By Tricia Martin, Second Life of Chattanooga Volunteer

As I sat down today to begin writing about the prevention of human sex trafficking, the weight of what I was attempting hit me. The world of sex trafficking seems so large, so undefeatable. Where do you begin? But then I remembered – it isn’t my job to free the world. It starts in our area, in our community. That is what Second Life of Chattanooga is all about, right? Doing what we can do –you and I –  to end human sex trafficking in our area. Even in coming to that realization however, the reality of what we are working toward is still daunting. Prevention is key to ending this abominable trade. So where do we start?

There are two groups that I think we should reach out to in our efforts to prevent human sex trafficking.  The first group is those who would be trafficked – specifically young women and men, boys and girls who are most vulnerable to being sucked in by those who would seek to do them harm. The second group is those who would seek to utilize this type of service – a person who would purchase sex with a child or person who is being trafficked.  The group I would like to focus more on today is those that are most likely to be trafficked. The young women and men, the boys and girls, who are deceived and/or abducted and forced into human trafficking every day in the United States.  

What kind of child, then, would be most likely to become trafficked? The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that as many as 2.8 million children are reported as “run aways” each year in the U.S. They estimate that within 48 hours, as many as one-third of these children are lured or recruited into prostitution or pornography. The US Department of Justice reports that the average age for entry into the sex trafficking industry for minors is 12 years old. (sctnow.org) The answer to this question would appear to be young children who run away from home.

What kind of child runs away from home at the age of 12? What kind of young boy or young girl is able to be lured into this type of behavior? This isn’t your typical 12 year old child. I have worked with children at this age for a little while now and most are carefree and fun loving – like all 12 year olds should be. So what kind of child is vulnerable to this type of manipulation and attack?

Various reports and survivor memoirs talk about children being lured with threats of violence against their families. Pimps will tell them that their siblings or parents will be harmed if they do not do as they are told.  Others were lured by pimps with gifts and promises of a better life only to find that the promises were all a lie. Several women have talked about being treated so well initially that they continued to have feelings of love and devotion for their pimp even after he had forced them into the sex industry and had been prostituting them for years.

The only conclusion that seems feasible to me is that these girls and boys want desperately for someone to love them. For someone to notice them. They have been abused and neglected at home to the extent that they feel  safer on the street than they do in their bed. The children are forced out of their homes by their parents because their parents no longer have the desire or ability to care for them.  These children come from desperate circumstances, so they take desperate measures to keep themselves alive.  They end up alone and afraid, out on the street.

Then along comes their savior. This man, this pimp who can provide for them. He starts by showing them the attention he knows they have never received any where else. He will bring gifts to them, will offer to care for them. The pimp will feed and clothe them. After he’s given them a sufficient amount of gifts and praise, he springs his trap. After everything I’ve given you, after everything I’ve done, you are going to do what I tell you to do. He beats them. He berates them. He does what it takes to break them. Then he lets men come into their room and rape them while he sits outside counting the earnings that come from such atrocities.

In an effort to prevent this future for this group of at risk children, we have to reach out to these girls and boys before it ever gets to this point. Before the children ever run away. Before a pimp has a chance to approach them. We have to reach out to them. Show them the love they have never been shown. Rescue them from the lives that are already more tragic than they should be. So how can this be done?

There are already programs in place in some school districts, such as Hamilton County, where in Title 1 school children are shown videos regarding abuse and older children are told the signs of human sex trafficking. The students are taught how to identify a possible trafficking victim among their peers. This is definitely a step in the right direction. However, there is certainly more that can be done.

As a group of like-minded adults who seek to stop these cruelties, we could reach out to these children. Couldn’t we offer ourselves – our time and our talents – to the youths most likely to run away or end up on the street? What if each of us donated just a small portion of our time to an at-risk child and spent time with them. What if it were you or I that showed the kind of love and attention these girls and boys need? What if, what if WE could be the people – not the pimps of this world – but WE, that reached out and loved these children. You could be the turning point. I could be the turning point. The children we were able to reach could grow up one day and point back to the time when you entered their lives and say, “That was when it all changed.” Together, we can reach out and be the hands that grasp hold of the lost children and pull them back to safety.

This is only one possible key to the prevention of human trafficking. There is so much more that needs to be done in the way of awareness. Awareness needs to be created among all groups across our area and the nation. However, you and I aren’t responsible for all of that. We are responsible for what we can accomplish. And this, my friends, is something I feel we can tackle head on.

