Statistics show that there are over 12 million human trafficking victims. Many victims forced into prostitution in the U.S. are from Latin America. They lure them with job offers and the promise of a better life. Some are as young as 14.
Claudia, a victim who escaped, was promised a job in a clothing factory by her boyfriend. She was smuggled into the U.S. and then forced to see as many as 20 men a night. Even though she managed to escape by secretly saving $1 tips at a time to get bus fare to an unknown city, she still has nightmares and calls it a "traumatic experience."
So many people do not know that sex trafficking goes on right here in the U.S. They think it is only a problem in developing countries, but that is not true. Even right here in Greensboro, which is a hotspot for sex trafficking thanks to two major interstates intersecting, the nearby military presence, and a huge number of immigrants.
I am glad to see that Claudia has come out to tell her story because people often cling more to a personal story than they do simple statistics. Claudia's story will make it real for them. Hopefully more stories of personal experiences will come out and inspire people to see how serious the problem is and to work to abolish the sex slave industry.
This was a well-written article that shared plenty of statistics and personal stories shared. I did not read any bias into the article one way or the other.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/16/human.trafficking.claudia/
1 comment:
I hate reading about incidents like this is the US. It's so sad. I didn't know Greensboro was a hotspot for human trafficking. Disturbing...
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