An Evaluation of our project and our plans for its continuation

Evaluation & Outcome Report

Upon evaluating our overall project as a whole product, it is evident that we have come a long ways since the project’s onset and the beginning of this human rights course. We have accomplished so much in a very short amount of time and while our final product is something that we can be proud of, it is imperative to realize that the process doesn’t end here but that continuous development and a fostering of new ideas is necessary to truly make a difference and maintain support for our cause. This raising of awareness is our first step, and while it has been a good objective to fulfill in its own right, we must also continue to demand action and take action ourselves in fighting for the cause. This report will encompass several of the strengths and weaknesses within our report, where we want to go next with this project, what we might have done differently/still have the ability to change, and some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

In the initial stages of creating this project, we as a class were very thoughtful in our speculation about which human rights issue we wanted to pursue and also about which resources we should investigate in our research. Between all of us, we did an excellent job of exhausting all resources we encountered and by combining all of our annotated bibliographies, constructed a detailed source list and further literature review of what research has been conducted in the area of human trafficking. The literature review is one of the strongest aspects of our project for it provides both detailed information about what little research has been done, while also revealing the main concern, that there isn’t a great amount of research on this topic in the first place, magnifying our concern for awareness. Another strength about our literature review is that it uses a wide variety of sources including journal reports, articles, personal accounts, and novel type readings. The wide variety of sources in our research is definitely a strong aspect of the literature review for it provides multiple views on the subject from very different perspectives. There are also several strengths present in our Competitive and Stakeholder analysis report as well. It effectively addresses all of the stakeholders involved including the victims and their affiliates including their families, friends, loved ones, etc., the traffickers, the media, the buyers of either the individuals, the labor produced, the products produced by the slave labor, or the sexual favors, politicians facing a choice to either advocate for or neglect this issue, and the general public as well. Our report also identified the other competitors in terms of our ideas, including the traffickers, which are in direct competition, but also other positive forces such as other causes that are in competition for resources and support. The Aims and Objectives report that we have compiled is also strong in the sense that it pinpoints and identifies our initial goals for this project while still maintaining a larger vision and long-term goal of producing tangible and helpful action through the awareness we raise. Our hope is to raise awareness and encourage more research to be conducted so that larger movements of action can be undertaken and we can discover how to best address the issue. This is all clearly laid out in the Aims and Objectives Report. The Blog itself is another strong portion and is one of the most important aspects where people can get involved and have a dialogue about the importance and urgency of this human trafficking issue.

Some weaknesses present in our project, due to lack of time and other causes appear throughout the multiple different sections. Time in general was a very hindering factor in this process and if we had more of it, we would have been able to produce more as well. Though there is such a minimal amount of research conducted on human trafficking, it might’ve been beneficial to include an overview of human rights in our literature review, possibly describing which of the human rights from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are being violated by the act of trafficking. This would’ve helped to lengthen the report and also would’ve provided the reader with a better background as to how these trafficking acts are legal violations as well as traumatic and horrific crimes in themselves. It also might have been beneficial if we would have utilized a few more personalized sources or if we would have come into contact with individuals whom we could interview about the situation, potentially even trafficking survivors. This would have provided us with a lot of valuable and highly personalized information. As far as the blog itself is concerned, several improvements can be made and with more research and investigation we, as a group can turn this dialogue and informational blog into something more like a website. The blog for now though, is perfect so that we can get people to start talking and voicing their concerns, experiences, and/or opinions about the role of human and sex trafficking in our world today. With more research and connection with the right people and networks, it would be awesome to try and take our campaign to the next level, having an official website with even more information for people to investigate.

