Complete Your CE Test Online - Click Here Studies have shown that commercial sex activity is a gateway crime for women who later commit other serious criminal offenses. More than 70 percent of female inmates in United States prisons were first arrested for committing commercial sexual acts. One study found that for every three women in jail in the United States, one was arrested for prostitution and seven out of 10 women in prison for felony convictions were first arrested for prostitution (Library of Congress, 109th Congress, H. R. 2012). However, the numbers do not contain data on how many of those women were trafficking victims. In recruitment areas, there is an organized prostitution network operated by traffickers who benefit from the sexual exploitation of children. Though the system is loosely connected, traffickers keep the network operating underground, and local law enforcement has difficulty disrupting this activity. The underground network includes: ● ● Connectors, who work to develop the links in the trafficking network locations. ● ● Recruiters, who work to bring individuals into human trafficking. Groomers, who teach and prep victims for the sex trade. ● ● Traffickers, who control and move individuals across state and national lines to the sex and labor markets. ● ● “Bottoms,” the male or female victims of trafficking prostitution at street level who are forced to use any techniques to bring new victims into the network. ● ● Watchers, who observe victims to be sure they perform adequately and do not escape. ● ● “Wife-in-laws,” all of the women who are prostituted by one pimp or trafficker. ● ● “Tricks,” sexual acts for money. ● ● Bouncers, the bodyguards or enforcers who control the entrance/ exits to the trafficking sites and boarding location of the victims. ● ● “Johns,” men who hire a victim for sexual exploitation. ● ● Security guards, hired by traffickers to ensure victims do not escape or that the trafficking site is not compromised. Each of these roles in human trafficking operations is underground, and only the trafficker knows the entire organization; others act independently as a link in the chain of the child trafficking network. When law enforcement or social service intervention removes one link, it is quickly replaced with another in the trafficking organization (Williamson and Prior, 2009). Traffickers use many techniques to recruit children into the commercial sex trade. Grooming, or pimping, includes manipulating young girls to make their own decision to enter the sex trade, provide sex and then the money to a trafficker. One technique, called “bait and switch,” manipulates and entices victims with something they need or want as bait to attract their attention and build a relationship with them. Once they have a hold on the victim, the situation becomes one that provides money for the trafficker. Another violent form of recruitment is “guerrilla pimping,” where a trafficker threatens a youth with physical violence and intimidation to force the person to work in commercial sex activities. INTERNATIONAL SEX AND LABOR TRAFFICKING International trafficking may be a combination of sophisticated, organized crime rings and mom-and-pop shops in villages and towns. Human trafficking usually begins in legitimate businesses that serve as a cover in exchange for benefits or money. Victims in these cases may or may not know why they are being brought to the United States, and some believe they will work in legitimate jobs. Victims may pay to be smuggled into the country illegally, but once in the United States, find themselves victims of human trafficking. Other victims know they will be involved in trafficking and submit because they need to survive or support a family. They agree to a temporary situation that quickly turns into modern day slavery (Farr, 2004). Because foreign-born victims of labor or sex trafficking are undocumented and stateless, they become indebted to their traffickers, called debt bonding. They may have been promised freedom once their debt is paid, but because they generally can get only substandard wages, they are rarely able to pay their debt. Victims of human trafficking often suffer serious physical harm, including: ● ● Beatings, torture, burning, branding or tattooing. ● ● Concussion, broken bones. ● ● Stabbing. ● ● Malnutrition, anemia. ● ● Rotting teeth. ● ● Alcohol and drug abuse. ● ● Acute and chronic health conditions due to poor ventilation, excessive heat or cold and unsanitary conditions. ● ● Eating and sleeping disorders. ● ● Untreated chronic illnesses, such as chronic diabetes, tuberculosis, hepatitis and cardiovascular disease. Those trafficked into the sex trade may suffer additional health issues related to: ● ● Vaginal and anal tearing. ● ● Rape. ● ● Pregnancy. ● ● Fertility problems. ● ● Sterility. ● ● Exposure to HIV/AIDS. ● ● Sexually transmitted diseases. ● ● Infections. ● ● Abortions, hemorrhaging, death. Psychological damage includes: ● ● Shame, denial, or grief. ● ● Depression. ● ● Panic attacks, anxiety. ● ● Culture shock. ● ● Destructive behaviors. ● ● Eating disorders. ● ● Effects of sleep deprivation. ● ● Paranoia, suicide. ● ● Disassociation, traumatic bonding with their traffickers. (Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Foreign trafficking victims The National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline (NHTRC) and the Human Trafficking Reporting System (HTRS) are the two main databases on human trafficking. Since the 2007 reports on domestic servitude and hotel exploitation, many cases of human trafficking have occurred. Many larger cities across the U.S. have had cases of international sex trafficking. Most of the identified international trafficking victims were rescued from massage parlors and brothels. Immigration Customs Enforcement has identified cases of sex trafficking like the one below; identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the victim. The story of Maria goes from Central America to New York and demonstrates the experience of a young woman who let her guard down, which would cost her several years of enslavement. Here is her story: Maria was a 20-year-old girl from Central America working in a taco stand when she became friends with a regular client. After several weeks of dating, he said he loved her and wanted to be with her and asked if she would move in with him. As soon as she did, the man’s demeanor changed, and he began beating Maria and would not let her leave or speak to anyone. He started taking her to alleys Massage.EliteCME.com Page 21