Research Topic: Misconceptions
Labeling a sex trafficked girl as a prostitute implies that she willingly sold her body for money and made a conscious choice to do so. Rather than being viewed as a victim, she is frequently blamed for making the choice to engage in sex for money. The reality is that most of these girls have not even reached the age of consent before being arrested for the crime of prosecution. Instead, the victims are punished, not the perpetrators or pimps who coerce and force these girls to engage in commercial sex acts (Rand, 2010).
Also, when Americans hear the term “child trafficking,” they typically believe it to be a problem in other countries, not in the United States (Atwell-Davis, 2010).
Yet, even if they are able to concede that it does occur in the U.S., the general assumption is that the victims are foreign-born children, trafficked into the U.S., and usually in big cities. However, it has been found that child trafficking victims, trafficked for sex, are also American children, and are in all parts of the country, from small towns to large urban areas. Many of these children leave home and fall victim to traffickers along the way (Atwell-Davis, 2010).
Atwell-Davis, C. (2010). Sexual exploitation online. Retrieved from
http://www.mass.gov/Cago/docs/Community/Testimony/NCMEC.pdf
Rand, A. (2010). It can't happen in my backyard: The commercial sexual exploitation of girls in the United States. Child & Youth Services, 31(3-4), 138-156.
Smith, L.A., Vardaman, S.A., & Snow, M.A. (2009). The national report on domestic minor sex trafficking: America’s prostituted children. Arlington, VA: Shared Hope International