Sexual violence has been an increasing concern for nearly everyone all over the world, and even more specifically sex trafficking. United states criminal justice system and social service organizations especially have increased their attention in stopping these illegal activities. Three articles have brought original information on the topic of sex trafficking. The goal of the research conducted was to inform and educate the general public about sex trafficking.
The articles: Sex Trafficking of Minors in Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Rural Communities by Jennifer Cole and Ginny Sprang, Challenges to Identifying and Prosecuting Sex Trafficking Cases in the Midwest United States by Andrea J. Nichols and Erin C. Heil, and Prostitution on Demand by Janice G. Raymond each have their own unique perspective on the topic of sex trafficking. The articles sample from and did their research in different areas of interest in the topic of sex trafficking, which is why they are all inimitable.
Sex Trafficking of Minors in Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Rural Communities by Jennifer Cole and Ginny Sprang conducted research to see if sex trafficking of minors occurred in all areas of the country. By this they wanted to see if trafficking was occurring in rural and urban regions of the country. Not only did they want to see if sex trafficking was happening in these areas, but also wanted to see if the public communities were worried about this type of sexual violence in their region.
They conducted their research by over the phone surveys, which they deliberately surveyed professionals to find out their awareness, knowledge, and experience in this subject matter. The results of the survey were staggering. Nearly all metropolitan communities had received training and seemed knowledgeable on sex trafficking, while micropolitan and rural communities did not. Also, those in micropolitan and rural communities did not see human trafficking as a problem in their community, but metropolitan communities did.
The study came to the conclusion that sex trafficking of minors occurs in all regions. Because the majority of sex trafficking happens in metropolitan areas, that’s where professionals invest their time. This is also why micropolitan communities don’t see sex trafficking as a problem. Challenges to Identifying and Prosecuting Sex Trafficking Cases in the Midwest United States by Andrea J. Nichols and Erin C. Heil focuses on the potential problems in identifying sex trafficking victims and challenges prosecuting perpetrators.
The research was conducted by face-to-face interviews of 12 subjects. In the interviews the interviewer let the subject steer the discussion on what they found difficult in identifying victims, and prosecuting perpetrators. All 12 subjects that were interviewed were from the city of St. Louis. The interviews were recorded word for word to have maximum accuracy. The researchers found that often it was difficult to identify victims because the victims were unwilling to seek assistance.
This is because they were afraid social service providers would not take their claims seriously or that the police would charge them for some offense that they committed. There are many reasons why it is difficult to prosecute perpetrators. The first being that traffickers use techniques to keep their victims hidden in the first place. These techniques consist of keeping their victims constantly moving, using interstate systems to move victims from city to city, and using hidden venues. Second, misidentifying victims causes them to be considered illegal immigrants and they are deported before the case can be resolved.
Lastly, the process to prosecute is very long and victims become frustrated and often disappear before the case is resolved. The researchers were able to find basically all of what they were looking for based off of these 12 interviews. Prostitution on Demand by Janice G. Raymond focuses on how the demand for sex influences sex trafficking and how legalization of prostitution effects sex trafficking. This case studied the Netherlands, which prostitution is legal in this country. Many different aspects influence the sex industry.
For example, “countries in financial and political crisis; female poverty that is preyed on by recruiters, traffickers, and pimps; military presence in many parts of the world; racial myths and stereotypes; and women’s inequality all contribute to the rise in global sexual exploitation” (Raymond pg. 1160). All of these different aspects increase the demand of sex trafficking. After the research had been conducted, the researchers came to the conclusion that legalization of prostitution increased sex trafficking and demand for these services.
Legal legitimation gave men the sense of moral acceptance and in return increased the amount of human trafficking. All three articles had similarities to them. They all focused on the subject matter of sex trafficking. Sex Trafficking of Minors in Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Rural Communities and Challenges to Identifying and Prosecuting Sex Trafficking Cases in the Midwest United States both stated that lack of communication and collaboration between agencies made it inefficient in successfully identifying victims and persecuting perpetrators.
Also, these two investigations used interviews as their main source of information. They both looked at information the professionals in law enforcement gave them. All three articles stated that trafficking involves illegal activities that have large profit margins that are at risk. Lastly, all three articles state that there are a variety of buyers that come from all ages and races. Although the articles are very similar, they are also very different.
For one each study was from a different location. Sex Trafficking of Minors in Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Rural Communities took a sample of professionals from all over the country, while Challenges to Identifying and Prosecuting Sex Trafficking Cases in the Midwest United States took a sample of professionals only from St. Louis, and Prostitution on Demand took a sample from the Netherlands. Also, each article took a different sub category of sex trafficking as its main issue of focus.
One article focused on minors, while the other two focused on human trafficking as a whole. The method I used to go about finding these articles was very specific. I used the UDayton library resources, specifically SocINDEX. Once in SocINDEX I used an advanced search, searching “sex trafficking,” and also inserting a publication name with the different academic journals. I looked at every academic journal and chose scholarly (peer reviewed) academic journals that interested me the most.
I ended up finding Sex Trafficking of Minors in Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Rural Communities under the publication name of Child Abuse & Neglect, Challenges to Identifying and Prosecuting Sex Trafficking Cases in the Midwest United States under Criminology, and Prostitution on Demand under Violence against Women. Because I used such a specific search process it refined my results significantly, and allowed me to find unique original findings on the subject of sex trafficking.
