The crime of child sex trafficking not only violates children’s basic human rights, but leads to severe psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical harm. It raises moral and ethical concerns, including social and cultural grooming, pornography, lack of education, predatory behaviors, perversion, and pedophilia. Lawmakers, law enforcement, and our society must address these issues to eradicate this scourge from our communities.
Although sexual perversions have existed from time immemorial, it has never been this “in-your-face” blatant, or this ubiquitous. So many times people ask, “Why are you so upset? This has been going on since the beginning of time.” As if past awareness, acceptance, or promotion of this reprehensible behavior justifies an unwillingness to do something about this today.
Historical tolerance is NOT an excuse for this reprehensible crime today.
Through my studies, I learned child sex trafficking is not only an entrenched reality, it is in demand and a lucrative criminal enterprise. And the United States is at the epicenter of it all.
Until recently, the general public in America is still not fully cognizant of the crime of child sex trafficking. While there is attention directed to this topic, many people are still in denial of this reality. Why? It is unfathomable for the average American to believe children are targeted for trafficking in their families, schools, and neighborhoods. The reality is, however, very different. Parents do traffic their children, and studies show there is likely a recruiter in every high school in America.
A recruiter or trafficker doesn’t always look like a “bad guy” in the movies, although they can be. More often than not, they can be a boyfriend, a friend, or even family members or other trusted individuals.
One ethical issue surrounding child sex trafficking is using social and cultural grooming to target and exploit vulnerable children.
Traffickers almost always use coercion and manipulation to lure children into a false sense of security, gain their trust, and then exploit them for sexual purposes. In the United States, domestic sex trafficking includes victims of every age, gender, and race. Many traffickers make “too good to be true” promises of relationships plus offers and scams deceiving youths into grooming. Soon after a relationship is established, “sextortion,” force, and gang activity secure the victim to the trafficker.
This type of grooming can take place over a long period. Most children (or their parents) do not even recognize the grooming until it is too late.
Future articles will address more issues regarding child sex trafficking, providing resources to help us fight—and win— this war.
Until then, please consider reading my doctoral dissertation on this topic.
Dr. Manna Ko copyrighted dissertation “Protecting The Most Vulnerable: Learning From Rescuers of Sex-Trafficked Children In The United States”
Ko, Manna. “Protecting the Most Vulnerable: Learning from Rescuers of Sex-Trafficked Children in the United States.” PhD diss., Fielding Graduate University, 2023.