As our process continues, slavery enduring all the while, we must work hard to advance its abolition for everyone, everywhere. In this way, I think we are headed in the direction of making a website and furthering our ability to reach wide audiences. With more research, it would be awesome if we could separate out the individual types and categories of human trafficking. In order for the public as well as ourselves to better understand the experiences of those trafficked and understand how to best address these cases, it is necessary that each is given its own individual voice for there is not one solution for every type of human trafficking problem. Each type of trafficking must be addressed individually in their uniqueness. By doing this, we would also potentially enable more people to get involved for on the whole human trafficking can sometimes seem like a very intimidating issue. But, if it is broken down into categories such as sex trafficking, different types of slave labor, etc. then people may be more empowered to get involved because they will feel that they have a clearer focus and can pinpoint one issue instead of trying to tackle the whole problem at once. Though it will be complicated to enact at first, and difficult to research, it would also be nice if we were somehow able to identify several of the general areas where heavy trafficking takes place on a regular basis. In this way, we could separate the information out locally and internationally by region and people can click to find out what they can do in their area and/or how they can help in other interest areas abroad as well. Though this would have to happen much later, as we gain more support and a larger network, eventually, we could potentially have contact information per state or region for as many as possible around the world so that people can contact human trafficking experts and/or specialists if they are available in their locale. We would also provide what one should do if they suspect trafficking is going on.

Structurally, a website would provide us with the most freedom and we could include tabs with drop down bars for the different topics. This would also allow for us to put into place our idea for individualized calls to action so that each individual may have a better idea of what they can do specifically to help end human trafficking. Other promotional ideas such as T-Shirts and merchandise should be considered as well. These are just s few ideas for the future and will take massive amounts of planning time as well as organization and much more research. For now, it is just a vision, a vision that is successfully unfolding. The blog will be an excellent tool and will most likely help us identify who will be interested in supporting our cause, and what some different opinions/approaches to solutions are. We are all hoping to get an active and sizeable response, which will be helpful in continuing with the campaign.

As a result of this experience, and specifically this human rights course, we have all learned so much about our rights as humans, the disparity between these rights and the lived experience of the majority of the world, and what amendments need to be made to the law in order for them to be properly enforced. In researching human trafficking specifically, we have found ourselves horrified at the conditions of life these trafficked individuals experience, the commonality of their experience in places all over the world, how easily susceptible people are to becoming trafficked, and how little there is known about this multi-million dollar industry. We have also learned how to begin to put together a campaign, how to target an audience and market our ideas, how to set up a dialogue for people to access, and get others involved by raising awareness. Overall, it has been an incredible experience that we all hope will make a difference.

Our Aims, Objectives, and Strategy: How we will raise awareness and seek solutions

Aim & Objectives Strategy Report

Trying to resolve the problem of human trafficking is a daunting task for the government of the United States, let alone a group of college human rights advocates. None the less, we have taken on this human rights violations and attempt to eliminate trafficking in our communities. While reviewing available research and information about the subject of human trafficking, we became aware of limitations of the current research. One area of human trafficking that has been seemingly overlooked by public officials and academic researchers is the issue of sex trafficking in America. In addition to a lack of research on the topic, there is also a lack of awareness of the situation by the general public. To a certain point, it has been so ignored that the American people have been kept in the dark about the subject all together. To help fill the gaps in available academic research and to raise awareness of the trafficking epidemic in the United States, our campaign will launch a call to academia and the public to increase their attention and awareness on this issue.

Most of the research done on this subject has outlined the horrific nature of the sex trade in developing countries. While those articles can be beneficial in giving us more knowledge regarding the topic as a whole, we demand more research on our domestic situation. Our main objective is to raise awareness and, in doing so, create a call to action by the public to law enforcement and law makers. We will also, in turn, encourage more research on human trafficking in the United States to be done, leading to more solutions. We want to inspire people to get involved by arguing that this is not a problem in other countries, but is in own backyards.

As this is a human rights violation that affects everyone the world over, we want to have this problem reach people of all walks of life. We want everyone to get be involved. However, starting with a smaller audience would allow us to focus in on a segmented group and influence their beliefs and behaviors more affectively. Since we have chosen to raise awareness primarily through the use of a blog, it is important to answer the following questions: what types of people use the internet; who is the heaviest users; and how we can cater our message to inspire them to get involved. For this, we will push the people’s call to action. We have chosen to initially begin with college and university students, and plan to design our campaign to reach this demographic effectively. It is this campaigns intent to expand our target audience in the future, and hopefully reach individuals of all demographics in the future.

