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Sex Slaves in America

In: Social Issues

Submitted By RoosterRoo
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The New Slaves: Sex Trafficking in America

When most Americans hear the term ‘sex trafficking’ thoughts of helpless women and children in poor, developing, countries come to mind. However, most Americans would be downright shocked and dismayed to learn that many victims of sex trafficking reside right here in the United States. Moreover, many of the victims of sex trafficking in America were victimized by other Americans. This is a pressing national issue to which neither small, rural towns or large, urban cities is immune.
What is Sex Trafficking?
According to the US State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons report, Sex trafficking is defined as: The act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion…

defining what constitutes sex trafficking is important because it allows for non-victims to identify possible victims of sex trafficking, and it creates a clear and distinct framework in which to identify, capture, charge, and convict the perpetrators of sex trafficking in the United States.

Who are the victims of Sex Trafficking?
Sex trafficking victims span all races, ages, gender, etc. Many of the victims of sex trafficking in america are usually impoverished, poorly educated, and live in areas that afford very little upward mobility or opportunities to make a living.
Many adult trafficking victims in the United states were swindled by seemingly innocuous work opportunities only to learn that these “opportunities” are anything but. Some victims may enter the sex trade as consenting prostitutes but quickly fall prey to traffickers who often employ manipulative, and in many cases forceful, tactics to ensure that the victim remains a victim and undetected by law enforcement agencies. Traffickers often resort to intimidation, emotional manipulation,

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