to talk about how victims of human trafficking were increasingly being advertised in the Erotic Services section of the website. [Read more →]

I’d like to direct your attention to some recent media activity about Japan and an American journalist living there named Jake Adelstein.  Jake’s new book, entitled Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, is a memoir of his experiences investigating the Yakuza, one of the largest crime syndicates in the country.  He recently discussed this topic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and on NPR. [Read more →]