"So it's like a store where you can buy women for sex...?" I asked the man. "Kinda like little sex slaves..."
His mustache bristled with a grin as he replied, "Absolutely!"
People think that sex trafficking is far away from their community. We often think of it as this thing that only happens somewhere else, not related to the nice people in our community. Almost like, "Surely my neighbor would never be involved in that."
The reality is, people in your community are both being trafficked and trafficking people. So vulnerable women for example in your community are being sexually exploited in your community. And men in your community are sexually exploiting women in your community and going outside your community to sexually exploit women.
Maybe that feels a little wordy or confusing, or whatever. Or maybe you are struggling to believe this.
So here's the story, a few weeks ago, I was at a local gym, in Utah, and this very normal looking man next to me strikes up a conversation. Very normal, nonchalant, pleasantries kind of conversation. I'm a pretty friendly person, so I chat with him for a few minutes. He tells me about his grandkids, how he is a tour bus driver for some parks around the area, and how he recently was on a trip to Thailand.
When I asked what he was up to in Thailand, the conversation took a dark turn. Within a few minutes, I had this man telling me, in detail, about how he goes to Thailand to buy women and girls for sex. He told me every detail I asked for. Held nothing back.
For example, we had exchanges like this:
Me - "So to sum it up, you go there and you just go to these storefronts and there are attractive young girls hanging out and you can buy them for sex for as little as $15 - $30 and that’s it?"
Him - "Yea!"
Me - "So it’s like they're sold on a market… so it’s like..."
Him - "A slave market?"
Me - "No... like a Walmart where you can go find women to have sex with? It’s like a store?"
Him - "Selling sex. Yea!"
Me - "So it’s like a store where you can buy…"
Him - "A commodity!"
Me - "...women for sex?"
Him - "Yea!"
Me - "So how old are these women?"
Him - "Most people that shop over there, they're looking for the younger, pliable meat! You're a source of money, so they do pretty much whatever your beckoning..."
Me - "Kinda like little sex slaves..."
Him - "Absolutely!"
I am not sure what to make of this conversation, other than that people in your community are exploiting vulnerable people for sex. It is traumatizing. It is not inadvertent. It is viewed, even by this man, as slavery and these vulnerable women are a commodity.
To learn more about this issue in your community, check out our documentary at heal-ex.org/joinus
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