Exploitation in Disguise
People in the modern age, don’t often realize how much goes on around them. Sometimes the things that go on around them are disguised as something else. For example, did you know that the person next to you could be involved in something as shocking and gruesome as sex trafficking? This person could also be from 1 to 18 years or older. In this era, there is a pandemic for sex trafficking and millions are being affected. Let’s look at four first-hand accounts from women who have had to witness this tragedy.
Karla Jacinto
There is a cruel reality going around the world. Karla Jacinto witnessed this in the United States and Mexico, two big sources of sex trafficking. On Karla’s account, she was used and raped over 43,000 times. For her, there were no breaks, no days off, and no escaping. This continued for 4 years.
Karla’s first memory was of feeling discarded by her mother. Some sex trafficking cases start with neglect or abuse by the parent or guardian. They can also start with untreated mental and/or physical health issues. If a person has been abused by someone close to them, this makes it easier for a trafficker to gain their trust.
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Jasmine Marino
Jasmine was a normal woman going to a community college and working at a hair salon when she met an attractive man through some friends. Jasmine stated, “I didn’t really have good healthy supports in my life.” With only a broken family, she had to rely on herself. Having to do this only weakened her self-esteem, this made it easy for the trafficker to give her attention.
Very soon he had full trust and full control. Jasmine had started doing drugs and drinking when she was 12 years old. People getting sex trafficked at a young age indicate why we need stronger laws to education groups that deal with minors. If minors had a better comprehension of techniques used by traffickers, our statistics might go down.
Summer Dickerson
Summer Dickerson was only 15 years old when she became involved in sex trafficking. She may have tattoos but what is underneath is the biggest story of all. Summer believes sex trafficking is swept under the rug when it should be exposed. According to Summer, “I tell my story because I need people to understand that this is happening and it’s happening right under our noses.” Sex trafficking is not widely known or talked about. Summer would like that to change. There are many ways to cut down on sex trafficking. Many institutions have created initiatives to peel back and stop this act. For example, community education programs, seizures of cars involved in the purchase of trafficking-related sales, and suspension of drivers licenses.
Lizi Mooney
There are hundreds of ways people are sold out in trafficking. Most of them are online on websites like Backpage.com or phone services like Vibe Line. This is what happened to Lizi Mooney when she decided to run away. Lizi had been doing every kind of drug imaginable when she decided her life would be better if she ran away. Not realizing until afterward how bad of a decision that really was. Mooney met some strangers at a local Mcdonalds who promised her some cash but instead took her to an apartment where she was stripped of her identity and starved. Lizi was sold out by a woman of the name Misty Harris, who put her on the website Backpage.
Thankfully, this website was shut down by the FBI, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other sites similar to it. Even though large illegal websites are shut down, this hardly affects the efforts of traffickers. By removing the main advertisements, this only makes sex traffickers move their efforts and conceal them to make them unidentifiable. Lizi Mooney who was sold on a shutdown website by the name “Backpage” was only moved to a more concealed method. Mooney tried to escape but it was futile. “When I tried to leave out the door it was blocked … I was made to sleep on the floor. I was starved.” said Lizi. Following three weeks of torture and being forced into sex with strangers, Lizi finally escaped and ran to a convenience store where she contacted help.
Sex trafficking can begin in many different ways. It can start as an untreated problem, mentally or physically, abuse or neglect by guardians, or something as simple as low self-esteem. But some ways it can start could be avoided like little education about the subject or techniques. This could be greatly changed if we made new laws or educational programs in communities or started some of the initiatives as previously mentioned (in paragraph 3 ). The problem of sex trafficking could be considerably changed if we informed every person possible about the dangers and effects of this act.