We believe our initiative will revolutionize awareness of the very real issue of sex trafficking that proliferates in our cities’ underground brothels and private homes that are using enslaved women and children for sexual activities. Although the majority of research on modern day slavery exists in the study of the victims themselves and typically focuses on the developing world, our campaign will not only inform the population in general of this atrocity, but also attempt to target potential traffickers and explore the demand for sex slaves in America. With increased awareness on the part of the public, they will be better able to report potential cases, and put pressure on traffickers and potential clients to leave our cities and end their illegal activities. The long term goal of this campaign is to increase the demand for research on the topic of trafficking in the United States and to help put an end to the practices in America that create a market for sex slaves in our cities. We also hope to evolve the American value of privacy, and call upon Americans to report possible cases of trafficking of persons. Without public awareness and active involvement in reporting suspicious activities, law enforcement and legal approaches would be unable to fully eliminate this epidemic.

The strategy for our campaign is made up of a three tier approach. Each tier offers a unique opportunity to reach our audience and initiate behavioral change in the community at large.

Tier One: Blog

By providing the community with a comprehensive information source on the issues of sex trafficking in the United States, we will help the public become aware of the issue and grow in their desire to be part of the solution. We will provide viewers with information on the epidemic, websites and other sources of information on sex trafficking, and contact information to report possible trafficking cases. Additionally our blog will keep visitors up to date on our campaign’s work in human trafficking, as well as volunteer oppurtunities and event information (as explained in “Tier Three”).

A blog, for our purposes, is one of our best options, for it is a great way to access a large amount of people in a relatively short amount of time. It is user friendly, free for internet users, and will effectively create a dialogue about the issue. This may, in turn, ignite political action and increase research, which is the long-term goal. We are trying to expose the public to the very serious problem of human trafficking in this country. Our aim is to raise public awareness, and the blog is the vehicle for this goal. We want to inspire people to do further research, share the information they found with others, and help to spread awareness of this problem that until now has not received the proper attention. We would also hope it would hold accountable those who are benefiting from the lack of attention and enforcement of the issue (i.e. those who purchase slaves, public officials who ignore the epidemic, and those traffickers working within our boarders and beyond).

Tier Two: Advertisement

In order for our campaign to effectively reach our target audience, we must implement certain advertisement strategies into our work. We have chosen our campaign to be student based, and thus our target audience exists in the realm of universities and colleges. Because this is our selected target audience, our first advertising attempt will be made through the popular social networking site, Facebook.com. We will create a “group” on the site, which will be meant to point people to our blog as a source of information. After inviting our facebook “friends” to join our group, we will then suggest that they invite their friends as well. Through this networking strategy, we can quickly reach a massive audience in a short amount of time. The intent is, that these people will then direct their attention to our blog (of which a link will be provided on the facebook group page). Socially networking is ideal for our campaign for both the scale of people we will be able to reach, and the cost effectiveness of it. Having a facebook group is free to host, and therefore it is an appealing first approach.

Other advertising strategies will need to be implemented later on in our campaign in order to continue to raise awareness and influence academia and public policy on the issue. Our group plans to call public attention through the media and gain coverage of different events and activities we hope to organize in the next few months. With increased media attention our issue can be spread at a faster rate, and we could reach those beyond our initial target audience. Fortunately, the media is very receptive to student organized events in the Los Angeles area, and we are confident that coverage of particular activities could be achieved.

In Los Angeles we have a unique opportunity to reach out to international celebrities to help represent our cause. Although they are not experts of sex trafficking in America, celebrities offer the opportunity to gain public attention by using their likeness in ads, and to speak on the issue. Just as the student movements “Save Darfur” and “No H8” campaigns have gained public attention with the use of celebrities, our campaign will hope to do the same.

