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= Sex Trafficking =

History
Sex trafficking, as we all know, has been in existence since prehistoric times and still presently exists. What many people don’t know, is that sex trafficking doesn’t have much of its own history since it is stemmed from the more commonly known slave history. The 15th century marked the beginning of the European slave in Africa when the Portuguese started transporting people to Portugal and working them as slaves. The next to adopt slave trade were the British in 1562, and later on in the 17th century, other countries such as Spain, North America, Holland, France, Sweden, and Denmark became active in slave trade.

In as far back as 1662, a principle was set that said “partus sequitur ventrem”, which meant that any child of a slave woman would take their mother’s place regardless of who the father was. In 1808, slave rape became more common due to the ban on slave importation. The primary reason for slave rape was to increase slave population. “White Slave Traffic” is a type of sex trafficking that referred to forcing or entrapping a white woman or girl into prostitution. In order protect these women and children, the International Agreement for the Suppression of “White Slave Traffic” was put into place in 1904. In 1927, The Suppression of White Slave Traffic was switched to “traffic in women and children”, because everyone can be a target in sex trafficking. Although most people think that only girls are victims of sex trafficking, boys are very often involved.

Japan was also a major country involved in sex trafficking. Around 1932, they had set up a disgusting system in which women from all over Asia were forced into sex trafficking. These women were put into very small, very ironically named “comfort stations”, and were beaten and tortured. Most of them died due to disease, low nutrition, suicide and many different reasons. It was impossible for these women to escape because the comfort stations were surrounded with barbed wire. Comfort stations were invented to prevent public rape, the spread of STDs, and to give comfort to soldiers so that they would not give out valuable military information.

In the 1950s, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was put in place by India in order to protect women that were forced into sex slavery by third parties. Unfortunately, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was not as effective as planned and needed to be redesigned. Sex trafficking started to become uncontrollable. In attempt to try and change this, the United Nations held the fourth world conference. In this event, sex trafficking was redefined as an act of violence against women, and actions were being taken to enforce international conventions on sex slavery and law enforcement to try and diminish sex slavery. Other enforcements put in place were educational and rehabilitation centers to try and provide needs and awareness to victims of sex trafficking. In 2008, 124 migrants were smuggled into Thailand by traffickers. Only 67 of them survived. The remaining migrants passed away due to suffocation from being locked in a seafood container with no air conditioning. In 2009, a report was conducted that said that over 1.2 million children each year are involved in sex trafficking internationally. In 2011, President Barack Obama declared January to be Human Trafficking Awareness month. In addition, January 11 was named National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Although it took quite a while for many countries to start passing laws on sex trafficking, every countries laws are somewhat similar. Following Thailand’s Suppression of Prostitution Act, countries created laws one after the other to ban sex slavery. In January and February 1976, Poland and India banned prostitution and bonded labor. In November 1989, the United Nations created a treaty that stated “the state shall protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution and involvement in pornography.” Also in 1989, Colombia established a code for minors. The United Kingdom updated their sexual offense act outlawing “causing or encouraging prostitution of, intercourse with, or indecent assault on, a girl under sixteen.” In 1993, Germany banned child sex tourism and made a law that Germans having sex with anyone age fourteen or under will serve a minimum or 10 years in jail. France also passed a child sex tourism law soon after Germany that stated a French citizen would be prosecuted if they engaged in paid sex with anyone in the world. Between the years of 1994 and 2000, many countries followed in passing laws on sex trafficking including Dominican Republic, Australia, Spain, Cambodia, Guatemala, Canada, and Venezuela. In 2000, the United States passed the Victims of trafficking and Violence Protection Act.

Sex trafficking awareness still continues today in attempt to try and diminish this slavery. One of the biggest modern day projects made to create sex trafficking awareness is the Polaris Project. The Polaris Project was created by two students of Brown University, Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman. Polaris offers Client Services, which aims to provide sex trafficking victims with clinical social services. Polaris also provides engaging sessions on sex trafficking to increase the world’s knowledge on it.