Here is a small list of groups that have already identified the children who are most at risk in our community. They are at risk for ending up out on the street. They are most likely to be the run aways. They are most likely to be abused. Let’s reach out to them and see what kind of impact we can make in the lives of these kids. And in impacting these at risk children, we can help prevent human trafficking in Chattanooga.

The Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga

 http://www.bgccha.org/about-us/demographics/

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga

http://www.bbbschatt.org/site/c.cuLRK9OWLmK4E/b.7524205/k.EECC/Home_Page.htm

Partnership for Families, Children and Adults

http://www.partnershipfca.com/www/docs/3

United Way of Greater Chattanooga

http://www.uwchatt.org/www/docs/1235/united-way-volunteer-opportunities

By Khristina O’Connor, Second Life of Chattanooga Volunteer

April 29, 2012

Sex Trafficking.  It just hangs there with a heavy weight on your shoulders when you see it; and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth after you say it.  A typical response to this weighty issue is to deny it.  Another typical response is to get curious.  Maybe you’re asking yourself: “What do I do with the phrase, ‘sex trafficking?’”  “What does it even mean?”  “Why does it matter to me?” 

I would like to share with you my working definition of sex trafficking:

Sex trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, or reproductive labor for profit or personal gain.  Sexual exploitation ranges from forced labor in pornography to forced labor in prostitution.  This modern-day form of slavery is a hidden epidemic—a multi-billion dollar international industry (which includes The U.S.A.) that violently enslaves both women and children.  Sexual exploitation of this kind goes beyond rape—where perpetrators repeatedly coerce their victims with a deep manipulation of self-worth and a false sense of security.

I would also like to share with you why it matters to me:

In my sophomore year of undergraduate work, I was required to take a class focusing in women’s issues as a part of my general education requirements.  I was a skeptic to women’s issues at first—especially only being 19 at the time, and still unsure about what “women’s issues” really were.  The class I took was Gender and Culture.  The general message was throughout history, ancient through contemporary cultures were dealing with internal conflict and tension between the two genders—an entire culture with a classic case of a superiority complex—in psychological terms.  It was all predictable for me, until one day toward the end of the semester.     

My professor had a grave look on her face.  She told us we were going to watch a movie.  I didn’t understand her juxtaposition of sadness with watching a movie in class—we were all ecstatic!  Well, we were ecstatic until the movie started.  The movie, titled Human Trafficking (2005), had originally aired as a Lifetime miniseries.  We didn’t have enough time to watch the series in its entirety in class; but I watched the entire series on Lifetime that week outside of class.  The network was conveniently playing it. (Our professor had planned it that way.)

I was shocked—utterly shocked.  I had no words.  Never had I been exposed to such a thing—or even knew it existed.  I couldn’t believe the horrors that were happening to women in secret—unknown to the most of the world.  Their screams had been silenced by tyrants—and very few people even knew how to help the situation.  The movie summary reads: “Hundreds of thousands of young women have vanished from their everyday lives-forced by violence into a hellish existence of brutality and prostitution. They’re a profitable commodity in the multi-billion-dollar industry of modern slavery” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461872/).   The movie,  Human Trafficking is a necessity to see if your only exposure to the sex slave industry is the movie Taken.  It’s a more accurate depiction of the fastest growing underground illegal industry today.

Although my first exposure to sex trafficking involved an industry that is mostly operated in other parts of the world, in my current research on the topic, I have found that this evil industry is happening in the United States.  This is an even greater weight to be added to our original phrase of “sex trafficking.”  Now the phrase must read: “Sex trafficking in America.”  I know this is a devastating truth.  And women don’t just get shipped into America from other countries—although that happens too—this happens in America.  It affects America’s young female population with statistics showing American girls being trafficked as young as 12-14 years old.

I encourage you to read Theresa Flores’s memoir, The Slave Across The Street: The True Story of How an American Teen Survived the World of Human Trafficking.  Flores is a survivor of human trafficking in America, and her book chronicles her enslavement in this industry while she was still living in her parents’ home and attending high school.  She writes, “Secrets lose their power when they are no longer secrets.  My decision is to share this so that other people will know that human trafficking takes on many forms, happens anywhere, and can happen to any kid” (location 1741, Kindle Edition).  Flores also appeared with Terri Self and Jerry Redman of Second Life in 2011 on David Karnes’ radio program in Chattanooga.  She is active in raising awareness of how human trafficking happens in the United States.

