"The United States alone is home to over 60,000 modern day sex slaves" (Nicholas). A place that was once built upon freedom and choice now holds men and women who are trapped in the sex slavery industry. Although some Americans may be aware that the sex slavery industry exists in the United States, most are not educated enough to take action or realize the magnitude of this issue. Due to the surrounding factors of the United States' culture such as ignorance, racial discrepancy, and apathy, human trafficking has been neglected by the American people despite nonprofit organizations attempt to end it; the government and all media channels have failed to inform and call to action the general public. 

Modern day slavery is much different than what it used to be in the past; it does not include chains or shackles and is not nearly as publicized. Slavery today is a completely different industry. According to Dictionary.com, human trafficking is the illegal practice of procuring or trading in human beings for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation ("human trafficking"). Human trafficking, sex slavery in particular, has become an increasing problem in the States. Sex slavery is one of the most underrated crimes in America and yet it holds over 28 million victims worldwide (Nicholas). Most people do not understand the magnitude of this crime because most of its operations are done behind closed doors. The truth of the matter is that prostitution and sex slavery are not the same thing, and whether it looks like it or not, almost all of it is not voluntary. With prostitution being presented the way it is through different media channels such as strip clubs and "Playboy" it is easy to forget that there is another side of the industry that is not voluntary. Sex slavery is very real in the United States and sources say that young Americans are more at risk now than ever before. Whether or not people are educated on the issue or they simply have the wrong perception of the crime, things need to change. 

Rachel Lloyd, and advocate for anti sex trafficking, and the owner of a nonprofit for battered young women gave a TEDTalk in 2012 about how to educate the public on what sex slavery looks like in the United States. She believes that sex trafficking should be looked at the same way it is in foreign countries (Lloyd). One of the main reasons Americans have failed to put an end to sex slavery is because its perception is skewed; just because the United States is a free country does not mean that thousands of women are not trapped against their will. Lloyd reports that the law enforcement, service providers, and the media have all created an image to make the public believe that real sex slaves only exist in foreign countries, saying that what Americans do is considered voluntary prostitution. 

In order to understand how to take action against sex slavery one must first learn how the American sex industry works. The first question one needs to ask is, who are the victims?  Kourtney Kortla, an established journalist with a PhD in Public Health from Baylor University, states "according to a U.S. Department of Justice report, traffickers and pimps target children and youths at "bus stations, arcades, and malls, focusing on girls who appear to be runaways or without money or job skills" (183). Young, American people are brought up to believe that they are invincible making them even more susceptible to being trapped. In addition to this, the failure to educate the public about such perpetrators and what these victims need to be aware of what to look for raises another level of concern. 

If the average American believes that sex trafficking only occurs in foreign countries, then one can be sure that Americans are not aware of where sex slavery is happening in their own country. Rachel Lloyd confirms that most sex trafficking activity happens in big cities where there is a lot of consumer flow. Another reason traffickers set up in big cities is so that they can be concealed by the business that surrounds them. Finally, most pimps and sex advocators are looking for women who are in need of a job and big city have a bigger unemployment rate so they are able to pick up more women off the side of the road.

Rachel Lloyd also addresses the fact that most of the women who are caught in the sex trafficking industry have similar characteristics. She goes on to explain that many of these girls came from broken homes, which included activities like drug abuse, domestic violence, split families, and poverty. Some women turned to prostitution because they thought that was the only place they could go to. Others girls were forced into the system by outstanding family members because they needed money and this was the only way they could get money. 

Another huge proportion of women who are victimized by sex traffickers in the United States are groups of minorities, specifically black females. According to Jasmine Phillips' dissertation titled, "Black Girls and the (I'm) Possibilities of a Victim Trope: The Intersectional Failures of Legal and Advocacy Interventions in the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors in the United States," black girls are disproportionally prosecuted for prostitution offenses yet their narratives are seldom heard (1642). Even though blacks are supposed to have equal rights in the United States, these victims cannot even defend for themselves in a court of law. Once black girls realize that they voices are not being heard, their self-confidence becomes defeated making them more likely to fall back into the system. 