Sex Trafficking Locations
Sex Trafficking (Locations)

Sex trafficking is occurring on almost every continent and country in the world. Most of the time, people who are forced into sex trafficking are smuggled into countries different from their origins. The victims end up further and further away from their home country. This makes it almost impossible to trace the smugglers who have kidnaped people for sex trafficking. The victims are forcibly separated from their friends, family, lifestyle, and culture According to the United States Government, over 170 countries where sex trafficking is taking place [1]. Some examples of where it occurs are Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The areas across the world where sex trafficking occurs the most are usually impoverished countries. Victims are usually taken from 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 [2]. Additionally, for the past decade large numbers of sex trafficking victims have been said to exist in Cambodia. There numbers range from 80,000-100,000.

Sex trafficking not only occurs internationally, but also domestically too. The United States might be known as the land of the free, but it also  has  an influx of international victims. People who become victims of sex trafficking are immigrants most of the time. It is easier force smugglers to kidnap their victims who are moving in and outside of the US. This most commonly happens on the eastern and western coast.

The US also has its own homegrown problem of interstate sex trafficking of minors [2]. Sex Trafficking happens within the American black market. Teens, usually girls,  who are runaways are kidnapped and forced to be owned by people who are involved in sex trafficking. These same young girls are forced into prostitution in Toledo, Atlanta, Wichita, Los Angeles, and other cities and towns across America. Women are enslaved as  domestic workers in homes in Maryland and New York. Sex trafficking can occur in places ranging from small towns to booming cities. Sex trafficking can occur in online escort services, residential brothels, brothels disguised as massage businesses or spas, and in street prostitution [3]. Wherever you live, chances are some form of sex trafficking has taken place [4].

The US states have created all sorts of new laws that will be mentioned in the section about laws combating sex trafficking. The Polaris Project, an organization fighting against sex trafficking, has helped pass 40 new laws in more than half the states in the U.S. Arkansas, Montana, and Wyoming were considered three of the worst states that conducted sex trafficking in America. They have greatly improved in terms of stopping sex trafficking in 2014. Senior policy counsel for Polaris, James Dold, says, “As a matter of fact, Arkansas was the most improved, followed by Wyoming. And those are states where Polaris Project worked quite closely with the Attorney General’s office, with legislators, and so we saw a tremendous amount of improvement to the legal infrastructure in those states, which is really cool.” [5]

Even in the state of Ohio, there are forms of sex trafficking. Ohio is ranked as the 5th state in the nation that has the largest problem with sex trafficking. The city that has the biggest issue with sex trafficking is Toledo. Toledo is ranked as the fourth city in the country that has the most sex trafficking [6]. Toledo has dealt with several underage prostitution cases. There is research that indicates a prostitution ring began in Toledo. Toledo's criminal justice community has made significant changes by  promoting awareness, identification, and investigation of human trafficking cases [6].

Columbus is another city in Ohio that has a problem with sex trafficking too. In Columbus there has been research that brothels exist in the northeastern part of the city. The biggest issue in Columbus is that there is very little awareness that sex trafficking takes place in the city [6]. Also, The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force announced that the authorities arrested two Columbus residents after investigation of suspected human trafficking on Wednesday, January14. Seven women were put into forced labor at  central Ohio massage parlers. They were freed after a raid on three businesses [7].

