thanks baker
Sex trafficking, prostitution is anything but a 'victimless crime,' experts say
Memories come back to Rebecca Bender at unexpected times. Adrenaline-producing, heart-pounding flashbacks to the time in her life when she was controlled by a sex trafficker.
Even years later, in the safety of the family she's now made, triggers can come without warning.
“My toddler was three or four, and you know, throwing a temper tantrum not wanting to go to bed. And my husband is taking her to the room like, ‘No, it’s bedtime.’ And she’s just saying, ‘Please no, please no,’” Bender said.
That everyday moment of parenting recalled her experiences from more than a decade ago.
“I started panicking. I remembered other girls being taken in the other room, hearing them begging their trafficker to stop. And I could remember being dragged into other rooms and begging him to stop. Little things like that I’m not sure I’ll ever get over.”
Bender’s experience is horrifying but not unique. There are hundreds of thousands of human trafficking victims in the U.S., estimates Polaris, a non-profit that operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
It's not yet clear how many victims will be identified in the law enforcement sting of illicit massage parlors in Florida that were part of an international human trafficking ring, but several high-profile names have been charged with soliciting, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, billionaire equity firm owner and prominent Republican donor John Childs and Johnny DelPrete, the longtime boyfriend of an LPGA star. They deny the charges.
The investigation has brought renewed attention to sex trafficking and prostitution, a problem that remains overlooked and misunderstood by many Americans, experts say.
“People like to think it’s a victimless crime, but that’s a myth that seems like it’s never going to die,” said Lisa L. Thompson, vice president of policy and research at the National Center for Sexual Exploitation. “Whether it’s from a situation like this — an illicit spa establishment, or engaging in prostitution by going to online sites, every man who buys sex from a woman in a brothel or any of these establishments, they have contracted out the job of violence, intimidation or coercion to a pimp or brothel owner.”
The nature of sex trafficking, experts say, makes it not only a crime with victims, but a particularly heinous one.
“Unlike most crimes which involve the buying and selling of a consumable product … human trafficking entails the buying and selling of human beings and they're exploited over and over again,” said Jay Albanese, professor and criminologist at Virginia Commonwealth University. “You can only sell a pile of drugs once, only sell guns once, you only sell stolen or counterfeit property once. But human trafficking you re-victimize a person every day, every hour. And I would argue that's why it's one of the most serious of all crimes.”
Survivors often describe near constant abuse that can last for years or decades.
"Can you imagine having sex with someone you don’t want to and you have to hide the disgust on your face because if you show anything other than pretending to be pleased then you’re going to blow the call, and not get the money, and if you don't get the money you’re going to be be faced with violence?" said Rebekah Charleston, a trafficking survivor who now works as a consultant and advocate for victims. "That’s what every single day is like. Over and over, every day."
Some survivors say they had astronomical quotas to fill, and if they didn't they faced violence. One survivor told The Naples Daily News that on her first day as a trafficking victim she was forced to have sex with 21 men in six hours.
“Do about 40 at least, you don’t even reach 40,” she said her traffickers told her.
(The Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newspaper, withheld her name and some details to protect her identity, which was verified through the SWFL Regional Human Trafficking Coalition.)
Visible signs of abuse are also often present but willfully overlooked by buyers, experts say.
“I have seen a victim with a fractured arm and I ask her how long had that issue, ‘Oh, for two and a half months,'” said Kathy Chen, a researcher for Praesidium Partners, who was previously the executive director of Asian American Community Services in Columbus, Ohio.
more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/02/24/robert-kraft-case-spotlights-sex-trafficking-prostitution-realities/2963517002/
Yes, exactly.
That is always the first sign they are full of shit.
And we'd all be trashed on the floor if we played the "muh-conspiracy-theory" drinking game.
Could be fun…
this is (((them))) (pic related)
love it anon. Very cute
Save the Date! Donald Trump Announces ‘Salute to America’ on July 4th
President Donald Trump announced plans for a major event celebrating the United States on Independence Day.
“HOLD THE DATE!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th.”
The president revealed that the event would be called “A Salute to America” and would be held at the Lincoln Memorial.
“Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!” he wrote.
Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to host a military parade in Washington, DC, but estimated costs made it prohibitively expensive.
Presidents traditionally host an event at the White House for Independence Day honoring the United States military which includes fireworks. Trump appears to be planning a bigger event for 2019.
Earlier this month, Trump revealed his plan for the event, noting that it made sense to coincide with the 4th of July.
“The fireworks is there anyway, so we just saved on fireworks,” he said. “We get free fireworks because it’s already being done.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/24/save-the-date-donald-trump-announces-salute-to-america-on-july-4th/