We forget that people in parts of the world cannot even put food on the table. The sex trafficking industry is alive and thriving, especially in the United States. According to Woman's Funding Network in an Article published "Enslaved in America" we must break the typical stereotype of what we think the sex industry is:
"When we hear the words "sex trafficking," as Americans we immediately think of women and children overseas who are being forced into the sex trade or who are brought into the United States for the purpose of sexual exploitation. We don't usually think closer to home — Americans trafficked by Americans. But I want you to think about young women and even girls that you have seen late at night when you come home from work or a social event. Maybe you have seen them in the streets in short dresses and spike heels. You turn your heads to look away. We do not look at the faces of these young women and girls who are forced to be out in the street. Maybe we think this is what they want to do or they wouldn't be out there. Maybe it is easier to believe that it is an empowering choice they have than face the harsh reality of child sexual abuse, physical and mental abuse, and the pimps that prey on the young women and girls.
To understand all aspects of sex trafficking in the United States, you have to open your mind and let go of what you have seen or heard on television. You need to let go of the media's portrayal of the "joys" of street prostitution, and open your eyes to the violence and control the pimps and sex traffickers exercise over their victims, who are mostly girls and young women."
The FBI estimates that well over 100,000 children and young women are trafficked in America today. They range in age from 9 to 19, with the average age being 11. There are so many things that we can be doing TODAY to combat the sex trafficking industry. This is an outrage, and we need to be advocates for these young women.
According to Equality Now's website, these are some ways we can combat the sex trafficking industry:
Working to End Sex Trafficking Around the World
Through its Trafficking Program, Equality Now works to end all forms of trafficking in women and girls, most of whom are sold into the commercial sex trade, by educating the public, targeting sex tourism operators, monitoring trafficking that occurs on the internet, and influencing policy makers to pass strong, effective anti-trafficking legislation.
How you can Help:
Taking advantage of action techniques such as letter writing, fax and email campaigns, media events and public information activities, Equality Now mobilizes action on behalf of individual women whose rights are being violated and promotes women rights at the local, national and international levels. You can help protect the human rights of women by joining the Women’s Action Network and supporting Equality Now’s Trafficking Fund.