Sex Trafficking Types
While most people know what sex trafficking is, most don’t know that it can be broken down into categories. There are many different types of sex trafficking such as, prostitution, pornography, sexual oriented performance, mail-order brides, sex tourism, and military prostitution. While some of these don’t sound like sex trafficking and it seems like it’s a choice they make it may not be so. A prime example is prostitution. We know it as a an act of selling ones body on the streets or brothels. It is a misconception that every prostitute enjoys what they do and it is an easy way to make cash. Most times those who work as a prostitute are there due to certain circumstances. According to KSU Freedom Alliance’s “Sex Trafficking and Prostitution” article such circumstances include having no other job skills, needing to be able to provide food and shelter for themselves and possibly family, and being under the control of their pimp. It has been found that most who work as a prostitute are not willing to be there. They are usually forced into the job either by their pimps, husbands, or family members to meet a certain quota every night. Rarely is it a choice for them to be in the profession. Branching off of prostitution is pornography. Many people are skeptical of pornography being a part of sex trafficking, but it is in fact called recorded prostitution. There are actors that do enjoy the profession such as Annie Sprinkle, and Nina Hartley. However, there are teen and other adults that go into the industry because they are sold into it. Additionally, there are those that go into the industry as a last resort due to desperation of not finding a job or even having enough money to survive. When the material/films are out and are ‘well received’ the actors may be conveyed and sold to the highest buyer’s sexual use. In the films most of the pleasure displayed is routinely faked. More so, when they are being filmed the actors are at times forced to preform sexual acts. When they refuse violence could possibly be used on them, yet in the film those parts are cut out. We must keep in mind that most people are unwilling to be in those films. There are actresses that have stated the film is showing them being raped not a representation of them being raped, but them as a real human being being raped. To those that watch the film is may be entertainment, but to those that are in the film it is a violation of their human rights when they are forced to be in them. Another category we can consider that can also be broken down is sexual oriented performances. The first thing under that category is stripping. Most people see stripping as voluntary and while it can be voluntary it can also be involuntary. Stripping consists of a person taking their clothes off in a sexual manner often used to entice others to be intimate with them. Stripping can be a gate way into the sex industry as victims may start off dancing or stripping in clubs and then be coerced into situations of prostitution and pornography. The victims can be United States citizens, but there is a larger number of immigrants that are forced to work instead. Most are lured in by the promise of a good job and instead it becomes something completely different. The second act under sexual oriented performances is massages with special endings. This type of performances tends to occur through fake massage businesses that claim to offer acupuncture, massage, and other therapeutic, health, and spa services while in fact it is a brothel. The massagers are usually immigrants that are made to service 6-10 people a day. Mail-ordered brides are also counted as sex trafficking. They are usually immigrants introduced to the concept of matchmaking organizations that match the victims up with another in a different country. When the victims are matched with another they are usually given a form of communication in which the supposed future spouse will feed the victim false information and provide promises that are in fact lies and are used to entice them into believing that a loving relationship will occur. Women meeting their husbands through brokers frequently have little to no opportunity to get to know their prospective spouse which increases the chance of a different behavior when they meet face to face. This trend became really popular in the 1900’s and is still around today. Going along with sex trafficking in other countries there are victims that work in the sex tourism industry. The concept for sex tourism is that the buyer goes into another country to have sex with a victim them leaves later back to their own country or even to another and do it all over again. The buyers usually participate in this when they are on business trips and want to have some fun. Most victims are kidnapped of lured in to work in the red light district in the country they are in. The red light district in other countries are usually out in the open and it takes up several streets where prostitutes, escorts, and more are gathered to sell their bodies or in some cases forced to sell their bodies. The most well known countries that sex tourism is in are Thailand, Cambodia, Cuba, Philippines, Brazil, and Indonesia. Speaking of going to other countries we have our own military personnels stationed at different places. Within those countries there may be military prostitution occurring. While we acknowledge that their service is invaluable they still have sexual needs. In such cases near the base there might be prostitutes that are stationed there. There are victims that are forced to be stationed nearby a military base and threatened if they attempt to leave. It has even been reported that in certain countries their leaders will actively go to military personnel to advertise their red light districts or brothels nearby. Recently there has been a controversy in which a general of the base has forbid any officers to go out and pay for another’s services. Following up on it other bases have been forbidden as well. Additionally, there have been cases in which female soldiers were offered the position of being a prostitute at a certain base. While they have declined such proposals we as a country need to establish rules that stop us from exploiting others.

Statistics and Laws About Sex Trafficking
The practice of human sex trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. The illegal money acquired from the practice totals up to 35 billion dollars annually. The term sex trafficking has recently been coined and used more frequently in our society. There have been awareness campaigns on both the state and federal level. Which raises the question, just how many people does this practice affect? The answer is it affects everyone. Whether you are young, old, man or woman; you can still be at risk for sex trafficking. Currently, 100,000 - 300,000 children are at risk to being forced into the commercial sex industry each year in the United States alone. Women and children are most at risk, making up 98% of sex trafficking victims globally. Those are just a few of the statistics of the sex trade on the federal level.

In Ohio alone, more than 1,000 minors are sex trafficked annually. Out of  more than 300 woman involved in sex trafficking in Ohio cities, a report showed 35% of those woman had been recruited into the sex trade as minors. Also, more often they were recruited by woman who were either in the trade themselves, or had acted as a friend. Runaway children are at a high risk of becoming victims of the practice, of all the woman surveyed 63% reported having ran away more than twice before they were recruited. In 2014, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office reported 22,650 missing person; more than half of them, 18,097 to be exact, were reported runaway minors. Between 2013 and 2015, the Ohio Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers identified the majority of victims were females between the age of 13–18 years old.