I have joined Second Life Chattanooga in order to help break the chains of this evil hidden secret.  As we continue these weekly blogs, we will give updates on what you can do in terms of educating yourself on the issue of sex trafficking, as well as new training materials that become available.  Second Life Chattanooga promises to follow suit with Flores, and expose the secrets so they are not secrets anymore.

I agree with Flores, when she says, “Slavery still exists.  It needs to stop.  Now.”

By Patricia Martin, Second Life of Chattanooga Volunteer

April 14, 2012

Let me start by welcoming you to the Second Life of Chattanooga Blog. This is the first post we have had that has been written by a volunteer. As a volunteer, I am honored to have the opportunity to connect with you about Second Life of Chattanooga. The goal of this blog is not only to keep you updated on issues related to human sex trafficking in the Greater Chattanooga area and throughout Southeast Tennessee. We also want to connect with you, our community, and develop relationships that will keep you informed so that you, the reader, can create awareness about human trafficking that drives action throughout our community.

As you develop awareness and grow in understanding along with us, we welcome your questions, comments and concerns. If you have topics that you would like to be covered in the blog, if you need to know something and feel it would benefit the community as a whole to know it as well – please tell us. We want to provide you with the information you need to make an impact in the name of ending human sex trafficking. So please, don’t be shy. Email us at contact@secondlifechattanooga.org. Give us your questions, your concerns, and your topic ideas and we will do our best to cover them through the blog.

Now that I have introduced the blog, I would like to introduce you to Second Life of Chattanooga. What is this organization about? Who are we and what do we do? Well, I’m glad you asked. The mission of Second Life of Chattanooga is to create awareness that drives action through collaborative relationships with like-minded organizations and individuals in order to end human sex-trafficking in the Greater Chattanooga/Southeast Tennessee area.

Now, if some of you are like me, you are at first shocked and then appalled at the idea that human sex-trafficking actually occurs in our area. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. But let me assure you; this is truth. Fact. Humans are trafficked for the purpose of sex in our community. Children. Women. Men. Every day.

Jerry Redman had the same reaction when he heard someone speak at a conference.  The speaker mentioned human sex trafficking.  Jerry relates that he was only half paying attention when he heard the words, “… in the United States.”  When he tells the story, he describes those words hanging in the air in front of him. He knew doing nothing was not an option. After having a discussion with Terri Self and others about the issue, Second Life of Chattanooga was formed. The goal of Second Life is to make people aware that this is an issue in our area. It’s not something that just goes on in other countries. It happens at our back door. And it’s up to us to do something.

So what can we do? What can you do? You can create awareness. That’s right. You. Because just like you, when other people hear that this is happening, that children and adults are really sold for sex in our area, they won’t be able to sit by and let it happen either. They will want to know what they can do. And through this awareness, we can create action.

That is how we make a difference. That is how we stop these atrocities. We set a fire with our words. We ignite a passion about rescuing these people by letting others know we will not stand by and watch it happen. We can end this. You and I and others like us that won’t turn a blind eye to slavery.  We can create awareness that drives action and creates change.

This very reason is why I wanted to be a part of Second Life. You would not believe the impact it has on individuals when you make them aware of what is happening.

Will you partner with us? Will you commit to creating awareness that drives action for the women and children that can’t speak for themselves? For those who can’t defend themselves, who can’t stop what is happening to them – will you be their voice? Cry out for them because they can’t. Let the world know, let those being trafficked know, that you care about the victims. Let these victims know that you care about what is happening and you want it to stop. They are not alone. They have us to fight for them. Will you join us?

Again, we welcome your comments, questions and support at contact@secondlifechattanooga.org.

The invitation was so subtle, so quick, we almost missed it. Quite often we expect our lives to change with the sound of a crash, a bang, an explosion, that the new reality will make itself obvious. Not this time. This time it was so subtle you could describe it as a whisper, and the whisper was six words: “…sex trafficking in the United States.” While we were still trying to get our heads around the impossibility of what had just been said, an even gentler whisper said, “Go talk to the guy. Find out about this.” And that’s how it began.

