Currently, there are at least 7 common forms of sex trafficking in the US:
Internet-Based -The internet is the number one resource for pimps, traffickers, and johns looking to buy and sell women and children for sex in the U.S. The trafficking is usually done through pimp controlled sex-trafficking, escort services, in-call and out-call services, chat room, pornography, and brothels disguised as massage parlors which advertise on different websites....read more...
The most dominant online marketplace, Backpage.com, was seized only in April 2018 after almost decade-long legal battles. Backpage.com, which generated over 80% of its income from posting as many as 1 million prostitution ads per day, is part of Village Voice Media here in New York City. Other online portals are still being used in the same way. Generally, the ads may seem like they are posted by individuals, but in reality they are portraying victims of sex-trafficking. There is also a code language that is used by traffickers – for instance, a 15-year-old may be listed as 19 or 20 or just simply say “young” so as to go undetected by police, and the term roses is used to indicate a price.
Escort Services – Escort services are perfect venues to force women into commercial sex slavery. Here, “in-call” & “out-call” services are provided to johns. The “out-call” is referring to a situation in which the individual is brought to the john’s location, the “in-call” is when the john goes to the individual. ...read more...
The agency, pimp, or controller makes these appointments and monitors the victim. They will take some or all of her earnings at the end of the night. Escorts are normally female but some can be male. They can be adults or minors, U.S. Citizens or immigrants. Escorts will tend to advertise mostly online through venues, such as the former Backpage.com.
Massage parlors – Most of these establishments, which are usually a front for trafficking, are run by Asians employing Asian women. ...read more...
Lured in with a promise of a legitimate job, they are forced into prostitution. The women are both documented and undocumented, and are expected to have sex with 6-10 men on a daily basis. These types of massage parlors often open shop and operate in strip malls, office buildings, and sometimes in residential homes. They reside in suburban, urban, and rural areas in almost all of the 50 states.
Residential Brothels -Victims of this type of trafficking are forced to provide commercial sex to high volumes of men on a daily basis. In certain networks, there are women and girls that serve as many as 4 men per hour, every 15 minutes, totaling 48 men in a 12 hour day. ...read more...
In this type of brothel, women and children from Latin America are most commonly found. There are quite a few of these networks that are closed off and only available for Latino men and johns. They do not advertise online or in newspapers but operate through word of mouth or so-called tarjetas. These business cards are very similar to the “chica” cards in Queens, NY, through which a girl can be ordered anytime and will be driven right to the customer’s door.
Street Prostitution – A large portion of trafficking victims can be found on the streets, controlled by a pimp and forced to provide commercial sex services. The pimps use physical violence to coerce and force adults and minors to perform various sexual acts for money. ...read more...
They will lie, threaten, and give false promises and false hope to bring their victims to heel. Most victims are forced to earn an average of $500 to $1000 a night, which in turn goes to the pimp. In this type of forced prostitution, the victims are usually U.S. citizens, including adults, young girls and boys, and transgender youth. Immigrants are rarely seen in this line of sex trafficking.
Hostess & Strip Clubs – Women who are victims of both labor and sex trafficking can be found in Hostess Clubs and Strip Clubs. ...read more...
After being trafficked, they are forced by their pimp, employer or controller to provide commercial sex to the club patron in addition to their dancing and hostess services. The victims most often belong to one of the following groups: U.S. Citizens, undocumented immigrants, or foreign nationals with tourist, summer work, or entertainment group visas. They usually tend to be adult women, but some networks will exploit minors as well.
Truck Stops – There are two common ways in which sex trafficking occurs at truck stops in the United States. One is through pimp-controlled prostitution and the other is through massage parlors. ...read more...
Pimps tend to move their victims from city to city and force them to engage in commercial sex at truck stops along the way. Brothels that are disguised as legitimate massage parlors are often located near truck stops. The women are controlled through confinement and complicated debt bondage.
Potential Human Trafficking Distribution as identified by Polaris Project in 2017.
While we are primarily concerned with helping local survivors here in the U.S., human trafficking is a global human rights issue.
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