10, 15, 20, 25 or even 50. Those are the number of “customers” that human trafficking victims are commonly given by their pimps to have sex with. Not making the number given to them that day can result in these women and children being starved, beaten, repeatedly raped and/or tortured. Contrary  to what some people may believe, most prostitutes are not so because they voluntarily chose to be. They are more than likely victims that have been forced into illegal prostitution.

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So, what exactly is human trafficking (also called modern day slavery)? By definition it is the practice of people being tricked, lured, coerced or otherwise forced to work on highly exploitative terms with little or no pay. Human trafficking occurs a lot more often than the average US citizen may realize or think about. In fact, the human trafficking industry grosses approximately $32 billion worldwide, with more than $9 billion being made in Asia alone. However; don’t let that fool you into believing that this doesn’t occur in the United States. Every year approximately 100,000-300,000 children in the United States are involved in prostitution.

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Sex slaves make up about 80% of human trafficking victims. The other 20% is made up of 19% forced labor and 1% debt bondage victims. Over 70% of these victims are females and even more alarming, half of the victims are children. According the stats given by the US Department of State, there are an estimated 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across international borders every year. It has also been reported that anywhere from 14.5k-17,500 people are trafficked into the US annually.

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It’s not so easy for authorities to bust these pimps, captors and traffickers, as it is an underground crime ring. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry; illegal drugs and arm trafficking preceding it. The average cost for the purchasing of a “slave” averages about $90 US dollars, so it is not very difficult for those involved to buy and sell victims. In some countries, families sell their daughters to have enough money for their sons to choose the bride that he wants. It’s not just men buying and selling girls either; women purchase kidnapped girls to work as slaves in their homes and for their sons to marry. These girls are often raped repeatedly by male members of the household. As of now, there’s an estimated 25-30 million slaves worldwide.

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These are some very startling numbers and a harsh reality. We have to be aware of what is occurring in our own cities and even our own neighborhoods. These victims are often incapable of helping or freeing themselves. It’s not uncommon for victims to be injected with heroin or other addictive drugs in order to be controlled by their captors. They fear getting help and if they do try and run away, they are severely punished when caught and sometimes forced to watch others be tortured because they tried to escape. This can also be the punishment if a sex slave doesn’t meet their daily “quota.” One pimp can make over $300,000 a year from three women. This is a disgusting act against humanity that no one should be silent about or ignorant to. It doesn’t stop happening just because you stop thinking about it. We must stand together as one against the horrific crime of human trafficking; it could easily be you or your loved ones. Let’s work together to protect those who aren’t able to protect themselves.

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~Miss Jennipher~



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