Illustration by Claire Charpentier
By Brittany Schrager
A hidden plague has been sweeping our nation, affecting children as young as twelve years old. A pandemic, with a life expectancy of 7 years and, if you survive it, you are left with unforgettable trauma. This epidemic is human sex trafficking in the United States. When most people hear the phrase ‘human sex trafficking’ they think of some foreign, barbaric practice in a third-world country, not their own backyard. However, the sad truth is that the United States is the 5th largest country involved in human trafficking. The commercial sexual exploitation of children, or CSEC, is very present in the U.S. and at least 100,000 through 300,000 youth are at risk for sexual exploitation in the U.S. every year. The average age of recruitment is 12 years old and sex trafficking includes prostitution, pornography, stripping, and any other form of commercialized sex. Police estimates show 1 in 7 men participate in the purchase of sexual exploitation and that once a child enters into the trafficking system, they have a life expectancy of 7 years. If they are rescued from trafficking, they are 4x more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder than military war veterans (Maria Clara Rodriguez CSEC training). The CSEC industry is estimated to bring in revenue of $9.5 billion worldwide. Thus, this industry is almost impossible to stop and many victims are afraid to cooperate with police because of vilification and retribution. Most individuals believe that prostitutes and strippers choose this life style, but this concept is almost always not true. Some victims will tell you they love their job, calling their pimps their boyfriends and are reluctant to cooperate with police or snitch on others. This causes the misconception of choice versus force, but in reality there are invisible chains keeping them in the system. They are invisible victims. Pimps are abusive to “their property” and many women may not have anywhere else to go, coming from abusive homes or homeless themselves. In fact, 70-80% of individuals who go into this industry of sex trafficking were abused in the past. The most vulnerable group of individuals live in poor, dysfunctional home environments, but with the new emergence of Internet sex trafficking, many children from any walk of life under the age of 18 are at risk for CSEC.
I learned all of this information while volunteering as a summer intern at Kristi House. Kristi House is a nonprofit organization that provides services to children whom are victims of sexual abuse. It first opened in 1995 in honor of a girl named Kristi who was sexually abused and impregnated by her mother’s boyfriend at the mere age of 10. While you may shudder as you read this story, what is even worse is this situation is not unique. It is estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. The perpetrator is almost always an acquaintance of the family or child and essentially any child is at risk. Thus, Kristi House provides sexually abused children with a treatment center for therapy, advocacy, and many other important services. Another section of Kristi House, known as Project Gold, specifically works with sexually exploited girls ages 12 to 18. I worked with Project Gold from June 21st through August 9th. As a psychology major with a focus in child psychology, I really wanted to help my local community. As an intern, I learned so much about these individuals affected by sex trafficking. Each individual is so unique and every single one reacted to her own trauma differently. Some nights during this internship, I left with a heavy heart seeing how affected each individual was. By the end of the summer, I learned how strong these young survivors are. I am writing this piece to bring light to this invisible war happening right in front of us, rather than to scare or tear you apart.
This has been a practice going on since the 1800s, and if anything, it has become more rampant. It is not something we like to talk about. It is something we like to brush aside. Something we like to ignore. You may say, “why should this matter to a college student?” but the same culture that turns a blind eye to sexual-exploitation is the same culture that turns a blind eye to sexual assault and domestic violence. As the next generation of individuals, it is our job to no longer ignore the epidemics right in front of us. This war will not be conquered tomorrow, next week, or next month. However, it is still pertinent that we understand what is happening, to help these silent survivors and to keep organizations like Kristi House alive. These women are some of the bravest people I know. Watching them interact and heal through group therapy was a gift I was lucky to witness; even though the life they had is something no one should have to endure. So, question the culture we live in. Question the things we say and things we accept. Progress is slow, but not stagnant and I believe anyone who wants to can help to change the culture of violence and abuse. Let’s make a better world for future generations.