International human trafficking is an issue that many people are aware of, but what has become very apparent especially of late is that human trafficking in the United States is also a serious problem, and I say serious because human trafficking is never a small problem.
There are more slaves today than in any other point in human history. According to the United Nations, there are 2.4 million people globally who are victims of this heinous trade at any one time.
Human trafficking rips the hope out the hearts of millions of victims caught in its clutches. The U.N. estimates that approximately 80 percent of all trafficking is for the purpose of the sex trade. According the U.S State Department, approximately 80 percent of these victims are women and girls and of these approximately 50 percent are minors. According to multiple studies and statistics, approximately 80 percent of prostituted persons within the United States were sexually abused before they were entered into the sex trade.
“Misidentification of victims is the primary barrier to properly addressing America’s trafficked children,” states an article on traffickinghope.org. “This misidentification often leads to the criminalization of victims, barring them from receiving proper treatment and care.”
According to traffickinghope.org, 77 percent of adult prostitutes were trafficked into the sex trade as minors. CNN reports that there are “between 100,000 and 300,000 child sex slaves in the United States today.” The reason for this discrepancy in the statistics is the misidentification of these victims.
According to a task force for research into Ohio’s contribution to the child sex trafficking industry, chaired by Professor Celia Williamson of the University of Toledo, the top four U.S. gateway cities are Miami, Portland, Las Vegas and Toledo. However, most of the victims in Las Vegas started out in Toledo. The most disturbing finding of this task force was that men could pay $1,000 for 20 minutes of sex with six-month-old infants.
Representative Ted Poe of Texas gave this startling revelation in a speech to the House:
“According to the Humane Society, there are at least 3,500 animal shelters in our nation rescuing those animals, primarily dogs and cats, and making sure that they have some safety… Bear that number in mind, Mr. Speaker, because in the same United States of America there are five shelters — five — for minor sex trafficked victims in this country. Fifty beds in the whole nation is what I understand that there are to take care of minors, primarily young girls who are trafficked throughout the United States for sexual pleasure. Maybe we have gotten our priorities out of sync.”
Out of those five houses, there is only one fully comprehensive treatment facility for child victims of the sex trade. This facility, in Columbus, Ohio is only able to house 32 girls for up to two years.
If you’re thinking at this point that something needs to be done to end human trafficking domestically and around the world as a whole, you’ll get the opportunity to do something about it in the upcoming election.
California Proposition 35, endorsed by both Democrats and Republicans, will give Californians a chance to say no to sexual exploitation and yes to:
- Increased criminal penalties for human trafficking, including prison sentences up to 15-years-to-life and fines up to $1,500,000
- Fines collected to be used for victim services and law enforcement
- Requiring persons convicted of trafficking to register as a sex offender
- Requiring sex offenders to provide information regarding Internet access and identities they use in online activities
- Prohibiting the use of evidence of sexual conduct being used against victims in court proceedings
- Requiring human trafficking training for police officers.
According to the FBI, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, are three of the “13 highest child sex trafficking areas in the nation.” Now voters across the state can take a stand in the war against human trafficking.
In the 1800s, an abolitionists’ movement was started in this country to end slavery. Today, we as a state, and most importantly as a nation, need to look to that movement as an example of what we should be doing now.
Our fight against this modern form of slavery can be won just as it was then. We have the power and the numbers to bring significant change to this problem not only in our country but also globally. It’s time we took a stand and the time is now.
