Dark World of Human Sex Trafficking

Recently I watched the movie, "Human Trafficking," and it brought tears to my eyes, mostly because the things it portrayed really happen. The movie follows 3 different women through their experiences in the world of sex trafficking and slavery. They are made into prostitutes against their wills and are abused, threatened, raped, forced to make pornographic videos, and the list goes on. One woman from The Czech Republic is seduced by a handsome man who pretends to be interested in her and invites her on a trip to Vienna, Austria only to turn her over to a sex slave ring while a 16 yr old girl in Ukraine is chosen as part of a "model search" that ends up a front for the same sex slavery ring. They are both shipped off to the United States, one knowing whats really going on and the other having no clue until she gets to New York after sneaking away from home so neither woman's family knows where they are. The 3rd victim is a little 13 yr old girl from the United States who is touring the Philippines w/her family and is kidnapped in broad daylight in an open marketplace. I won't say what happens b/c I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone reading this but the movie is very graphic and heart wrenching; it is the inspiration behind this post and my decision to bring light to this very lucrative and dark industry of sex slavery.

Definition:

The U.N. defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery of practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs" (found on http://www.iast.net/thefacts.htm)

Additionally, the FBI has this to say:

"Many people probably remember popular movies and television shows depicting pimps as dressing flashy and driving large fancy cars. More important, the women—adults—consensually and voluntarily engaged in the business of prostitution without complaint. This characterization is extremely inaccurate, nothing more than fiction. In reality, the pimp traffics young women (and sometimes men) completely against their will by force or threat of force; this is human sex trafficking." (http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/march_2011/human_sex_trafficking)

Statistics:

(http://www.iast.net/thefacts.htm)

• Worldwide, it is estimated that somewhere between 700,000 and four million women, children and men are trafficked each year, and no region is unaffected.

• An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 women and children are trafficked into this country each year. 

• There have been reports of trafficking instances in at least 20 different states, with most cases occurring in New York, California, and Florida. Some Florida law enforcement officials, for example, claim that the state is being inundated with trafficked women from Russia, Ukraine, and Central Europe. INS and Labor Department officials fear that the problem is not only bigger than they thought but also getting worse. For example, INS has discovered 250 brothels in 26 different cities, which likely involved trafficking victims. 

• UNICEF reports that across the world, there are over one million children entering the sex trade every year and that approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years.  

• Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and the United States are countries ranked "very high" as destination countries of trafficked persons.  

(http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/march_2011/human_sex_trafficking)

• It is the fastest-growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world.

• The majority of sex trafficking is international, with victims taken from such places as South and Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union, Central and South America, and other less developed areas and moved to more developed ones, including Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America

• The majority of sex trafficking is international, with victims taken from such places as South and Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union, Central and South America, and other less developed areas and moved to more developed ones, including Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America 

• an estimated 293,000 American youths currently are at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The majority of these victims are runaway or thrown-away youths who live on the streets and become victims of prostitution. These children generally come from homes where they have been abused or from families who have abandoned them 

• The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14. It is not only the girls on the streets who are affected; boys and transgender youth enter into prostitution between the ages of 11 and 13 on average 

All I can say is WOW. I knew sex slavery was going on, read stories from survivors and those helping them, and  seen tv shows and a movie, Taken, which deals with it but never really looked into it. It is far more prevalent than anyone has ever discussed and has far more consequences, including economical, social, and esp psychological esp for the girls. Until I watched Human Trafficking I never realized exactly how trapped these girls are, and I call them girls not women because they are just girls, mostly under 21. This movie also showed the realities of the effects on the victims' families. That was probably one of the most disturbing parts. I can't even begin to imagine the horror and hopelessness the girls' families go through. The extent the traffickers will go to is also beyond my comprehension - threatening the lives of not only the girls but of their families, too. One woman in the movie had a daughter she had to protect and only did so w/the help of the US govt. I would never in a million years tell on someone if they could get to my daughter the way these monsters could. And these predators not only are intelligent but resourceful; they prey on the vulnerabilities of their victims -- promising them bright new futures as nannies for rich families, or even models, in the US and other western countries. What 15 or 16 yr old, esp from a poverty stricken area, wouldn't want the fame and fortune that comes with being a model? Or even the dream of coming to the US? These people that do this are the worst, most twisted, and sickest monsters on this planet.
 And the worst part? Its all for money. Promising girls a brighter, possibly safer, future, lying and conning them the whole time only to take them, or in some cases kidnap them, from their families w/the family being completely unaware of whats happening or where they're going, and then turning around and selling them like inanimate objects or animals to be brutalized and raped by men who are nothing more than animals themselves, only animals w/lots of money. They tell the girls they owe them thousands of dollars and have to "pay it back" and then they can go free. The horrific irony?
 They will never be able to pay it back and if by some miracle they do escape? They are changed and haunted forever. They are so psychologically damaged its almost impossible to find themselves again, and their innocence is gone forever. 