The fact that the government is not taking more control to support girls of racial color leaves them in a vicious cycle that they feel they cannot escape from. Rachel Lloyd states, "If the same amount of black girls who were being trafficked were white and from the middle class, then we would have seen a better social and political response by now". Part of the reason for the growth of sex slavery in the US is because the type of women who are being trafficked cannot fend for themselves. This brings into question the character of the American people, and whether or not they are willing to help all types of women. If young black girls are not give equal time and attention, then human trafficking becomes a Civil Rights issue. The government needs to be protecting these young women, not sending them away for them to defend for themselves. 

In addition to the lack of attention from the government, the culture and status of the American woman has since changed allowing for more provocative clothing and looser morals. These traits can have effects on young women as they struggle to figure out who they are and what is socially acceptable. How are these girls supposed to live with self respect when they are surrounded by celebrities and advertisements that promote women to wear less and do more sexually? Ultimately the media is at fault for not presenting women in a more respectful way. It is the media's fault for not taking action and educating the public on how serious of an issue human trafficking is in this country. 

Another important factor to consider when arguing for more awareness is the trafficker him or herself. So much of the sex trafficking industry is hidden from the outside world, most people do not even realize that women are being exchanged for money all around them. These perpetrators are one of the main reasons why sex trafficking is not coming to an end. The men and women who run this industry are driven by money. Additionally, from a consumer standpoint, sex in America is so easily attained that they do not even care about the other factors in this criminal activity. Phillips states that, "It is important to recognize that the trafficking of thousands of American children for commercial sexual exploitation would not exist if the demand for them were not present. This demand can be understood from the perspective of the trafficker, driven by greed and money, or from that of the consumer, driven by sexual desires" (1644). Most people do not understand just how much of a profit this industry brings in, therefore undermining the idea that it is even an issue in today's culture. To put things in perspective, traffickers, are estimated to have made a net profit of over $91 billion (Kortla 183).  This number is shocking to most people because they have never heard it before; most Americans want to believe that the only sex trafficking happening in the States is voluntary prostitution. Ultimately, the media is at fault for not informing the public of these types of numbers. 

One national event that most Americans do not realize involves sex trafficking is the Super Bowl. According to journalist Elizabeth Brown, "Super Bowl Sunday" is the single most human trafficked day in the United States. In addition to sex-worker arrests, 552 "would-be sex buyers" were arrested for soliciting undercover cops and over $187,000 in fines were distributed  t is interesting to think that an American holiday that is supposed to recognize the achievements of some of the most talented athletes has been twisted into wanting to win the price of sex, rather than an actually trophy. Law enforcements reported that incidents happened in 14 states and involved 23 different police units. At the end of the day, 22 people were arrested including sex traffickers and customers. It was also reported that "sex workers who were arrested were offered a wide array of services, such as food, clothing, and shelter" (Brown). The media has glamorized the sex industry so much that it has simply become a normal way to celebrate after a sporting event because they are being more critical of the way women are portrayed in society. The media needs to be doing a better job of protecting the women and minors from this crime, not try and promote it.

A study was completed in 2012 that looked at a full year coverage from 2009 of all newspaper articles that involved sex trafficking. The point of this study was to prove that the media has a huge effect on how Americans view current events and depending on how information is presented, things have different effects on the public (Johnston18). The introduction explains how mass media technology now enables advertising of the global sex trade to flourish. In addition to that, traffickers can now coordinate their activities to locate good revenue and communicate between one another. Finally Internet pornography and users' ability to instant access increases the sex trafficking industry and how these traffickers can use women and children (Johnston 3).  

