What you need to know about sex trafficking

Disclaimer: although this opinion column is titled “Girl Talk,” sex trafficking can and does affect all people regardless of gender identity. 

Throughout my high school years, I was a part of the Humanities Magnet Program offered within the Freehold Regional High School District in New Jersey. I made the decision to apply during middle school because of my passion for reading and writing, and to my surprise, I was accepted. The Humanities Magnet Program, informally referred to as Humanities, challenged me inside and outside the classroom. My coursework was rigorous, and I was pushed to step outside my comfort zone. It was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world. 

When we were seniors, my classmates and I were tasked with presenting a research project about any issue relating to women in front of the majority of the school. Some topics chosen were sex trafficking in America (my presentation), female genital mutilation, domestic abuse, and body positivity. This project was a huge challenge that we looked forward to over the course of our entire high school career. I worked with five classmates for a total of three months and gained an understanding of a deep-rooted issue not only in America but across the entire world. As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on my research done for this project and continue to educate others on an issue that women face every single day — sex trafficking. It is important to note that sex trafficking affects everyone, regardless of gender identity. My statistics from three years ago are outdated, so I did some more research on present day information. 

Sex trafficking is formally defined as “a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.” Sex traffickers typically sell their victims through disguised venues and businesses such as massage parlors, escort services, hotels, truck stops, or online websites such as Craigslist. As of 2022, there are a total of 35 million sex trafficking victims every single day. Over 50% of worldwide sex trafficking is happening in the United States. California consistently has the highest number of cases followed by Texas, Florida, and New York. 

Sex trafficking is a $150 billion dollar business. While it is difficult to calculate just how much money sex traffickers make from their victims, investigators in the Netherlands were able to make a rough estimate. One single trafficker earned $127,036 per month from four victims, which equates to $1,524,432 a year. 

While writing this piece, I consistently asked myself: why is this happening? As explained in “The Demand: The Driving Force of Sex Trafficking,” presented by Donna M. Hughes, “The demand is the driving force behind trafficking. The trafficking process begins when men and pimps create the demand for women and girls to be used for prostitution. Where the demand for prostitution is high, insufficient numbers of local women and girls can be recruited.” In simpler words, there would be no need for sex trafficking if there was no demand from customers — the driving force behind the industry. Based on a study done in Ohio, the typical customer includes male drug dealers, members of law enforcement, lawyers, construction workers, businessmen, social workers, pastors, city employees, and more. 

It’s important to address how we can help victims in need. Victims frequently do not seek help due to “language barriers, fear of their traffickers, or fear of law enforcement,” but there are a few signs to look for. Victims are often malnourished, living in poor conditions, and are unable to speak to people alone. It’s important to stay aware of surroundings because anyone can come in contact with a sex trafficking victim. In your community, you can volunteer and support anti-trafficking efforts which can be found here. 

If you or anyone you know is in need of help, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888) or 911. 

Girl Talk is an Opinion column written by a current female student to discuss issues surrounding women, whether it be feminism, current events, personal experiences at Stevens or in life, and more.