The reality behind the glitter seen on TV

Last month, I left off talking about the process called “boyfriending,” which is often used to coerce young girls into sex trafficking. Once in the sex trade, though, victims of this kind of manipulation are subject to even worse things. I should warn you now that their lives are not family-friendly. This article is not for young readers.

Typically, prostitutes are depicted on television as smiling women in flashy clothes who seem happy about what they do. As far as appearance goes, this depiction may even be accurate in some areas. However, the television does not show the abuse that the majority of these women experience which forces them to sell their bodies to the highest bidder.

Victims who are minors are often forced by their trafficker, or “pimp,” to dress in flashy clothing and wear a lot of makeup so as to appear older and more sexually attractive to the buyer. They are expected to meet a very high nightly quota and will be punished severely if they come up short; therefore, they mask their fear with a smile and play their role as seductively as possible so as to please the buyer and make enough money to survive.

The average age of entry into prostitution is 12 years old; therefore, most of the prostitutes you see were first sold for sex when they were children. Young girls who are trafficked before ever becoming sexually active are forced to watch pornography and perform sexual acts with whomever the pimp demands, often including himself, in order to gain experience and learn how to please their buyers. Remember, victims of sex trafficking do not have the option to say “no” when they are trying to meet a quota for their trafficker. They are often forced to do repulsive, scary and painful things in order to please the men who buy them for an hour of “pleasure.”

The horror of being forced to sleep with a stranger does not happen only once per night, which is upsetting enough. On average, pimps expect their girls to serve 15 to 20 men every night in order to meet their quota. In this gruesome life, the average life expectancy is seven years. If you do the math, you will see that many girls will not ever reach the legal age of consent.

It is so easy to make assumptions based on what we see portrayed in the media about prostitutes, which is why it is so important to be aware of the facts. The glamorous life shown on television, with the glitter, makeup, and smiles is only a mask of the horrifying life which so many of these young women lead. The truth is that most prostitutes did not choose the life, and even if they did, they were forced to do so because of dire circumstances.
For more information about what you can do to help victims of sex trafficking, please contact Christine Watson at 24ThingsUCanDo@gmail.com or (478) 213-5236.

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