Some of them run away. Some of them simply have nowhere to go.
But the lives of prostitutes—often coerced into sex slavery—are usually misunderstood.
Trafficking is considered the third largest industry for organized crime, generating billions of dollars annually.
Here’s a news roundup of some recent news stories about sex trafficking:
New York Times: “Shining Light on the Role of Drivers in Prostitution” by Christine Haughney:
Sofia, a sweet-voiced and cherubic 24-year-old, was one of the lucky ones: She managed to escape much of the suffering shared by the millions of sex workers trafficked throughout the world, and even saw two of her traffickers forced out of the country and back to Mexico.
But the young woman said she still feels that complete justice has eluded her, because the drivers who ferried her from john to john, her de facto bosses, remain at large.
Deseret News: “Stolen Innocence: The battle against modern-day slavery in the US” by Elizabeth Stuart:
ATLANTA — Maybe it was the defiant glint in her eye. Maybe it was the way she dragged her feet on the way to join the other underage girls in tube tops and 8-inch heels hawking their bodies in a bad part of Atlanta. Keisha Head wasn’t sure. But somehow Sir Charles always knew when she was considering trying to escape.
“You better not be thinkin’ ’bout leaving,” the pimp would say. “You know what’s gonna happen.”
CBS News: “Captive sex slave for 10 years tells her story” by CBS News:
For 10 years, Tanya Kach, of McKeesport, Pa., was held as a sex slave under her abductor’s complete control. Now, she’s come out to tell her amazing survival story.
In 1996, Kach was a 14-year-old girl carrying around grown-up problems. Her parents were splitting up. And, like most girls that age, adjusting to the teenage years was tough.