Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation

The United States - An Unsafe Haven

Human trafficking is the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery or forced labor. The most common form of human trafficking is sexual exploitation which is the slavery of unwilling people for sexual purposes. According to the Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) sexual exploitation is the most common form of modern day slavery. Although it’s a commonly talked about subject, media’s portrayal of the matter has led many people from the United States to subconsciously relate it to Third World Countries. Many United States citizens aren’t aware that it is very prevalent in America as well, if not just as common, more. America has a way of keeping it hidden by directing media attention on this topic towards other parts of the world. News stories and broadcast generally direct the attention of sexual exploitation towards other countries, such as CNN specialist Amanda Kloer. “Stories about human trafficking are often set in far-away places, like cities in Cambodia, small towns in Moldova, or rural parts of Brazil.” (Kloer). .Amanda Walker Rodriguez, FBI, says, “The terms human trafficking and sex slavery usually conjure up images of young girls beaten and abused in faraway places, like Eastern Europe, Asia, or Africa. Actually, human sex trafficking and sex slavery happen locally in cities and towns, both large and small, throughout the United States, right in citizens’ backyards.” The general public of the United States is largely unaware of the issues and organized crime going on secretly and strategically in numerous locations around the country. Citizens of the United States assume that problems associated with sexual exploitation are only big issues in Third World Cou...

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