Another issue with the media's presentation of sex trafficking is that they feel as though it must be intriguing enough to catch the readers eye. Too many times in news reports their always has to be a good guy and a bad guy; for the sex trafficking industry there has to be a villain and a victim. However this depiction is not always accurate or representative of what these trafficked women and minors go through. Furthermore, with the media focusing their coverage on sex slaves and all brothels as prisons academics report that, "the mass media are drawing on melodramatic narratives as a way to reinforce stereotypes of female passiveness or sexual eagerness and male aggression" (Johnston 16). With this type of image for trafficked victims, Americans are going to be a lot less likely to take action when they believe that these victims have an attitude problem rather than seeing the truth which is that they were forced into the industry and there is no escaping it. This country has become apathetic toward sex trafficking because so many people believe that the industry is all voluntary. With this twisted perception, it is no wonder that the American people refuse to take action. This translates into how a news story can be portrayed because the author might not believe the words he's putting on paper.

Sometimes it is not the information that is necessarily bad, but rather the author himself is not connected to the story and presents it in a way that is not necessarily appealing to the reader. For example, in this study it was reported that a larger percentage of the newspapers published in 2009 were written by males (Johnston 15). This creates an interesting bias because men could easily not be as emotionally connected or understand the point that needs to be made through a sex trafficking report. Males may be more straightforward with how they present the material because they do not want to find fault in the trafficking business because they know that men mainly run it. 

A final problem with the media's portrayal of sex trafficking is the fact that the majority of reports on human trafficking were only documented to refer to larger legislative issues or to simply document a statistic. Academics from the study reported that, "Almost a third (32.3 percent) of the articles attempted to tie sex trafficking to larger societal or legislative issues, and 29.8 percent of the articles included background information about sex trafficking simply reported statistics" (Johnston 18). Another reason these articles are being presented this way is because a large amount of them were written by law enforcement officials, policymakers and advocacy representatives working on behave of the victims (Johnston 14).  These officials are not concerned with taking action; they are simply there to serve a purpose and report what happened. Also since the victim's representatives are speaking for them, one is unable to truly get a feel for what they went through because the representatives are speaking for them. The fact that the media is choosing to handle this major crime with such carelessness is ultimately affecting the public's ability to stop sex trafficking. 

At the end of these articles there needs to be more of a focus on all the victims who have still not been saved rather than a happy ending or a traumatic story. The media needs to take responsibility and use the channel that they a have to help bring about action and change in the States. Without the right type of representation or facilitation, no one is going to be willing to take action because they will not know how. It is the media's role to inform the public; they have a huge opportunity to help end a national problem, but in order to do so they must first change the way they are presenting sex trafficking cases and become more intentional about the changing the future.

In opposition, research shows that Florida, the third most trafficked state in the US, is making conscious and proactive efforts to stop human trafficking (Carroll and Daly).The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and the state Department of Children and Families have partnered to better identify victimized children earlier, through a newly developed trauma informed screening tool (Carroll and Daly).  The secretaries of both of the foundations listed above have decided to donate over two million dollars towards safe homes and service providers. Carroll, the Secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, explains that their ultimate goal as a state, is to end all forms of modern day slavery in Florida (Carroll and Daly). Although it is comforting to know that some states are taking action, one question that is brought to mind is the fact that this article was written in first person which creates the potential for a bias. Of course, Florida is going to report that they are actively trying to stop human trafficking, but nowhere in the article do Daly and Carroll discuss how the funding has made a difference or how they have seen a change in numbers. 

Overall, the American people need to be more aware of the sex trafficking industry that is happening around them. It is the media and government's responsibility to inform the general public and creates channels for people to take action. These people have a very important role and if it is not used responsibly or proactively then America will never be able to bring sex trafficking to an end. Without a change in direction, women will continue to be objectified as sexual beings, and people will continue to have a sense of apathy or lack sensitivity toward this issue. The American culture needs to become less sexually driven because then there will be less demand for the sex trafficking industry.This can only be done if the government and media are willing to change the way the sex trafficking in the United States is perceived. 

