Research: Pimping
Techniques Used
The pimp's techniques include (a) grooming or “finesse pimping,” wherein a young girl is lured into a situation where she appears to be making her own decisions about her life; (b) “bait and switch,” wherein an attractive opportunity is presented in order to gain trust and hope only to later change the situation upon entry; and (c) “guerilla pimping,” wherein the trafficker recruits through the
use of threat, physical violence, or other forms of coercion (Ohio Trafficking in Persons Report and Research and Analysis Sub-Committee 2010; Williamson and Prior 2009). These techniques all involve a relationship of some sort.
Examples of Techniques
According to Goldblatt Grace (2009) the pimp may pretend to be a photographer who wants to build her modeling career or a music producer interested in casting her in an upcoming music video. However, the most common tactic is seduction (Flowers, 2001; Raphael, 2004; Lloyd, 2005). According to Friedman (2005) young girls are seduced by love, money, and glamour and are unaware of the potential danger they face.
The pimp may have sex with the girl to gain her emotional and financial dependence and then persuade her into having sex for money (Estes & Weiner, 2001).
The pimp may portray a caretaker or paternal role with the girl to gain her trust and love, only to then become less emotionally supportive and adopt the view of their relationship as being a contractual one, with the pimp demanding the girl produce a minimum amount of revenue daily (Estes & Weiner, 2001).
A pimp may also take the girl to an abandoned building, have her gang raped for indoctrination, and then turn her out on the street (Friedman, 2005).
The pimp assesses his initial level of control and determines when the girl will start making money for sex. This may take anywhere from one week to six months (Friedman, 2005).
Works Cited
Estes, R. J., & Weiner, N. A. (2001). The commercial sexual exploitation of children in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Retrieved from http:// www.sp2.upenn.edu/restes/CSEC_Files/Exec_Sum_020220.pdf
Flowers, R. B. (2001). Runaway kids and teenage prostitution: America’s lost, abandoned, and sexually exploited children. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Friedman, S. (2005). Who is there to help us: How the system fails sexually exploited girls in the United States. New York: ECPAT-USA, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.ecpatusa.org/EcpatUSA_PDF/whoIsThereToHelpUs3.pdf
Goldblatt Grace, L. (2009, Winter). Understanding the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Link: Connecting Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice (Newsletter of the Child Welfare League of America), 7(2), 1, 3–5, 13–15.
Raphael, J. (2004). Listening to Olivia: Violence, poverty, and prostitution. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Lloyd, R. (2005). Acceptable victims? Sexually exploited youth in the U.S. Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, 18(3), 6–18.
Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission, Research and Analysis Sub-Committee (2010). Report on the prevalence of human trafficking in Ohio. Retrieved from www.centralohiorescueandrestore.org.
Williamson, C., & Prior, M. (2009). Domestic minor sex trafficking: a network of underground players in the Midwest. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 2(1), 46–61.