"It could NEVER happen to ME..." (-or "MY children") = Imfamous last words spoken by every victim's parents and by most every person that has ever been entrapped in a life of corruption and servitude.
"Parents need to know yes, this can happen to your child." "The average age of a child in training for prostitution is thirteen, we've seen them as young as eleven."...says Eileen Jacobs, Special Agent with the FBI. |
Data from the U.S. Department of Justice indicates that prostitution is the sector in which the largest amount of forced labor occurs in the United States. It appears that the trafficking of women for prostitution and the enslavement of children for sexual exploitation are highly profitable activities that are often tied to organized crime and driven by a demand for cheap sex services including child sex.
(Photos: depicting Exploited Children and Teen Prostitute candidates; from various Public Domain sources)
Identifying someone who has been victimized can be very difficult. They usually don’t trust anyone, can be moved frequently and will often avoid law enforcement in fear. Most victims also very often suffer from Stockholm Syndrome and don’t even consider or refer to themselves as victims.
- Progressive Signs of Sexual Exploitation
- Unidentifiable source of income, new clothing and personal items.
- Secrecy or vagueness about their whereabouts and unexplained absences.
- Gaps in life story or defensiveness in response to questions or concerns.
- Isolation from family, friends or other social networks.
- Disassociation or lack of connection to the outside world.
- Highly controlled or restricted schedule, money or communications.
- Malnourishment or untreated health and dental problems.
- Bruises or other unexplained physical signs of abuse.
- Self-blame or feelings of humiliation or shame.
- Paranoia or lack of trust.
- A tattoo that the young person is reluctant to talk about (for instance, being "marked" as property by the exploiter on the neck, chest or arms) or unusually shaped burns (“branded”).
While prostitution is illegal in most states of the U.S., striptease is legal in many states, as is the sale of pornography, which is pervasive and unfortunately protected by the U.S. Constitution under freedom of speech and the press. For organized crime networks this is an open door as the combination of legal and illegal sexual services is normally part of a larger portfolio of products and services that includes illegal drugs and drug trafficking as well. Quite often these mediums are used to force various dependancies or addictive habits onto entrapped persons, which then spirals into yet another method of controlling the victim and keeping them further enslaved. Do YOU know What to watch out for with your children?
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