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Trafficking at Illicit Massage Parlors Hidden in Plain Sight

A new report from Polaris reveals an estimated 9,000 illicit massage businesses across the country, where vulnerable women are bought for sex in thinly veiled brothels. The report found that sex buyers pour around $2.5 billion in revenue into this industry annually, with the proceeds supporting organized criminal networks. It also states that women trafficked in massage parlors are usually immigrants from Asia who speak limited English, have little education, are under extreme financial pressure, and are victims of force, fraud or coercion.
 
Buyers who frequent illicit massage businesses generally reflect the demographics of their communities and come from all walks of life.The ease of patronizing these establishments—which provide protection and anonymity for buyers—allows demand for commercial sex to flourish.

Read more »

86 Sex Buyers Arrested in Phoenix Police Sting

Phoenix police vice operations opened a fake massage brothel and arrested 86 men for attempting to buy sex. The 10-day operation was designed to catch those who drive the demand for the illicit and harmful sex trade.
 
"This is not a victimless crime," Phoenix police Lt. Brian Freudenthal said. "It affects everyone from the victims to legitimate massage parlors."
 
Read more »
Photo: Kurt Nordstrom/Flickr

California Law Enforcement Empowered to Impound Sex Buyers’ Cars

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill that will deter sex buyers by allowing law enforcement officers to impound their cars. The two-year pilot program will be conducted in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento and enable police to remove a vehicle used in the “commission, or attempted commission, of pimping, pandering, or solicitation of prostitution.”
 
Read more »

DEMAND REDUCTION IN THE NEWS

Who Buys a Trafficked Child for Sex? Otherwise Ordinary Men.

The first in a 10-part series on child commercial sexual exploitation, this USA Today piece includes quotes from child trafficking victims, researchers, prosecutors, and other experts to explore the question: Who buys a 15-year-old child for sex? Read more »

Transforming the #MeToo Culture in Houston
Emily Freeborn and Mandi Kimball of Children at Risk explain the inequality and power imbalance that’s integral to the lives of women in prostitution. They highlight the progress being made by law enforcement in the Greater Houston area, who are increasingly going after buyers and providing services to victims instead of arrest. Read more »

We Cannot End Sex Trafficking Without Addressing Demand
Sarah Godoy, anti-trafficking researcher and professor at UCLA, writes for Forbes on tactics that target demand for paid sex, and how members of the community can be involved. Read more »

Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails
Newsweek takes an investigative look at men in Seattle’s tech industry using their work emails to solicit sex. Read more »

Demand Reduction and US Legislation
Demand Abolition’s Director of Policy and Research, Alex Trouteaud, and CEASE Houston coordinator Emily Freeborn joined Children at Risk for their weekly radio show, where they discussed the thriving illicit massage industry in Houston, the community’s role in noticing human trafficking, and demand-reduction policies—specifically the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act—which includes prevention measures that address perpetration. Listen »

Did You Know?

New research from Thorn found that 75 percent of domestic minor sex trafficking victims were advertised online.

Use Your Social Media Presence to #TackleDemand

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation and other anti-trafficking organizations are raising awareness about the need to tackle demand for commercial sex at sporting events.
 
You can join this mission by participating in the Thunderclap social media action!
 
Thunderclap is a tool that creates a “virtual flashmob” in order to raise awareness about an issue. This service schedules a one-time social media message, so everyone's posts go out at the same time, to have a potentially viral effect. 
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Demand Abolition · 625 Mount Auburn Street · Cambridge, MA 02138 · USA