Those few words, spoken so quietly that we should have missed them, began something on February 8, 2007 that we’re still trying to understand and describe. Maybe it’s a movement, maybe it’s a journey, and maybe it’s much more. Whatever it is, of this we’re sure: it is a conspiracy of hope. Founded on an unchanging belief in human dignity and guided by the dream that has inspired so many before us, we have spent the last five years working to bring an end to those six words that got this whole thing started. And though like Dr. King, we may not live to see it firsthand, we know it will come, the captives will be set free, full humanity will one day be returned to all of those who have had theirs stolen.

These five years have been filled with amazing highs, crushing lows, and more exhaustion than we thought was possible. Tears, elation, arguments, success, frustration, danger, justice have been part of the journey at various times, sometimes within the same day. We’ve seen connections come together that can only be explained as unexplainable, we’ve watched people do the impossible. We’ve had our hearts broken by stories of unspeakable darkness. Somehow through all of it we have kept our own humanity, somehow not lost hope that it can change, that it will change.

Our first five years have passed at a breath-taking pace. We begin the second half of our first decade very grateful. We also begin it amazed at all that has happened in our first five, but anticipate that the truly amazing is still ahead. We are Second Life of Chattanooga and we are ready for our next five.

By Jerry Redman, Co-Executive Director Second Life of Chattanooga

NEWS RELEASE - NOVEMBER 7, 2011

In an effort to help raise awareness about human trafficking along America’s roadways, Pilot Flying J has partnered with Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) to expand education for employees and outreach to customers.

“The Pilot Flying J family, made up of our employees, our customers, our vendors and other business partners, has the opportunity to help shut down human trafficking along our nation’s highways,” said Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam. “Our associates, professional drivers and the motoring public can take a stand by keeping our eyes and ears open for trafficking red flags. And, with one simple phone call, we can help keep our roadways safe and free of crime and, most importantly, save lives.”

Pilot Flying J posted information from TAT in its more than 550 travel centers and travel plazas across the U.S. These posters provide the National Hotline number that individuals should call to provide an anonymous tip if they witness or suspect human trafficking. The number is 1-888-373-7888.

Professional drivers are encouraged to pick up a TAT wallet card at Pilot Flying J locations, which along with the National Hotline number, provides an email contact, tips on trafficking red flags and specific information to provide to law enforcement with each tip.

Pilot Flying J also now includes general training about human trafficking and TAT resources to all company employees.

Some of the human trafficking red flags that Truckers Against Trafficking recommends to look for include people exhibiting:

·         Lack of knowledge of their community or whereabouts

·         Lack of control of own identification documents (ID/passport)

·         Restricted or controlled communication – not allowed to speak for self

·         Demeanor: fear, anxiety, depression, submissive, tense, nervous

The timing of Pilot Flying J’s plans to utilize TAT training materials coincides with recent legislation in Tennessee aimed at stopping human trafficking in the company’s home state. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot Flying J supports the state law ratified in June that requires certain businesses, including travel centers and travel plazas, to post a sign with information regarding the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline.

“We’re very proud to support the work of Truckers Against Trafficking and do our part to help,” Jimmy Haslam said. “The trucking industry is a family of caring individuals, and together we’re millions of people who can be part of the solution to a devastating problem.”

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) has received more than 125 calls from professional drivers, and of these, more than 60% resulted from awareness and outreach efforts conducted by TAT. Of the cases reported by truckers referencing trafficking, approximately 62% involved potential minors in human trafficking situations.

The TAT initiative has a four-fold purpose: to educate members of the trucking/travel plaza industry about human trafficking and the role they can play in fighting it; equip them with tools; empower them with steps to take; and mobilize them to take a stand against one of the world’s most lucrative and destructive crimes. The initiative includes a website, www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com with resources such as videos, webinars, Human Trafficking 101 classes and more.

Human trafficking, a term for modern-day slavery, is a $32-billion worldwide industry with more than 27 million people enslaved in the world today. In the United States, it has been reported in all 50 states, and the number of victims is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.

For more information about Pilot Flying J, visit www.pilotflyingj.com.

About Pilot Flying J

Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 retail locations across North America. Pilot Flying J is also one of the nation’s largest wholesale fuel providers, delivering over 500 million gallons of fuel to thousands of customers in 47 states and eight Canadian provinces. The company employs approximately 18,000 people and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.