Abuse at home can be a large contributor to the sex trade, 91% female victims reported abuse in their homes before their recruitment. Another 77% reported having been involved with children and family services before coming victims. For some young women the cycle can be endless without some type of outside intervention. Even after being recruited as a minor 77% percent of those young girls continue onto adult prostitution, unless rescued.

Although the human sex trade can be mostly hidden undercover, all 50 U.S states have reported cases of sex trafficking. The state of Ohio ranks fifth among the 50 states that reported sex trafficking. Out of all the cities in Ohio, Toledo is the most prevalent for sex trafficking. It is rated number 4 in cities for youth sex trade in the United States. Ohio’s location in the country can make it a hot spot for human trafficking to blossom. Ohio’s proximity to the Canadian border, access to major transportation routes, and it’s abundance of rural land are all factors that can be aids to help spread and conceal the act of the sex trade.

All of these statistics about sex trafficking in Ohio raises the question of what exactly is being done about this heinous crime? Recently Ohio has been creating and revising old laws to curve the amount of sex trafficking. Just in August 2011, Attorney General Mike DeWine reconvened the Human Trafficking Commission. This new commission was set into place to continue the work of the former Trafficking in Persons Study Commission, which was set into place by the prior attorney general. This new commission includes elected and appointed officials, members of local, federal, and state law enforcement, public and private school agencies, and religious groups. The group meets regularly to analyze the extent of sex trafficking in Ohio, help victims, and investigate and prosecute sex traffickers.

One of the most recent bills passed in Ohio was House Bill 262. It is also known as the Safe Harbor Law. This newly fortified bill focuses on improving the care of victims in the sex trade, as well as increasing the penalties against sex traffickers. Some features of this new bill are: It creates a new diversion program for juvenile sex trafficking victims. Allow records for juvenile victims to be expunged, while at the same time increasing the sex trafficking charge to a first degree felony and raising the minimum prison time to 10 years. After jail people convicted of sex trafficking will have to register as sex offenders. Also the bill makes obstruction of justice in a sex trafficking case, a second degree felony. So if you know of victims or a sex ring that is a crime as well. Accordingly, Senate Bill 235 passed in 2011 created a crime called trafficking in person. Trafficking in person is defined as knowingly recruiting, harboring, or transporting a person knowing that person will either by subject to forced servitude or to compel to engage in sexual activity for hire.

The new bill doesn’t just work to protect victims and punish criminals, it also works to make people and local law enforcement aware. All peace officers now are required to have training in handling trafficking in persons violations as a part of basic training. And local law enforcement now has series of online and in-person training to make them conscious of the issue. Since the passage of the bill, last summer, law enforcement officers have taken over 35,000 online human trafficking courses. Attorney General Mike DeWine states, “The problem we have is that people do not necessarily recognize what human trafficking is when they see it. The public's help is needed to stop human trafficking, Dewine added, and he encouraged Ohioans who suspect the crime to notify authorities.”

To further limit the scope of sex trafficking just this June, Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 130. This up to date bill is also known as the End Demand Act severs parental rights of people found guilty of trafficking their children or other people’s children. Limits suggestive advertising, and allows prosecutors to automatically charge someone with the crime of sex trafficking if they pay for sex with a minor younger than 16 years old, or developmentally disabled. This makes it easier to prosecute criminals, previously there had to be proof the minor was compelled to engage in prostitution to make the charges stick.

Due to the passing of the previously mentioned two major bills, Ohio has been effective in helping to eradicate sex trafficking. Ohio received a 9 out of 12 total points in the Polaris Project’s state ratings on human trafficking laws. Polaris Project is a leading organization contributed to fighting against human trafficking and modern-day slavery. The Polaris Project helped contribute to the passing of over 100 anti-trafficking laws in states across the country. To qualify for this top ranking, a state must have enacted significant laws to combat human trafficking. Just four years ago when the Polaris Project began rating states based on anti-trafficking laws, Ohio received only 4 out of 12 points. “Our state has come a long way in improving efforts to eradicate human trafficking but there is still much work to be done”, says state representative, Teresa Fedor.

