As a young woman in American society, I would like to have a peace of mind about being on my own but I don’t. It seems like there are so many cases of sex trafficking and only the victims are being punished. I would like to know if I was trafficked into prostitution, then my captor will pay and I would not be charged of any crimes. My concern is that so many young men and women are thrown into jail for crimes they were forced to do and little to nothing is done to the traffickers who are forcing them. The laws should be changed to consider the men and women who are forced into prostitution.
There are some cases of prostitution where the convicted criminal is actually the victim of a crime. Some prostitutes are actually women and men who have been manipulated and kidnapped. When a pimp tries to recruit new prostitutes, they usually make empty promises about how they can help the unsuspecting victim with his or her problem. Once the victim is under the pimp’s control, the victim has no way of escaping. For example, in the case of United States vs. Corey Davis, victim number two was lured in with the promise of renting a cheap apartment then was later forced to become a prostitute.
All prostitutes are not in the business for his or her own benefit. Pimps usually threaten and beat their prostitutes to install fear into them. Often times, prostitutes have their loved ones lives as well as their own threaten. Pimps may use threats like “If you leave I will find you.” or “If you leave I will hurt your family.” to ensure their prostitutes would not disobey them. Both the men and women in prostitution are often thought of as “property” and have no rights to his or her own opinion. Prostitutes are not allowed to keep the money they make, are raped, and are beaten badly by their pimps. In the case of United States vs. Corey Davis, when a young women was caught drinking alcohol her pimp, Davis, took a box cutter and cut her from her head down to the middle of her back. Some pimps use these harsh tactics to teach their prostitutes a lesson they will never forget. According to Catharine A. MacKinnon’s book, “Women’s Lives, Men’s Laws“, a recent study of street prostitutes in Toronto found that about 90 percent wanted to leave but could not.
It is possible that anyone could possible say they were sex trafficked into prostitution just to get out of charges, but there are ways to weed them out by using the definition of slave . A slave is anyone who is held against their will, under the threat of violence, and forced to work with no pay. Every aspect of life for a prostitute is controlled by their pimp. From what they are allowed to wear, eat, do, say, and even when they can sleep. They are no longer in charge of themselves because they are now their pimp’s property. Until the government or state gets involved, these humans could possibly be treated as if they were replaceable.
According to the FBI in 2001, there were over 400,000 women and children being trafficked worldwide. This means that your mother, sister, cousin, or daughter could possibly be sex trafficked. Now how would you feel if they were kidnapped, raped, forced into prostitution, and then received criminal charges for it? You would feel like they were treated unjustly. The laws of prostitution should be changed to be fair and just for all.
Legal reform is absolutely necessary. Until the pimps and johns are the ones living in constant fear these girls will never be free of it. There also needs to be a legal differentiation between a woman who chooses to support herself by exploiting her body and a woman who was kidnapped, manipulated, or forced to have sex for the profit of other man. A large part of this is knowing when a prostitute is making money for herself or for a person threatening and watching her from somewhere else. Prostitutes in captivity do not keep their earnings and are robbed of their profit. A woman who chooses to independently sell her body to make money can be taxed on this like a normal citizen and can live in harmony under the law to some extent. The girls sleeping on a floor in a basement with no idea of where they are or when they will be free need to be given justice, and the people who lead them to such misery should face severe punishments.
ReplyDeleteThat video is haunting, even the anchorwoman looked uneasy after watching the video. I am very please that the girl called the police and was rescued. I'm ecstatic that her pimp was charged with aggravated assault and child prostitution. All pimps should be charged with forced prostitution and assault as the minimum charge. I wish that more police stations would charge pimps in this manner.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video posted on the blog it seems though en slaved women or men hold fear towards their sex trafficker or pimp. Because of that victims do not take bold risk to receive help. Though this video had a happy ending many victims know the chances of it ended badly are high as this is a reason for that they do not seek help. Creating laws that do not only punish the criminals for their horrible crime but laws that protect the victims from them and provide services will do more good for the community.
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