For further information, Contact: Lauren Christ or Moxley Carmichael (865) 544-0088.

Tennessee is launching a hotline on October 1st which will serve as a resource for trafficking victims throughout the state of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Hotline Act was introduced by Operation Broken Silence, located in Memphis, to the state legislature and sponsored by Representative Coley and Senator Marrero  in Spring of this year.  In July, Governor Haslam signed the bill into law.

The mission of TNHTH is to work collaboratively to increase public awareness and identification of human trafficking cases, and to provide identified victims with referral to comprehensive social and medical services.

The Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline will begin operation on October 1, 2011. It is our hope that TNHTH will be a lifeline for victims throughout Tennessee and a resource for those who want to understand the impact that human trafficking has on our state.

More details to come on October 1, 2011.

By Nicole Keef, Second Life of Chattanooga Volunteer, 2009 graduate from Bryan College in Dayton, TN and Anti-Human Trafficking activist

You have probably stood in the same room as a victim or survivor of human trafficking.  Perhaps someone in the coffee shop in line behind you finally escaped from her captors, or maybe that person you know from school is still being tormented. Last month, my Pastor led a series on human trafficking. He guaranteed that we had each come into contact with someone who is currently being or has been trafficked before.  Even though I’ve been involved with human trafficking awareness as long as I have been, I still doubted that this was true.

The next week, he shared with us that after the last sermon, a woman had come to him and shared her chilling story of how she had previously been sex trafficked. I looked around the room at the well dressed people who had just been singing joyful songs with me and couldn’t believe it. Was I sitting next to her? I realized, once again, that this issue of human trafficking is not something that is happening overseas. It’s not a big city problem. It’s not a specific race, economic class, or even gender issue. It’s happening to people I know, even if I’m not aware of it.

The FIRST step to eradicating this global monster is awareness. Like the old adage states, “The first step is admitting you have a problem.” We can’t beat this unless everyone knows what it is! And for those of us who DO know, it is our responsibility to pass along the knowledge to others. So how do we as individuals begin to get involved in human trafficking awareness?

1.       Find a local organization that is already spreading the word. I can guarantee there is something nearby. Do a Google search! Or contact Second Life Chattanooga if you’re not from southeast Tennessee and we can help you find an organization near you.

2.       Invite Second Life or your local organization to speak at your church, place of business, social club, or school. You don’t have to be a polished speaker and have the statistics memorized… we’ll take care of that for you!

3.       Share human trafficking articles you read on Facebook on your profile page. Social networking platforms are a great and easy way to share information.

4.       For you adventurous and creative types, get together with a group of friends. Think of a fundraiser that you can put on and donate the profits to your local human trafficking awareness organization. Many of these organizations are non profit and volunteer led that need resources in order to get the word out!

If you have any other suggestions for ways to get involved at the local level, leave a comment and share your ideas.

By Meaghan Warnock, Second Life of Chattanooga Volunteer

Felony Classes:
                -Class A: 15-60 years in prison, up to $50,000 in fines
                -Class B: 8-30 years in prison, up to $25,000 in fines
                -Class C: 3-15 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines
                -Class D: 2-12 years in prison, up to $5,000 in fines
                -Class E: 1-6 years in prison, up to $3,000 in fines

Sex Trafficking Law: A person who breaks this law has knowingly subjected another person to sexual servitude or has coerced, transported, harbored, provided or obtained a person for the purpose of sexual servitude. This is a Class B felony. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-309)

Labor Trafficking Law: A person who breaks this law has knowingly subjected or has attempted to subject a person to forced labor servitude by threatening physical harm, financial ruin, or legal consequences. This is a Class C felony, or a Class B felony if it ends in death, bodily harm, occurs over a year’s time, or exceeds 10 victims. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-307)

Asset Seizure Law: This law requires law enforcement to forfeit any property acquired through illegal trafficking. The profit or property is divided by the law enforcement agency and the remaining amount is given to NGO anti-trafficking efforts. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-312 and T.C.A. § 39-11-703)

Hotline Act: A hotline will be maintained that will be available to victims of trafficking or those who suspect sex human trafficking. Communities and businesses are strongly encouraged to post this hotline phone number on flyers throughout the state. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-312)

