The modern world is filled with abhorrent problems; terrorism, widespread poverty, war, global warming, and human trafficking. Human trafficking is one of the least discussed issues, and it makes very little sense. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2017, there have been approximately 4,460 reported cases of human trafficking in the U.S. with 3,186 of these cases being sex trafficking cases and the Global Slavery Index estimates that 57,700 people in the United States are living in modern slavery (“Hotline Statistics”; “Country Study: United States”). The majority of these modern-day slaves are forced into working as prostitutes or are sexually exploited. The Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as “modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some labor or commercial sex act (What is Human Trafficking?).” Many people believe that legalizing and regulating prostitution in the United States could mitigate human trafficking by forcing sex workers to register with the government so that customers and workers could both be better protected. However, most studies find that legalizing prostitution can increase human trafficking and worsen the conditions for victims of sex trafficking (Neumayer et al. 2). Though some may genuinely believe that legalizing prostitution in the U.S. may seem like a possible solution to end sex trafficking, statistics and studies show that this is not the case and that human trafficking would not only persist but would most likely flourish and increase.

According to Neumayer et al., “Countries with higher GDP per capita, larger populations, larger stocks of pre-existing migrants, and a democratic political regime experience a larger reported incidence of trafficking inflows” (16). The United States hits all those marks which makes it a hot bed for trafficking. The study also shows that democracies 13.4 percent higher chance of having high amounts of human trafficking and having a high GDP per capita increases that even further by 2.5 percent. Countries that have legalized or decriminalized prostitution are 12.8 more likely to report high numbers in sex trafficking. These statistics show that large, rich, and democratic nations, particularly the U.S., cannot and should not maintain a safe sex trade industry and somehow decrease human trafficking. In 2004 information released from the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that the number of human trafficking victims in Denmark was approximately 2,250, while the estimated number in Sweden was about 500. What makes these numbers particularly interesting is that population of Sweden was 8.9 million at the time to Denmark’s 5.3 million. The main difference between the two countries was that Denmark had legalized self-employed prostitution in 1999 leading to an influx of traffickers. Another nation that has legalized prostitution, Germany, had a population of about 82 million in 2004 with nearly 32,800 enslaved individuals. Comparing Germany to Denmark, these numbers are very similar with human trafficking victims making up almost .04% of each country’s population (24). 

A paper written in June 2016 on the subject of black market activity of a trade once it is legalized by Solomon Hsiang and Nitin Sekar discovers that more often than not, that once an illegal business is made legal or partially legal, black market activity will not only continue but increase. A study done by the two authors found that when the ivory trade was partially legalized and regulated in 2008, illegal production and distribution of ivory increased by 66% in Africa and Asia alone (Hsiang and Sekar 2). This activity was all possible because the illegal product could conceal itself as legal, and the consumer was none the wiser. This data indicates that legalizing an illicit industry does not, in fact, stop the illegal activity for that particular trade but can increase it dramatically (Hedlin). 

In Germany, many prostitutes face abhorrent mistreatment at the hands of pimps and brothel owners even though the sex industry has been legalized. Many young women from Bulgaria and Romania who are desperate to earn money for themselves or their families will travel to Germany for work and expect to have a few well-behaved customers and proper treatment, but this is rarely the case. Often these girls will work for hours on end and will have completely unprotected sex. These women are regularly beaten and mistreated by customers, but very rarely will report such actions. Once, they finally finish their work most workers will stay at the brothel to sleep because they do not have a permanent residency (Meyer et al.). The life a legal prostitute is arguably just as bad as one who works illegally and many women are trapped in this disgusting form of legal sex trafficking without a way out. If the U.S. legalizes prostitution thousands of women could face similar circumstances, and it could be even worse for those that migrate to the U.S. as a large percentage of the women in reported trafficking cases in the United States were born in a foreign country (Hotline Statistics).

In the U.S., Atlanta is known as one of the biggest hubs for human traffickers in the country. Atlanta’s airport and sheer size give cover to consumers who wish to partake in the sexually abusing these victims. Much of the business is done online on the dark web; and these consumers will place an order to have sex with a victim, fly to the city, complete their order, and leave. The whole process is very discreet and anonymous since transactions on the dark web or nearly impossible to track. A study done by the Urban Institute states that human traffickers in Atlanta make over $32,000 a week and the industry itself generates approximately 290 million dollars a year. Many of the sex trafficking victims in U.S. and especially in Atlanta are lured away from their families and friends with promises of a new life or love. Traffickers often prey on those who are just looking for a friend or are looking for emotional or sexual comfort, they exploit these emotions and wait until the victims are fully committed to strike. Often these victims will go with their captors willingly without fully realizing the imminent danger they have just gotten themselves in (Coorlim and Ford).

Many of those who support the legalization of prostitution believe that once legalized, sex traffickers will have no business and therefore, the trade will disappear. However, through the study mentioned earlier, European countries who have legalized the sex trade have a much higher population of human trafficking victims than in the nations where it remains illegal according to Neumayer et al. (16). Another belief that many pro-legalization individuals hold is that prostitutes would no longer have to worry about exploitive pimps and abusive customers. However, in Germany, many migrants working in the sex trade are abused physically and emotionally and mistreated in general purely because they are too poor or weak to fight back (Meyer et al.). Supporters also bring up decriminalization and how it works in New Zealand. In an interview with a prostitute from New Zealand, she explains that many workers in the industry are still being exploited, verbally abused, and work for far too much. The kind of experiences some of these women face can cause panic attacks and PTSD (Bindel).

Human trafficking is a repugnant practice in the United States that needs to be stopped as soon as possible, but contrary to what many people believe, prostitution will not help reduce or cease the spread the spread of sex trafficking in the United States. While many may remain skeptical and think that prostitution does not affect trafficking, the numbers are there, and they do not lie; legalizing prostitution causes far more problems than it resolves. To combat human trafficking crimes, offenders must be punished severely as a threat to other traffickers and consumers of the industry. Only through severe government crackdowns and help from ordinary people will the industry begin to fall out of existence. Citizens need to be trained on how to recognize signs of human trafficking and report such activities to the authorities to fight this perverted industry. Without the efforts from everyone, the human trafficking industry will persevere and grow; ruining the lives of all the women, men, and children ensnared in the grips of modern slavery.
