Emergency Exit: Click to leave this site immediately
Call Us 24/7 at 918-245-4075
Our mission is transforming lives.
Frequently Asked Questions About Human Sexual Trafficking
- How common is human sexual trafficking in the United States?
- The United States is one of the top three destinations in the world for traffickers that smuggle internationals across the border for the purpose of organized prostitution. Domestic trafficking, or the luring of American citizens (children, teens and young adults) through force, fraud or coercion, is a relatively new phenomenon that threatens every city, town, suburb and community in the nation.
- Who are the traffickers?
- They can be internationals or U.S. citizens. They can be gangs, mobs, or individuals and groups looking to make fast money. The common bond they share is their involvement with organized crime, which can include drugs and firearms, and they typically use violence as a means of carrying out their activities.
- How do women get caught up in trafficking?
- In a variety of ways. Internationally, they may be sold into slavery or even kidnapped. In the United States, they can be runaways or throwaway kids. They can be teens or young adults tricked into what they believe to be a legitimate job, such as a model, cocktail waitress or hostess. They can be anyone lured in through Internet advertisements, Facebook and other online sites that offer large salaries, travel, and designer clothes. They can be recruited by boyfriends or friends of friends.
- How can these women escape a trafficking ring?
- Once ensnared, escape is extremely difficult. Traffickers may sell victims to other rings in exchange for drugs or weapons, or to pay off a debt. They use threats of violence and death to keep their victims captive. They torture and kill attempted escapees in front of other victims to send a loud and clear message. They threaten harm to the family members or friends of victims if they try to escape or tell anyone about their situation. They regularly drug their victims who then become addicts so that they remain dependent on their captors.
- Escape may actually be easier for American than international victims who are illegally smuggled into the U.S. with no documentation. On a positive note, numerous American and international victims of sexual slavery have managed to escape organized rings through law enforcement raids. Victims also have escaped through their own quick thinking or taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity or circumstance.
- How can potential victims of sexual trafficking avoid traps and pitfalls?
- Never answer an online advertisement that offers a "too-good-to-be-true" promise without researching the legitimacy of the employer. Avoid social venues that have reputations for sexual recruiting or nefarious activities. Don't meet with a potential employer at his home or other questionable place. Exercise your instinct. If something or someone doesn't seem legitimate, it probably isn't.
