Topic Talks: The International Sex Trade

1. Description of Topic:
 Human trafficking is the illegal trade of people for sexual exploitation or forced labor. I am focusing my research on the illegal trade of people for sexual exploitation, specifically known as sex trafficking. The international sex trade involves 4 major steps: recruitment, transportation, exploitation, and the economic profits gained. There are multiple parties involved in the international sex trade, including the victim, the pimp, and the government. To the victims, the sex industry means different forms of involuntary servitude such as prostitution, working in strip clubs, and pornographic activities. Conversely, for the pimp, also known as a “broker”, the purpose of the sex industry is to “protect their products… [So] they can be sold and resold, over and over again”. According to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children created during a United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime, the government is supposed to criminalize people who intentionally commit a crime involved with the sex trade, attempt to commit a crime involved with the sex trade, or are an accomplice to someone involved in the sex trade. The government is also responsible for protecting victims of human trafficking by providing “appropriate housing, counseling and information, medical, psychological, and material assistance, and employment, educational, and training opportunities”. So far, my research has been extremely broad, but in my paper, I’d like to focus on sex trafficking in the Netherlands as well as sex trafficking in the Midwest. In the Netherlands, almost all of the victims of trafficking who end up as prostitutes (against their will) are female. Almost 1/5 (19%) of these prostitutes started when they were minors and 45% of those who started as minors were forced. The following table shows where the prostitutes originated from (this table only represents prostitutes that are registered).




The Netherlands 32%
Latin America/Caribbean 22%
Central and Eastern Europe 19%
Sub Sahara Africa 13%
Other EU Countries 6%
North Africa 5%
Asia 3%
Unknown .01%

Not surprisingly, the Dutch are one of Europe’s largest pimps, making approximately $1.202 billion dollars annually. The pimps are usually male (although there are cases of female pimps) who are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. The youngest pimp caught was 14 and the oldest was 73. Many pimps originate from the Netherlands. Other countries represented by the pimps include: Germany, Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia. Countries with smaller representation in pimps include: the US, Ukraine, Greece, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Nigeria. The most common traffic routes taken are through Central and Eastern Europe, Western Africa (Nigeria and Ghana), and Asia (Thailand and The Philippines). Young women are often stuck “on carousels, through which they are bought from one country to another”.
 Information about laws regarding prostitution in the Netherlands:
o Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands
o The government has decided to widen their definition of trafficking in human beings in the Dutch law so that more people can get help
 Information about laws in general:
o Anti-prostitution pledge signed by President Bush in 2003:
“The pledge requires nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive federal funding for HIV/AIDS or for human trafficking prevention to implement policies, opposing prostitution and sex trafficking”.
 FOR: the policy addresses two major international problems (kills two birds with one stone)
 AGAINST: the pledge forces prostitutes to go against what they do for a living (not only is this not a viable option, since it’s extremely hard and dangerous for them to leave the industry, they have to be registered under the law as a prostitute to get help in the first place—as of 200 there were only 608 registered prostitutes).
 Since I’ve been focusing on a broader level, I’ve looked at more samples from abroad (i.e. the Netherlands) than at home, so I don’t have sufficient evidence for the Midwest at the moment.
2. Why is it important?
 The international sex trade is an important issue to talk about because it is now bigger than the drug industry and weapons industry combined! I think that since so many people are being affected by the sex industry, it’s essential that we face the facts and deal with human trafficking while we can; one way to do so is by increasing awareness. While a lot of people, organizations, and governments are trying to help, I feel as though some of the laws instituted (i.e. the anti-prostitution pledge set up in 2003 by President Bush) are ineffective and aren’t helping the people that it was meant to assist. To me it’s important because, although I haven’t been personally involved or connected to the sex trade, I feel it’s a huge injustice to so many women and little is being done to help the victims.
3. What do I hope to achieve?
 My overall focus question is: can government use policy to discourage or halt illegal human trafficking? First and foremost, I want to provide insight to the conditions that a victim of the sex trade must endure. After I explain themes such as slavery, violence, disease/health issues, and the process of the sex trade (recruitment, transportation, exploitation), I want to focus on what governments are doing to help these sex workers. I want to publicize corrupt governments as well as show the ramifications of the legalization of prostitution. My overall goal in doing research and writing my Global Scholars Seminar paper on the international sex trade is to give a voice to people that, under the circumstances, don’t have one.