Tier Three: Activities and Events

As we are a student movement, we believe that campus wide events would be a useful way to gain media attention and increase the awareness of our campaign. CASTLA and Freetheslave.net have offered their assistance in helping organize campus events at Loyola Marymount. With their experience in such undertakings, they can provide us with the necessary resources to ensure the success of our events. Some possible events that we are hoping to hold in the next academic year include:

- Hosting speakers on campus to educate students on the issue of sex trafficking.

- Selling t-shirts to raise awareness with slogans that simplify our message, but also work to increase dialogue on the issue of trafficking.

- Create a film to educate young adults and others on the issue of trafficking in the United States.

- Hosting a student run “27 hours of silence” event for those 27million slaves who have no voice. This event would follow with an organized reflection session with participants and other interested students.

- Campus candlelight vigil to be held in memory of those who have perished through the inhuman treatment of modern slaves, and to call on students to realize the scale of the epidemic.

- To work with government officials and other public figures to work to create a comprehensive list of behaviors and characteristics to help clarify who may be a potential victim of trafficking and who may be a trafficker themselves. Following this we would attempt to educate the public on these traits and behaviors, and offer information on reporting suspected victims and perpetrators.

- Call on Loyola professors to offer courses on the epidemic of Sex Trafficking, and to engage in research endeavors on the topic.

It is our hope that with the successful implementation of our strategy, we can begin to influence public opinion and increase academic research on the issue of sex trafficking in America. Our campaign is formulated to focus on a niche within the cause, which, if ignored, could be fatal to the overall success of policy and other trafficking elimination strategies.

An Analysis of who is at stake and what our cause is up against

Stakeholder and Competitive Analysis

Human sex trafficking, sex slavery, touches so many aspects of today’s culture. Yet, much of this is unknown. The following stakeholder analysis will delve into the topic of potential obstacles and challenges to the success of our campaign as well as who are actually at stake and who the key players are. By doing so, we will be able to know where and whom to look for when addressing any concerns relating to the ongoing epidemic that is human sex trafficking.

One of the first and major obstacles is the idea in America that one should mind their own business. Indeed, many crimes are allowed to occur because we do not want to infringe on others’ territory or their lives in general. In fact, it seems as though, rather than turning a blind eye, we just do not see at all. We do not know what to look for and aren’t even looking in the first place. The notion of the nosy neighbor is often frowned upon. This, therefore, is a major challenge to our campaign. In order to succeed, people need to become more aware and actually need to start looking around. In building more and more awareness, we can learn to not allow this epidemic to become a cultural norm within our domestic boundaries and rather prosecute and prevent the problem at hand. These injustices are taking place in our own backyard, in our own neighborhoods. We have the opportunity to help.

Another obstacle is the cultural norm of consumerism. Especially in America, consumerism is king. We are always talking about the economic impact of atrocities, rather than acknowledging that human rights are being violated. Indeed, many don’t even seem to care that this type of consumerism is a product of sexual slave labor. Instead, it is often seen as just another commodity. Once again, it can be dangerous to act upon this commodity as a cultural norm, allowing more and more people to take part in it. Rather, we must prevent the problem at hand and eliminate it from our own backyard to strengthen our cultural as well as rescue the victims at hand.

The United States government is also an obstacle. They, surely, do not want to be seen as a place that harbors slaves. Yet, instead of actually bringing the issue into the open, they focus on the problem in other countries. America is the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” It would tarnish our name and image if it were widely known that sex slaves, or slaves of any kind, were being held in the United States. For this reason, America’s gaze has not been on ourselves but outward. This reasoning also places the United States government as competition. This is because, as mentioned, they would be against raising awareness of the slavery taking place domestically.

Finally, when it comes to obstacles, comedy and public opinion and knowledge should be taken into consideration. Comedy on the subject evades the seriousness of the human rights issue. Instead of looking rationally at the injustices, they are belittled and poked fun at. Next, the public often doesn’t see that there is a difference between prostitution and sexual slavery. While some women did choose to enter this life, they had no idea what sexual slavery was truly going to be like. Many think of Pretty Woman and decide that it probably isn’t that bad of a means to make a living. Yet, the harsh realities set in quickly enough. Others never even ask for such treatment. Unfortunately, the public often fails to see the distinction. Instead of being seen as victims, sex slaves are often viewed as criminals. A clearer distinction needs to be made that those trafficked victims are innocent and helpless women that are having their rights exploited at the hands of criminals who must be prosecuted and brought to justice. This thinking is indeed a challenge to be overcome.

