After the thriller, Taken,
was released in 2009 a frenzy went up among parents everywhere concerning the
imminent danger of young French men hoping to share a taxi cab. Perhaps not,
but a fear did seem to swell in regards to sending adolescents to Europe alone.
People wondered whether the events depicted in the movie truly occur in real
life and whether there is cause to be legitimately concerned about young people
being “taken.”
It is not to say that events like those shown in the film
don’t happen that way in the “real world”; they do. However, having masked men
break into a luxurious home to forcibly steal wealthy young women is less
likely to occur than other modes of entry into the sex industry, at least in
the U.S.
First, consider that every industry involves some form of
supply and demand and we could not expect less from the sex industry. Breaking
down the economics of it a wee bit, we find that the supply refers to
exploitable persons and the demand refers to why people want to exploit them. Exploitation happens in any number of ways and for any number of reasons,
but for now we’re going to explore who is exploitable and how they are more
commonly brought into the sex trade. Keep in mind that by “common,” we are
referring to what is occurring in the U.S. and specifically Minnesota.
There are several
factors that contribute to a person being exploitable, such as race,
socio-economic status, gender, age, immigrant status, and more. The average age
for entering prostitution in Minnesota is 14 and the most targeted race for
prostitution is Native American followed by other races of color although all
racial groups are affected by the sex industry.
Teen runaways are especially vulnerable to being trafficked because they
often have a pressing need physically, emotionally, psychologically or socially,
and more likely a mixture of the four. Since homelessness is in most cases a
direct result of running away from home, research tells us that a teen runaway
will be approached by someone looking to exploit them within the first 36 hours
of being on the streets. This holding
true would suggest that all homeless youth are highly at risk for exploitation.
Additionally, previous history of abuse is another factor almost always
accompanying victims coerced into the sex trade.
Traffickers or pimps look for people with vulnerabilities whether
that vulnerability is economic, emotional, social, etc., since people with
vulnerabilities are easy to manipulate. It may be as simple as a male pimp
(females also pimp, but because males primarily take on this role, we will
refer to traffickers and pimps as “he” for ease of speech as well as refer to
victims as “her” since females are more likely to be trafficked sexually than
males) scoping out a mall, school, shelter, or social gathering, finding a girl
who is susceptible is some way and preying on that weakness. He tells her she’s
beautiful or special. Maybe he promises her friends to hang with or a place to
stay if she’s having a rough time. Once he takes her home with him, he might
take any medications she has away from her as well as any IDs. That is one way
to make her dependent on him; another way is to addict her to substances. And
since he has been so kind to her and given her a home, friends, or food, it
would be a little thing to ask for her to sleep with his friends in return for
his provision. He toys with her heart, her mind, and breaks her down
psychologically, physically, and emotionally until he can do with her whatever
he pleases.
The previous scenario is one example of a more common form
of entry into sex trafficking in the U.S. than abduction. It’s called
manipulation. Although manipulation is more frequently the method of choice,
there is no set formula for creating victims of sexual exploitation. It occurs
in many ways and takes many forms.
Curbing the supply of exploitable persons is important in ending modern-day sex slavery and can occur through financial aid to services and programs for victims or at-risk persons, although monetary aid only goes so far. Many are at-risk because they find little value in themselves and are in search of someone to validate their worth. Identifying those at-risk in your neighborhood, workplace, or school and pursuing them with love, treating them relentlessly as a human being who holds value and purpose simply because they are a person, many meet a deeper thirst than a program of service can quench. It seems logical that, if worth is indeed one of the root issues here, the more people finding sincere validation and acceptance, the fewer who will do anything for it.