The most disturbing part of it all? The United States, my own country, has one of the biggest markets for human sex trafficking/sex slavery in the entire world.

I wouldn't wish this fate on my own worst enemy. 

Something to think about and be aware of.

XOXO,

Lavender

And for all the victims of sex slavery and their families, HUGE AND LOTS OF HUGS.

Are we Nobody?

I'm Nobody! Who are you? 

by Emily Dickinson

I'm Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there's a pair of us!

Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog – 

To tell one's name – the livelong June – 

To an admiring Bog!

This has always been one of my favorite poems from the day I first read it in high school. I think it was 9th grade. Why? Because I could relate so well to it as I believe many abuse victims can b/c that’s what we’ve been told and how we’ve been treated by our family, significant other, partner, husband/wife, etc.

I’ve actually been told by a male “friend” of mine that strong (meaning emotionally) women don’t become victims of abuse b/c they know better than let themselves be treated like that. And herein lies the problem w/that false assumption – not only does it re-victimize the victim or survivor but it also lays all the blame on her instead of the abuser. A victim doesn’t choose to be a victim nor do they know what they’re getting into at the beginning of a relationship. Whereas an abuser chooses to abuse and knows exactly what he’s getting into when he enters into a relationship. He or she is not looking for love but control. The full responsibility of the abuse lies on the shoulders of the abuser. The victim is never to blame.

Why is the victim absolved of all responsibility? Simply put, she is manipulated from the very start and soon becomes entangled in the abusers web of manipulation, lies, and abuse without realizing it until its too late and she’s already caught in the spider’s web. And this isn’t a small, friendly spider. It’s a predatory one worse even than a black widow. At least the black widow has a well recognized warning mark. The abuser has no such mark that is well recognized except by those who already know the red flags and don’t brush them off as we tend to do b/c we want to think good of people, especially people we like and have begun to trust.

Trust is at the root of any good, long term relationship so in order to get a victim to commit, an abuser has to establish trust. This isn’t hard b/c he poses as a nice guy and wears a mask in public. There’s a reason people don’t want to believe a victim, and that is b/c the abuser is so good at acting. And this is the same act they pull on a victim. It’s been compared to the Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde character. He is Dr Jekyll, the nice, charming, intelligent man and then once a victim is hooked, Mr Hyde, the evil, cruel man comes out. Abusers are very adept at the “Prince Charming” routine, and most women dream about their “Prince Charming” so when they find him they fall head over heels for him and feel like they’re living a dream.

For women who have come from an abusive home life its even easier to fall into this trap b/c many times they are looking for a way to escape and this seemingly perfect man offers that. My ex-fiance told me he would never hurt me and would protect me and keep me safe and I believed him even after he hurt me b/c I was so desperate to find a man to love me and, he acted like he did. He was sorry when he hurt me until I started “overreacting” and being “too sensitive.” Even emotionally strong women dream of finding Prince Charming and so they get involved w/an abuser and fall into his trap before they see it for what it really is.

Whether abuse victims start out as women w/a healthy, strong sense of self-worth or as shy, vulnerable women w/no sense of self-worth the end result is the same: all feel like a “nobody” once they are caught in the clutches of an abuser. In order for an abuser to control his victim he must first isolate her and destroy any sense of self she may have had through the use of lies and manipulation. It is exceptionally difficult to realize how bad of a situation you’re in and see yourself as being worthy of a better relationship w/a man who will treat you as you deserve when you don’t think you deserve or can do any better than the man you fell in love with. Hence why we need to focus on building up a victim or survivor’s sense of self- to help them out of the darkness and prevent them falling into another abusive relationship.

We (victims and survivors both) are NOT nobody. We are somebody worthy of love, respect, and kindness. Learn to love yourself and defeat the “I’m nobody” attitude. We all are loveable because we don’t seek to destroy other people. Otherwise we would never have been victims in the 1^st place.

XOXOXO,

Lavender