The Alarming Issue of Sex Trafficking in America

Fatigued, dehydrated, exhausted, beaten, and possibly dead. 293,000 American children are at risk annually. Running from abuse just to be forced into prostitution and illegal pornography, happens to 20,000 youth every year. This is sex trafficking.

You leave, running from abuse. After one or two days, you cannot take it anymore. All of a sudden, a man appears. He wants to clothe you, feed you, and care for you. How could you possibly turn that down? Someone wants you; you, a dirty, ragged, homeless child. He takes you to his home. You are lead to your room filled with excitement. A bed, warmth, new clothes, nothing could please you more. The door is opened. Shoving you into the room, binding your hands and feet, gagging you. Punch after kick after slap, your so called hero graciously gives you your first beating and continues to do so until you consent to virtually be his sex slave.

He rents your body to multiple men hourly for his own profit. Used, abused, and raped; who you used to be does not matter; all that matters is who he wants you to be. The common cold, STDs, broken bones; he does not care. All he has to do is lure another innocent child into his trap. The pimp just wants the money.

The lucky ones get out alive; however they will always be scarred for life. Most victims will die from illnesses, big and small. With this problem being as serious as it is, how could people let it grow to the problem it has grown to be? 20,000 youth are trafficked every year in America. Less and less people are aware of this problem as it continues to grow bigger and bigger. If people know about sex trafficking, the problem becomes easier to solve.

Every person has something that his or her heart is drawn to. The ones that are drawn to help with sex trafficking will yearn to put an end to it. When people want to do something, they make sure that it happens. Once people begin to do something about this, the problem will dwindle down. The police and special task forces cannot be expected to end the problem alone. It takes more than just the people who actually go and rescue the victims. It requires people who are not afraid of making a difference, the ones who notice when something peculiar happens and reports it. Those types of people are the one who can end this problem all together. People locally and globally need to come together. A pimp would not stand a chance against those who want to help.

They say, “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” Well, what about those who do know? Did you ever stop to think about the pain, agony, or abuse they might go through? People need to know about problems. How else will they be solved? Clearly, sex trafficking is a problem that most do not know about. However, we can change that. Just by people acknowledging what is happening and understanding it, this problem could disappear all together. Knowledge, courage, and understanding can end human trafficking.

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