When it comes to stakeholders, the victims are most important. They are the actual women and children who are victims of sexual slavery. Those being subjected to this kind of life are suffering the most from the injustice. Instead of being taken to families that will care for them or to jobs that pay a living wage, these women and children are enslaved and forced into sexual activities. We must also look at the families of these victims. They often do not know where their family members have been taken. Frequently, they also do not realize the severity of their family members’ situation. For instance, many sell their children, with the promise of a better life for them. Family members’ lives are also in jeopardy. In order to coerce cooperation from the victims, traffickers threaten to harm their family members. Besides begin locked up, this only furthers the horrid situation that sex slaves live in.

Next, those who are conducting these operations are stakeholders. They make money from patrons who visit these slaves. Traffickers are often rich, profiting off of the plight of others. They too, would be considered competition. Both the men who typically kidnap women and the women who coerce the slaves would be against our campaign for awareness. The governments of all countries involved are stakeholders. These victims are often taken from their home countries and are brought to other countries illegally. The captors then drain government benefits. The governments have a responsibility to their citizens and to all peoples within its borders to protect them and serve justice. Even if governments do not see these slaves as their problem because they are not citizens of their country, they should still take action. Even if they are only interested for economic reasons, as has been pointed out earlier, governments should choose to act against those who are abusing their economies with illegal actions. The police and border patrol officials are also stakeholders. They are in charge of stopping these horrid offenses. Without their help, sex trafficking will continue. Sadly, many victims of sexual slavery are afraid to report these crimes. Many of their “patrons” are law officials, government employees, or social workers. With this tragedy in mind, who can they turn to?

After that, human rights activists, as well as anyone who is against enslavement, would be considered stakeholders. They have a vested interest in protecting the rights of those who cannot protect their own. People like Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves, and all other activists and non-governmental organizations are stakeholders in this issue. The academic field should also be considered. It is there, in academia, that many issues are brought to light. Authors want to see their publishings as more than just statements, but rather, as calls to action. Next, media networks are stakeholders. They have an obligation to deliver the news. This issue is indeed newsworthy. Also, all families with young women and children are stakeholders. As long as they value these family members and friends, they will have an interest in keeping slave “owners” off the streets and unable to do their “business.”

The consumers are stakeholders as well. If it weren’t for their business, the slave “owners” would have no market to promote in. It is these consumers that keep the atrocities of sexual slavery from falling apart. Indeed, if there were no demand there would be no supply. For this reason, consumers would also be competition to our campaign. Undoubtedly, they know that their acts are illegal and would not wish for awareness of the injustices to rise.

In the end, there are numerous aspects to consider when examining the issue of sexual slavery. Not all stakeholders, as can be seen, are working towards justice. While this list, surely, is not comprehensive, it does delve into many widely unknown areas of the issue.

The Problem: Information About what research has been conducted and what still needs to be researched

Sex Trafficking Problem Report

Literature Review

Although modern-day sex slavery in the United States is an expanding and horrific issue, it holds little to no prominence in the realm of scholarly research or the media and to some, doesn’t seem to exist at all. We don’t see it, we don’t hear about it, and we don’t talk about it. A campaign for further research should be pushed and harnessed by the gatekeepers of the media as the problem continues to grow. Current research pertaining to modern-day slavery focuses on countries around the world, from Italy to Germany, Russia, Mexico, Albania, Romania, and Ukraine. With the release of the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, more information is now available. According o to the U.S. State Department, the report is, “The most comprehensive worldwide report on the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons.” The hope is that it will spread global awareness and push governments around the world to take action to counter the industry of human trafficking. The annual report also, “…Serves as the primary diplomatic tool through which the U.S. Government encourages partnership and increased determination in the fight against forced labor, sexual exploitation, and modern-day slavery.” Sherry Ricchiardi, author of An Underreported Horror Story, outlines the horrors of the sex-slave industry. She says that, “At the core is a medieval sex-slave trade masterminded by cutthroat crime cartels…Thousands of women, tortured, raped and imprisoned in seedy ‘night bars,’ are the mainstay of the multimillion-dollar industry” (2003). Furthermore, she states that, “In May 2000, an investigation by the U.S. Army concluded that up to five U.S. government workers were involved in “white slavery.” Sources stated that they purchased women from local Mafia to live in their homes for ‘sexual and domestic’ purposes.” All of these operations happen behind closed doors, and are protected by Mafia-like leaders. This reality creates obstacles that the media has not yet been able to overcome.

