Sex Slavery in our Backyard

When reading the story regarding the woman who was made into a sex slave in Kansas City, I was truly mortified. This woman apparently became a victim at the age of 16, when she ran from her adoptive parents. The couple charged with sex trafficking both stated that the victim asked if she could live with them, after escaping her adoptive parents. Unfortunately, many victims of prostitution and human trafficking are often runaways. They try to lead healthier lives by running away from abuse and then become re-victimized by pimps, traffickers, or in this case, a couple the victim thought she could trust.

To me, the most upsetting part of this story is that the victim is blamed. In the article, people who have encountered the victim have stated that she enjoyed what she was doing, which includes stripping, pornography, and being tortured during sex. In research performed by CAASE, men have admitted to buying prostituted women because they are too embarrassed to ask their partners to perform specific acts. In this case, men were soliciting this woman online and in person in order to perform BDSM. This article also stated that the woman was “mentally deficient” – therefore no consent (if consent was even given) is consensual.

A coworker of this woman stated that she looked “happy and spoiled.” Being tortured by methods of electric shock and waterboarding does not seem like a happy and spoiled life to me. A life full of physical and sexual abuse does not seem like a happy and spoiled life either, actually it sounds terrifying.

Want to get involved and help combat sex trafficking? Would you like to become a voice for millions of women and children who are victimized each year by this crime? Find out more information at www.caase.org