By: Bill Hadley
3 min. read
What Is Sex Trafficking?
We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the prevalence of sex trafficking and pornography in our culture. In fact, today is World Human Trafficking Awareness Day. It’s encouraging that more people have been willing to have these difficult conversations about trafficking. To better inform ourselves, let’s look at some definitions and statistics:
According to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 passed by the U.S. Congress, sex trafficking is defined as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.” Sex trafficking is a situation in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the victim induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.
We all hate the very idea of sex trafficking. And perhaps you’ve heard that there is a relationship between porn and sex trafficking. But what exactly is their relationship with each other? With the above definition in mind, let’s take a look at the connection between sex trafficking and porn.
Related: Porn and Sex Trafficking
Captured on CAMERA
First, the production of pornography involves payment of individuals to perform sex acts before a camera. Most performers in the sex-for-pay industry today receive payment for the different films or photo shoots they’ve done. Producers record actual events for these film or photo shoots, so real men, women, and children are, in fact, engaging in real sexual acts. The production of this pornography is thus a case of commercial sex acts on camera.
Commercial Sex and COERCION
Secondly, consuming porn is an experience of bought sex. The consumer exchanges money or other forms of value for this sexual experience. Much in-depth research shows that pornographers receive direct financial compensation for providing this sexual act. Many expert accounts credit the commercial sex industry in the U.S. as a $10 billion dollar a year enterprise. Porn plays a major role in this illegal activity. According to former actors in this trade, girls were often driven under the command of a pornographer or agent to and from the production sets, thus fitting the definition of harboring and transporting.
Thirdly, pornographers use physical force or an induced addiction to drugs or alcohol against many of those acting in adult films. This fits the definition for coercion. Former porn actress Jan Meza has noted that the actors in many cases do not know what they are agreeing to—a situation fitting the charge of fraud.
Children in the Sex INDUSTRY
Finally, and tragically, many of those brought into the trade are under the age of 18. Research shows that men buying sex typically prefer “to rent” under-age girls, mistakenly believing that they will be virgins who are free of HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Undercover investigators from Shared Hope International, a Private Voluntary Organization established in 1998 to rescue women and child sex slaves, estimate that one in five pornographic images online depicts children. The National Human Trafficking Hotline has noted further that in 2016 in the U.S., nearly 6,000 cases of sex trafficking were reported and of these, over 2,400 involved minors.
A haven for SURVIVORS
The Samaritan Women – Institute for Shelter Care in Baltimore, MD helps survivors of human trafficking. 24% of the survivors that have been in their residential care program reported knowing they were being filmed as part of a pornographic film; another 63% reported being photographed or filmed during sex acts. The Samaritan Women has dedicated itself to building the national landscape of shelter providers through shelter training and mentorship programs. Their vision is that any survivor, anywhere in the nation, would have access to qualified, compassionate care.
Shine a LIGHT
Take a stand today against the dehumanization of people and recognize pornography as evil. It has the power to increase the demand for sex trafficking as viewers seek to act out what they have seen on screen.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22).
Choose to shine a light in the darkness. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
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The Samaritan Women Institute for Shelter Care was founded in 2007 and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Their mission statement is as follows: Guided by our faith, we advance quality care for sexually-exploited persons through transformative residential care programs, collaborative research, and supportive shelter mentorship. Their vision is “that any survivor, anywhere in the nation, would have access to qualified, compassionate care.” You can check out and support this ministry at https://thesamaritanwomen.org/.