Transitioning Times

“But it’s their choice,” you might say. Well, I’d like to tell you why buying sex from a person is degrading and criminal even if the person is “choosing” to sell sex. First off, I do not like the terms “choose” or “choice” when it comes to prostitution. More often than you might think, prostitutes are actually forced to sell sex – otherwise known as sex trafficking.  According to rapeis.org the average age of entry into “sex work” is around 13-14 for girls (Farley, n.d.).  Other sources are estimating this number even lower. Because they are under 18, not able to consent to sex, they are actually victims of sex trafficking. As a result, a lot of women, so called, “choosing to sell sex” started off in sex trafficking and this is the only life they know. In my opinion, for the others who this might not be the case, there is almost always a reason or circumstance that leads to a person choosing to sell sex for a living. I do not believe that anyone truly wants to sell hi...

We have been posting a lot lately about human trafficking, and as more people understand what it is, there is more media coverage.  When you learn more about human trafficking, a byproduct is that you learn more about sex work.  And whether talking about sex work, sexual abuse of children, or human trafficking, pimps come up. I am appalled that people still use this word in a positive way when bragging about their own, or another man's sexual prowess.  Pimps force, that's right, FORCE people, sometimes children, into working for them, through manipulation or fear.  Consider the words you are using: That man sleeps with so many women, he is a criminal who forces children into prostitution!  Not that sexy anymore, is it?

Shared Hope International has recently completed a project called Protected Innocence, based on research performed by Shared Hope International and compiled in “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.”  This project gives grades to states for their response to domestic minor sex trafficking, as well as providing suggestions for policy changes.  The Federal  Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) has made sex trafficking of a minor a crime.   Federal law defines sex trafficking as the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.” When considering the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking, under the TVPA, the victim’s age is the critical issue—there is no requirement to prove that force, fraud, or coercion was used to secure the victim’s actions if the victim is a minor.  This is key because many minor sex traffickers do not need to use force or coercion.  The vi...