by Lauren Petersen

As a high school student I never really worry about falling victim to sex trafficking, or about sex trafficking in general, but shouldn’t I? To many, it seems very far-fetched for something like this to actually happen, to them. This occurs ‘only in the movies’ right? I’m a fifteen year old girl and this leaves me highly vulnerable to fall victim to this terrible network of crimes. Yet I am unaffected, by the worries that should be on my mind. Sex trafficking often occurs in plain sight. How does it happen without anyone even questioning it? Usually, we like to think, it’s the refugees or the homeless people who are the victims of these crimes. They are easy targets as they are less likely to be noticed as missing than a regular, registered American citizen. Similarly, many teen girls are manipulated, ultimately leading to them getting enslaved. Mary Rose Somarriba, a writer at Grotto, an informational site, tells us “Traffickers, otherwise known as pimps, target vulnerable girls who appear to have little support structure, befriend them, gain their trust, and then invite them to join them on an adventure.” [1] Traffickers target girls who are easily manipulated and lure them into a trap. Only after the so called adventure ends, do the girls realize, that they are in deep trouble. By then it is too late. It is not uncommon that males are also targets of this atrocious crime, but females are more commonly enslaved.

Sex trafficking networks hide in dark corners that are tucked away in plain sight. In our day and time, technology has greatly advanced, which also unfortunately creates more opportunities for traffickers to lure in their victims. As they target young minds that are susceptible, they remain invisible to the outside community. The young minds that are targeted are preoccupied with their new ‘friend’ to notice anything wrong. They keep this relationship secret, restricting anyone else’s ability to realize the danger. Traffickers also draw in refugees and homeless people, promising them help, a better life, or just simply drugs and/or alcohol and no one notices because of common stereotyping. They are often times misunderstood to be drug addicts and alcoholics. So generally, if people notice they are missing, they simply assume they overdosed, or something similar and brush it off their shoulder. Lastly, if someone were to pick up on the dangers happening right under their nose, they would most likely be too scared to believe it is true, and once again push it to the back of their mind because of how unlikely it appears to ever happen to them or their dear ones.

Works Cited

[1] Somarriba, Mary Rose. “Sex Trafficking Is Modern Slavery Hiding In Plain Sight.” Grotto

Network, 30 July 2019, https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/sex-trafficking-

in-us-hidden-plain-sight/.