Child trafficking is a heinous crime that marks the terrible end of a child's life. The exploitation of girls and boys, especially for forced labor and sexual exploitation, is referred to as child trafficking. Children account for 27% of all human trafficking victims globally, with females being two out of every three victims. Whether sold by a family member or an acquaintance, or lured by false promises of education and a "better" life, the reality is that these trafficked and exploited children are held in slave-like conditions with insufficient food, shelter, or clothing, and are frequently severely abused and cut off from all contact with their families.
Human trafficking affects every country in the globe, and as a result, children are forced to drop out of school, risk their lives, and are denied what every kid deserves – a future. Here's a story of a girl who was lured by no other than her own boyfriend and forced into the sex trade.
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Asia at the tender age of 18 thought that she had met the man of her dreams was tricked with the pretext of getting money out of the business. "He claimed it was a business arrangement, and I would give him 10% of everything I made, and he would just be there for my security," Asia explained. "He said that my task would be to have sex with men and bring him money. To gain a sense of what I was meant to do, the first thing I did was see another female having sex with someone."The pimp advertised her services on the famous website "Craigslist," and inquiries began to pour in.
Asia further mentioned that she would have to wait for them to come, wait to see their car in a parking lot, tell them the room number, and still be nervous. Then she would have sex with them no matter of their age, race, job, whether they were married or not, had kids, whether they had disease or not, she had no clue. Shee was working 15-hour days, often having sex 10 times a day, and bringing all the money to her pimp. "Over a thousand dollars a day," said Asia. "He would get it and just take it to the bank, or go and hang out at what they call pimp parties."
The exploitation of girls and boys, especially for forced labor and sexual exploitation, is referred to as child trafficking
Photo by M. on Unsplash
The poor girl did not have a pleasant childhood. When she was born, her mentally unstable mother abandoned her at a hospital. She was raised by her grandmother and had a kid when she was 17 years old, which she put up for adoption. As a result of sex trafficking, she ended herself in the Washington, D.C., region, where she was apprehended in an undercover police operation and sentenced to prison. But, owing to the FAIR Fund, her life took a turn for the better after that.
"They have aided in so many things, like employment, learning how to be independent, housing, emotionally wise," Asia exclaimed. "I got a job within a month of leaving that life and most people do not do that. But I still have a criminal record." FAIR Fund Executive Director and Co-Founder Andrea Powell said, "We have helped over 350 young people escape the situations of labor and sex trafficking in the past eight years." Powell started FAIR Fund eight years ago to stop the trafficking of youth worldwide. It assisted more than 2,500 teen girls and boys last year in the United States, Bosnia, Serbia, Russia, and Uganda.
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Powell further revealed told that there are an estimated 200,000 young people trafficked within southeastern and eastern Europe generally every year. "In the United States, there are estimates that around 20,000 people are being brought into the country every year. It is usually teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 17, who have a lack family support, or who were maybe abused as a child." If a trafficker does his business right, he can make $60,000 or $70,000 a year off of one girl's body", she added.
FAIR Fund trains teachers, social workers, police officers, attorneys, and others on how to identify and assist high-risk, sexually exploited, or trafficked teenagers. It also offers survivors some job training. In the meantime, Asia has gone on with her life and is now an ambassador for the FAIR Fund. Her emotional scars, on the other hand, are still raw. "From things that happened to me, I ask myself who do I trust, who do I tell my name and give my phone number to. If you do decide to get out, you will be very happy you did it because the grass is greener on the other side. I never have to deal with that again. Ever." concluded Asia.
(This article is a rehash from Voice Of America)