Media Conception
Throughout the years of the spread of sex trafficking, it has gained much publicity and exploitation in the online society. With living in such a technological world today, there is no doubt that many TV shows, movies, social networks, and online news stations have showcased their own perspective of what really happens behind the closed doors of sex trafficking. With sex trafficking occurring across the globe, many media outlets have adopted the idea and displayed it to the cities in Ohio and across the country.

A newly developed blockbuster named Taken first premiered in 2008 debuting insights into the world of sex trafficking and how easily the crime can occur. The movie was based around a former CIA agent setting out on a mission to rescue his daughter who had been kidnapped and sold into a ring of sex slavery. This movie brought a lot of awareness to sex trafficking and its occurrences across seas. Not only that, but it allowed America to become more aware of the safety while touring other countries. The movie Taken has developed three series since the debut, which keeps the term “sex trafficking” alive and well in the world of media.

TV shows have also partaken in the epidemic of sex trafficking. Shows like Criminal Minds and 8 Minutes have depicted what sex trafficking is like and how it does hit home closer than most realize. Criminal Minds had an episode called “Supply and Demand” which aired in 2011. The FBI agents who are professional profilers found a slavery ring that was abducting disaffected college kids and selling them to bidders. Instead of being sold for sex on the episode, however, the victims were actually bought for the release of violence and stress by beating the victims to death. The FBI agents profiled the bidders as being narcissists who crave control and power. This widely viewed series depicted human trafficking early on when it was becoming more common to hear of missing persons.

The TV series 8 Minutes was a reality show that was set to broadcast on A&E. It featured a former cop, Kevin Brown, who tries to find and help victims of sex trafficking with the aid of other victims. The show focuses on Brown helping victims leave their dangerous situations and start their life over. The show is named “8 Minutes” because Brown is convinced that it takes no longer than 8 minutes to convince a victim to leave with the team. If the team stays longer, it puts everyone’s life at risk. Conversely, the show was soon cancelled due to low ratings and false pretenses.

Not only have movies brought mindfulness to sex trafficking, but news stations have made Ohio citizens more alert to their surroundings as well. Specifically, the Ariel Castro case brought much news attention to sex trafficking. This case, which was highly publicized throughout Ohio and the country, revolved around a Cleveland man abducting three women in his car and holding them hostage for several years. Although Castro never sold the women or trafficked them, it allowed the reality of kidnappings near home to become a realization for many Ohioans.

In just the last two years, a bill was passed on www.change.org to protect victims of sex trafficking and increase punishment for sex traffickers in Ohio. It was campaigned through an online petition which promoted The End Demand Act. Citizens in Ohio also indicated their engagement by participating in the forums online and voicing their opinion in the comments area on the site. It was officially passed on June 6, 2014. Many followers of the website explained why they signed the act and how it was well needed for Ohio. This act of online activism is one of the many reasons why sex trafficking in Ohio is trending.

Along with online petitions and news castings, sex trafficking prevention techniques have also been applied throughout school and employment programs in Ohio. For example, www.healthy.ohio.gov is a state sponsored website which deals with programs promoting healthy and safe lifestyles to its citizens. One program they offer is Human Trafficking and Ohio Nurses. This program teaches nurses and healthcare providers how to detect the signs of human trafficking and specializes in how to interact with victims of trafficking and implicate preventive measures. The course is offered on site or online for the convenience of taking the class and becoming more conscious.

Sex trafficking is becoming more and more noticeable in today’s society. As the rates of missing persons reports go up, many question where people are going and what we can do to prevent such situations. Ohio has not only has devised numerous laws outlawing and preventing the act of sex trafficking, but it has also went online to bring the message to the heart of where sex trafficking occurs. Studies show that most children brought into prostitution are lured in from social media sites. Traffickers pretend to be younger kids and reach out to girls while inviting them to parties and events. The Ohio government has made a Facebook page to reach out to anyone who is worried or suspicious of anyone on the network. It is ran by the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force. The page features children’s faces plastered with terms like “Sold for Sex” and “Modern Day Slavery in Ohio.” Phrases like this are depicting the extensive measures Ohio is taking towards sex trafficking and their effort to help. The site also features phone numbers to call and also a number to text.

Ohio has voiced its views in numerous ways when it comes to the trending term of “Sex trafficking.” Not only are the citizens providing their perspective from media and online sources, correspondingly, the government is also prominently promoting preventive strategies against sex trafficking and it is using these media sources to deliver the message.