One leader in the sphere of human rights advocacy, specifically domestic slavery, is Kevin Bales. He is the President of Free The Slaves, an organization aimed at ending slavery worldwide. His website offers mission statements, videos, and an abundance of information on the issue of slavery and what we can do to help. Bales says that, “Free the Slaves believes that spreading the word about slavery is critical to ending slavery and human trafficking. We are committed to helping the media tell the story of slavery” (2010).

Kevin Bales has written numerous books on the subject, and are at the forefront of the campaign to fight against slavery. In his book, The Slave Next Door, Bales and Ron Soodalter offer an extensive amount of knowledge concerning modern day slavery while balancing stories of real-life slaves, taken into bondage by people you would never expect to commit such horrific crimes. In the first chapter we learn that approximately twenty-seven million people are enslaved at this time. The book begins with the story of a woman named Sandra Bearden, currently serving a life-sentence, convicted of several offenses including human trafficking. She uses both ‘violence’ and ‘terror’ against a twelve-year old girl from Mexico, Maria, whom she smuggles across the border into the United States. These stories are real, and give us insight into what actually happens in the homes of modern-day slaveholders (2009). Another one of Kevin Bales books, Ending Slavery, reveals his own struggles with his involvement in the antislavery movement and the ways in which he believes we can help end modern day slavery. He gives opinions and ideas about how the government can create solutions to this horrific epidemic, and also ideas on how citizens of the country can contribute to building a world free of human trafficking and human slavery. The title of the book reveals a kind of “How-To” feeling, “How We Free Today’s Slaves.” This gives the reader a sense of responsibility as well as obligation, as Kevin Bales and others work to expand the knowledge and fight against modern slavery (2007). One of Bales’s goals is for every person to feel like they have a role to play in ending slavery. His website, www.freetheslaves.com, is one of his tools to educate people, and motivate activism. His site gives specific strategies that people can use to combat modern-day slavery and in addition, has the world’s largest free video library on the issue. His goal is to ultimately end slavery, right now, spreading awareness and taking action are his biggest suggestions for success.

In order to gain success in ending slavery, we need research. Along with leaders like Kevin Bales, researchers acknowledge that there are holes in both the research and the campaigns concerning human trafficking and slavery due to the fact that the sex industry isn’t fully recognized in the government or the media, however, it is a powerful industry that exists around the world (Pyle, 2000). One writer for the International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Jean L. Pyle, studied the causal factors of the increasing number of women and children working in, “…sectors characterized by considerable risk and lack of security—sex work, domestic service, and export processing networks” (2000). In her studies, she focuses mainly on the global economy, and it’s effect on these growing numbers over the past three decades. She presents the case that economic globalization has, “…involved a shift toward more market-oriented economies throughout the world…” (2000). These new markets include the sex-trade, and as it continues to expand and become more systematic, more women and children face this tragic reality. This idea is further supported by Vanessa E. Munro in her article, Of Rights and Rhetoric: Discourses of Degradation and Exploitation in the Context of Sex Trafficking, in her statement that, “Processes of globalization and the proliferation of socio-economic displacements across eastern Europe and the developing nations have promoted patters of widespread migration to the West.” This argument of globalization is spreading as the development of globalization theory is beginning to penetrate the realm of human rights.

