As a young victim advocate, I attended an unforgettable workshop at the Conference on Crimes Against Women. The trainers, two Dallas Police Department detectives focused on sex trafficking of minors. The detectives described the traffickers as "the best child psychologists on the planet." Most of the victims in their cases were adolescent girls born in the United States, fleeing abuse and seeking acceptance and connection. The detectives described in detail the tactics traffickers used to lure victims into their traps. It was heartbreaking and had a profound impact on me. Not long after attending the training, I joined a large anti-trafficking task force consisting of advocates and law enforcement officials from Dallas and Tarrant Counties. At some point, I identified a teen girl much like those I'd learned about in the workshop. I tried to discuss the incident with one of our own detectives, but he had a very different take from that of the task for members and trainers. He referred to the victim as "a little whore." Case closed.
Human trafficking is a pervasive and insidious crime that affects countless individuals, often leaving them trapped in cycles of exploitation and despair. It's one of those crimes that got and stayed under my skin, so I devoted a couple episodes to the subject in my podcast Dark Minds Shattered Lives. Trafficking expert Joe Scaramucci became my go-to for all things trafficking; he joined me for two episodes, and I hope we'll record more in the future. Part of our discussion highlighted how the approach taken by law enforcement and society at large in addressing trafficking has significant implications for the victims involved. The prevailing narrative still often demonizes those who are victimized, particularly adult women, rather than offering them the compassion and support they desperately need. The “cure” for trafficking requires a shift in perspective from viewing victims as criminals to recognizing them as individuals deserving of empathy and assistance.
In episode 2, Scaramucci recounts his early years combating trafficking in Waco, Texas as a detective with the McLennan County Sheriff's Office. He was shocked by the abundance of predators seeking to exploit minors. His method of posing as a pimp selling children online yielded more arrests than posing as a minor (inspired by Dateline’s “To Catch a Predator”). As troubling as this reality was, over the next decade Scaramucci encountered far more adult victims than minors, but he noticed a vast difference in the treatment these groups of victims received. Whereas children were rescued, adult victims were placed under arrest, further entrenching them in the cycle of exploitation.
Scaramucci reflects on a pivotal moment in his career when he recognized the flawed nature of this strategy. His realization prompted a shift towards a more compassionate and victim-centered approach. Early on, he witnessed the benefits of collaborating with nonprofit organizations who specialized in assisting victims with resources, education and even shelter. After ten years, he continues to emphasize this approach when training other law enforcement agencies on trafficking investigations.
Nevertheless, prevailing societal perceptions continue to undermine victims. People struggle to empathize with victims who are older teens or adults, choosing to see them through a lens of judgment. Sadly, the more intimate the crime, the more scrutinized the victim is. Both the scrutiny by investigators and the stigma victims experience not only act as barriers to victims’ escape but also perpetuate the exploitative and dehumanizing crime of trafficking. To rid our communities of sex trafficking, we must first recognize it’s indeed a crime, regardless of a victim’s age.
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