What is Sex Trafficking?

As a part of the series of videos that Transitions has done on sex trafficking and the work we are doing with survivors, we wanted to create a forum for dialog about some of these key issues. We would like to invite you to post comments, questions, and information that would help us all in the fight to abolish child sex trafficking.

The first question we posted was "What is Sex Trafficking?" A very basic question, but one that we felt should be first. So much gets lost in much of our conversation about this issue. Sexual slavery was the first term that was used for what happens to girls who are sexually exploited globally. In the early 2000's, the term was changed from 'slavery' to 'trafficking', via the US State Department and other large organizations looking for a more technical term to give better understanding of human slavery.

The change of terminology also came as a result of not wanting to denigrate the slavery endured by African men, women, and children during the 18th and 19th Century in Europe and the United States by using such a strong word. Certainly, in many situations, modern day slavery does not look the same as chattel slavery, but there are other aspects to consider. First, the price of slaves has steeply dropped. In the 1860, the cost of a slave was just over $1,600. In today's currency, this would be tens of thousands of dollars. Slaves were kept for years and often generations. Yet, today's slavery looks differently.

Today, people are bought for less than $100, which is less than much of the world pays for their cellphones. Girls are purchased in Cambodia for $300-500, but will be sold over and over again to customers for commercial sex at $5-50 a time (more for the virgin trade). Girls, women, and boys are not kept long, as sexual exploitation takes a harsh toll on victims' physical appearance and their longevity in the trade.

There are other aspects, which will be addressed in future videos, but we want to hear from you? Is sex trafficking slavery? What is your definition?

Fear The 'Fad' of Sex Trafficking

Transitions' girls making 'worry dolls' with Naropa art therapy students.

When Transitions began its journey to see young girls find hope and healing from being sexually trafficked in 2006, we had one fear. That fear was that this issue would become a fad, which would fade from public popularity and move on to the next big thing. This issue for us, is about the girls - real girls with real needs to find restoration in their lives and a revival of their dreams. This is not something we did when it was popular. In fact, we began this journey in 2004, when the word sex trafficking was an anomaly to the general public.

Eight years into our journey, we are seeing significant progress - more awareness, more education, and a growing body of foundations, funding agencies, and people that realize the critical need for services to the survivors of this horrible crime. The world of aftercare, treatment, and reintegration is just now beginning to mature to a place that we are having meaningful conversations about what success (in working with survivors) looks like.

Worry dolls created by the girls at Transitions' Dream Home.

But, there is a problem. For a large percentage of people, this issue is something that captures their attention for a time and then they move on to the next big 'cause'. In fact, even within our own field, we are seeing a shift. Major organizations, like IOM (International Organization for Migration) have shifted their focus from repatriation and services to looking at migration in regard to climate change! This shift was due to the interest of donors and an increase of funding for climate issues instead of trafficking. But, we are seeing a movement to no longer focusing on sex trafficking to look at other issues.

The 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) emphasizes that the 'new' issue is labor trafficking and not sex trafficking, which is deeply disturbing. Sex trafficking has not disappeared, nor has it been curbed; rather, sex trafficking has become more complex and pushed further underground. This means that we are making progress, but we need to adjust the methodology for investigating and rescuing victims. The fact that criminals have become more complex in the way they are trafficking and exploiting victims should not dissuade us from making the effort or changing focus to something else.

We certainly can't believe that sex trafficking has gone away and that now traffickers are only exploiting human beings for labor? Yet, by the shift in attention, you would be led to believe that sex trafficking (particularly of minors) has been greatly eliminated. Yet, we see an increased influx of foreign men in Cambodia (Southeast Asia as a whole) and the 'chatter' online would also give the impression that sex tourism is on the rise.

Survivor at Transitions doing sand tray therapy.

We need to maintain our resolve to persevere in our efforts to identify, rescue, and restore the lives of survivors - girls, women, and even boys are counting on us to stay our course. We cannot allow sex trafficking to become a trend, like skinny jeans or dub step. These are human beings crying out for us to see them, hear them, and help them. In order to do this, we need to find innovative ways to engage the global community to stay involved.

Transitions is committed to the long-term effort of restoring the lives of young girls rescued from sex trafficking, through the power of a dream. We believe in giving survivors a new future and providing them with the services and tools they need to begin a new life. This means that we need people (like you) to continue to care and keep your attention on the precious lives that have been affected by sex trafficking. One of the most powerful ways to do this is through sponsoring a girl. Project Every Girl gives you the ability to make a tangible impact in the lives of survivors. You can also advocate with your friends, church, school, and community to get involved.

We also need new and innovative solutions for keeping a focus on this important and critical issue. This is where you come in. If you have ideas for how Transitions can increase awareness of the work we are doing with survivors, let us know. Comment here or on our Facebook page!

All photos by Lauren Huntley 2012

Let Your Heart Break

Every night I heard the rhythm of rape-for-profit. It was all that I could do to try to sleep at night. I spent my days feeding and holding children with severe mental and physical disabilities; the last thing that I wanted to do was go to sleep in a brothel buried in the forgotten corners of Saigon.

As soon as the sun set, management would place numbers on the doors of the vacant rooms in the hotel. Minutes later, girls and boys would arrive on the back of motorbikes and get directed as to which room they were to occupy. After that, the johns would show up, a group composed of a disturbing blend of natives and Western tourists.

And for nearly twelve hours, from sundown to sun up, these men would filter in and out of the rooms that held the girls and boys captive.

I have to confess, I was more annoyed than I was heartbroken for the victims of rape. But two weeks later, I was curled up in a ball on the rooftop of a hotel in Phnom Penh convulsing from the reality of what I had experienced in Vietnam – and then from what I was witnessing in Cambodia.

My heart was breaking in the most painful way imaginable.

I heard someone say a few years ago, “Our hearts must break before our hands can move.” Until that experience in Phnom Penh, I had never really experienced a genuine shattering of my most intimate visions and dreams for life; equally, I’ve never been more provoked to movement.

For four years, I’ve educated myself as extensively as possible on the issue of human trafficking. I’ve attended conferences, written articles, spoken at events, engaged in conversations, and even traveled back to Southeast Asia to assist other organizations, such as Transitions, in their efforts to plant a future in the hearts of survivors of modern day slavery.

But you want to know what the hardest thing for me is? The hardest thing for me is when I’m standing in front of a group of grown men, with their focus fixed like flint on everything but the thing that I’m talking about, and knowing that I’m going to walk away having made no dent in their hearts.

It’s discouraging when hearts don’t care. Yet… there’s hope.

I was recently at a fundraising event for an anti-trafficking non-profit that assists victims of childhood sexual abuse and sex trafficking in Atlanta. Some friends and I had created a walk-thru experience of a typical American girl and her journey into, and out of, sex trafficking.

Hundreds of people walked through the exhibit, but one of the most moving visuals I had from that evening was seeing grown men – fathers, sons, and possibly abusers – standing in a river of tears at the end of the exhibit. Their hearts had shattered as they moved through the story of a little girl’s life gone awry.

It says a lot about the power of story.

For me, my heart was broken in Cambodia so that I could affect change on the injustice of modern day slavery. For some women, the thought of abuse is provocation enough. And for grown men, perhaps they have to walk through an experience before they “get it”.

The point is: I’ve been moved to action, but I guess I’m wondering though… have you let your heart break yet?

Matthew Snyder is a twenty-something writer, abolitionist, and creative living in Atlanta, GA. You can read his blog and follow him on Twitter @matthewlasnyder

If you are interested in contributing to this blog, please contact us at: info@transitionsglobal.org.