majority of cases go undetected
In 2020, 268,884 women were reported missing, and nearly 100,000 were Black women and girls. Black women account for less than 15% of the U.S. population, but more than one-third of all missing women.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS IMPACTING THE BLACK COMMUNITY
Understanding why African-American girls are being targeted requires taking a critical look at those that are actually taking the girls. Statistics show that African-American men are overwhelmingly the individuals that kidnap and traffic the majority of America’s sex trafficking victims. However, these traffickers are marketing and selling the services of their victims to a largely affluent base of men. In addition to abductions and kidnappings, young women and girls are often lured into “the life” by promises of love, fame, money or all three. They can also be sold from one Pimp to another. In other cases, women have gone to parties or innocent dates and found themselves held captive, beaten and forced into sexual slavery
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“AFRICAN AMERICAN HUMAN TRAFFICKING NUMBERS ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY”
THE LIFE OF A PROSTITUTION SEEMS PREFERABLE
Human trafficking is right now impacting the black community far greater proportion than any other.
For many women, because of poverty and lack of alternatives, prostitution has been their only option, yet the system targets Black women for punishment. The laws against prostitution are enforced disproportionately against women of color. Although 20 to 30% of prostitutes are women of color, the vast majority of those sentenced to jail time are women of color.
The traffickers in street based commercial sex situations are often individual traffickers, more commonly known as “pimps”. These traffickers may vary in their relationship to the victim but are similar in the tactics they employ to recruit, control and exploit their victims. Some traffickers may only be exploiting one or a couple victims, while others maintain control over a larger group of adults or minors.
Traffickers in street based commercial sex seek to make their victims dependent on them by creating a false sense of romantic relationship or become a caretaker or father-figure. When multiple victims are working for the same controller, a sense of family becomes critical in the maintenance of the exploitative relationship. Traffickers use these relationship bonds to compel victims into providing commercial sex.
Traffickers in street-based commercial sex settings often create extreme systems of behavioral expectations with harsh and often unpredictable punishments. For example, victims may not be allowed to walk on the sidewalks, but instead walk along the street. They may not be allowed to look other traffickers in the eye or may be required to take on a completely new persona and identity. Punishments have been reported to be extremely harsh, including physical beatings, sexual assault or torture techniques.
Understanding Human Trafficking
An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department's vice squad oversees the loading of 13 women arrested earlier in the day into a van in Los Angeles.California Cities Rattled By Prostitution, Human Trafficking In Broad Daylight As Cops Pin Blame On New Law.
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California GOP assembly leader says new law would 'encourage and enable human trafficking'Senate Bill 357, which repealed the law banning loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution, was introduced by Democrat state Sen. Scott Wiener in part because he said transgender women were disproportionately targeted.
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Ex-NFL Player Charged with Human Trafficking, 'Street Gang Terrorism' After Successful StingA former NFL player was hit with five charges related to alleged gang-related human trafficking in Georgia. The Georgia Attorney General’s office outlined the charges against Eric Johnson, 46, and seven co-defendants in a Thursday news release.
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