Theoretical and Empirical Rationale

Human sex trafficking in the United States is a huge human rights issue that has become apart of our everyday lives and is something that needs to be addressed immediately. Throughout the United States, people every day are getting trapped into the sex trade industry. Many people don’t even know that sex trafficking is happening in today’s day and age or that it is even occurring in their own backyards. The reason this human rights issue needs to be addressed is because this issue stays so hidden from the media. News articles and television shows don’t choose to inform the public that these events are even occurring.

Looking at Sex, Maids, and Export Processing: Risks and Reasons for Gendered Global Production Networks, we know that,

“Increasing numbers of women have become sex workers, maids, or employees in export production networks-all largely female sectors-to earn incomes in the restructured global economy. Many must migrate domestically and internationally. Women encounter many risks and much insecurity in these sectors: low wages, no benefits, long hours, harassment, health hazards, and lack of rights or legal recourse. By examining work in these three sectors simultaneously, we find that, as a result of globalization, economic restructuring, and crises, 1) women have increasingly been forced into such income-earning activities and 2) many governments have been pushed into strategies that foster these occupations” (Pyle pg. 55).

There are many different reasons that sex trafficking is happening to women and children and this human rights issue needs to be addressed more so that we can get to the bottom of why this issue is really occurring.

As written in the scholarly article, An Underreported Horror Story, we can see that, “Some women tell of being hawked at auctions outside of Belgrade, ordered to dance naked for prospective buyers who pay thousands of Euros for lithe, full-bosomed blondes. Most are lured from dirt-poor countries like Moldova, Ukraine and Romania by the promise of jobs as waitresses, au pairs or dancers. The human slave trade operating here has been compared to African slave auctions in 18^th-century Europe” (Ricchiardi pg. 29). This problem isn’t just something from the past but is occurring in large numbers today.

There are no scholarly articles or information on sex trafficking which, is another red flag for why this issue needs to be addressed even more. If we could get more information on how sex trafficking is occurring and why it continues to happen, then we will be able to get to the bottom of this problem and hopefully find a solution for the future. The main issues that need to be addressed is figuring out how these women and children are being brought to the Unites States, figuring out who is involved in sex trafficking, and knowing the sex trafficking clients so that we will have a better understanding of why they have these bad habits.

The women and children working in the sex industry get trapped into working and doing things that they don’t want to do. By seeing all of the problems that they face each day, people will feel compelled to help solve this problem. “Sex workers encounter many types of problems. They are exposed to a variety of serious risks, have very little security, and often have few rights. Abuses are rampant in this industry [and the liberalization of the world economy has simply provided increased opportunities for exploitation]. Working conditions vary widely according to the form of the industry and whether sex workers are voluntary or involuntary (Lim, 1998). Abuse takes many forms: economic (i.e., exploitation in terms of wages and benefits), psychological, and physical (Human Rights, 1993; Lim, 1998). Most workers have little control over the terms under which they work (or the workplaces in which they provide their services)” (Pyle pg. 58). By looking at these types of work places and more of the details that these women and children face, we will be able to better figure out why this is continuing.

This issue will continue in larger amounts if nothing is done to solve the problem. The best thing we can do right now is give knowledge to the public so that this issue becomes known. That way everyone can look out for sex trafficking and will understand that this issue is so relevant in today’s society. Sex trafficking is occurring today and we all need to come together to stop it for the future.

References

Bales, K. (2007). Ending Slavery. California: University of California Press.

Bales, K. & Soodalter, R. (2009) The Slave Next Door. California: University of

California Press,

Feingold, D.A. (2005). Human Trafficking. Foreign Poloicy, 32. 26-30.

Ricchiardi, Sherry. (2003). An Underreported Horror Story. American Journalism Review, 25 (6), 29.

Munro, V.E. (2008). Of Rights and Rhetoric: Discourses of Degradation and Exploitation in the Context of Sex Trafficking. Journal of Law and Society, 35 (2), 240-269.

Pyle, J.L. (2000). Sex, Maids, and Export Processing: Risks and Reasons for Gendered Global Production Networks. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 15, 55-76.