Task Force-Advisory Committee: A collaborative group dedicated to ending trafficking through cooperation and communication between NGOs and law enforcement agencies. (This law has not been formalized but is recognized by the Polaris Project)

Decriminalization of Minors: Persons under the age of 18 are immune from prosecution for prosecution and will be given the Hotline phone number. This law also states those who patronize persons under the age of 18 for prostitution will be prosecuted for a Class E felony. (§ Tenn. Code Ann. 39-13-513 and T.C.A. § 39-13-514)

Source: http://www.operationbrokensilence.org/

By Nicole Keef, Second Life of Chattanooga Volunteer, 2009 graduate from Bryan College in Dayton, TN and Anti-Human Trafficking activist

In this decade, there is much talk about free speech, individual’s rights, prejudice, and political correctness. A person has a right to voice his or her opinion, unless of course, it offends someone who has a louder voice. There are so many rules to what is politically correct, or “PC,” that anyone who has a criticism of anyone else is called a “hate monger.” Unfortunately, the fear of offending has led to an epidemic that has caused one of the most vile and potentially dangerous industries to grow exponentially in the past decade.

 This Goliath, the pornography industry, has larger revenues than the leading technology companies today. That’s Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo, Apple, and Netflix that we’re talking about. That should cause alarm considering when searching for pornography, one of the top 20 search terms people use is “teen sex” in a 2006 study.ⁱ  Most pornography users would argue there is no need for concern. In fact, they have a “right” to porn (assuming the object of the video or picture is of age.) It’s not like they are hurting anyone at their computer. In fact, the people in these videos want the consumer to watch it. After all, it’s how they make money, right?

The truth is that pornography is devastating to both the consumer and the producer. There is no way to know if the people in those videos were willing or were paid, and there are, in fact, endless reports about women and children who were forced. When one is forced through violence, threats, or blackmail to perform sexual acts, that person is a victim of sex-trafficking. Someone watched those videos, and that someone would have probably claimed the sex was consensual. By viewing these videos, a person creates a demand that will continue to be supplied… whether or not the sexual acts are consensual. The harm committed against the people in pornographic videos is easy to imagine. The harm to the consumer of pornography is more sensitive to talk about, and that is when communication begins to break down because of the fear of offending.

Judith A. Reisman, Ph.D., President of The Institute for Media Education, Scientific Advisor to the California Protective Parents Association and the Subcommittee on Junk Science for The American Legislative Exchange Council reported on November 18, 2004 to a U.S. Senate Subcommittee her research findings on how viewing pornography affects the brain. She states:

“Thanks to the latest advances in neuroscience, we now know that pornographic visual images imprint and alter the brain, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting, biochemical memory trail, arguably, subverting the First Amendment by overriding the cognitive speech process.”

She later explains that the effect of pornography on the brain mimics the effect of heroin and that it affects children and teenagers especially deeply. She then says:

“Moreover, the mainstreaming of pornography since the 1950’s directly coincides with the unprecedented explosion in sexual disease and a huge, exponential increase in new types of pornographic copycat sex crimes by and to juveniles and adults. Such facts should inform the legal arguments about free speech versus pornography in public and even private venues.” ⁱⁱ

This coincides with the admission from child molesters and other sex offenders that they purposefully use pornography as a stimulus before committing their offenses.ⁱⁱⁱ

Am I suggesting that everyone who uses pornography will become a sex offender and trafficker? Not at all. But just as there are no alcoholics who have never taken a drink of alcohol, there are no sex offenders who have not first used pornography. Pornography, as hurtful as it already is to its own victims, is the gateway drug to even more heinous sexual crimes including those of sex trafficking. It is time to put our foot down, rid ourselves of the fear of offending others, and start protecting innocent victims by destroying this entire industry at its root.

i.                     Ropelato, Jerry. “Internet Pornography Statistics.” Net Nanny. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 July 2011. http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html

ii.                    Reisman, Judith. “The Science Behind Pornography Addiction.” Institute for Media Education. 18 Nov. 2004. Web. 22 July 2011. <http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=e8088f9f-d8d2-4e82-b012-46337c6f9456&Statement_id=d744db10-1a94-4899-a3ea-fcf5cf0d6493>.

iii.                  W. L. Marshall, “The Use of Sexually Explicit Stimuli by Rapists, Child Molesters, and Nonoffenders,” The Journal of Sex Research 25, no.2 (May 1988): 267-88.