Dear Journal or Diary or Whatever,

I’ve been away from home for I don’t know how long. I’ve honestly lost track. Mike got mad and threw my phone at the wall. I have had no contact with my friends or parents. I missed my high school graduation, but I have no idea if anyone in my family would have noticed. My mom is always at work, and my dad is a drunk. My friends probably were worried, but Mike says they are too stupid and don’t really care about me. He says they don’t care about me they way he cares, and never will. He says he cares too much and that is why he gets so mad. That’s why he threw my phone. Because he cares, too much. I was the one that started the fight. It was over something stupid and I regret it.

Mike has been getting way more angry lately. At first we were so happy. One day it just flipped. He told me he was stressed. He demanded we have sex because he needed it and had waited too long. He told me he had no source of income anymore and was starting to worry about how he was going to pay rent. I feel sad for him and want to help. I hate when he is stressed and feel an obligation to make him happy.

A weird thing happened. Mike brought up the possibility of me having sex with men for money. He made a joke that he was going to make me regardless. He was drunk when he said this.

I am praying things get better,

-Jen

Dear Journal,

I ran away and am living with Mike. He is being so sweet. He has let me vent about my parents, and told me they are worthless anyway. He just gets it. He cooked me dinner and helped me unpack my suitcase. I didn’t have much in it, but it was sweet anyway. I cannot a believe a man like him likes a girl like me. It hurts my heart thinking about how lucky I am to have him.

He hasn’t even pressured me into anything physical. We slept in the same bed and he just kissed me goodnight. I told him I’m not ready for sex yet, and he really is respecting it. He told me most guys wouldn’t wait, but he’s an exception. I like that about him because it makes me feel safe and wanted.

Until next time,

-Jen

Dear Diary,

I hate my parents, or maybe they just hate me. So I left. I ran away from my home because I no longer could take it. The constant fighting was just too much. The won’t let me just be myself.

I have no where to go, but I’ve been texting with this wonderful man. His name is Mike. He even told me I could live with him once I leave home. We have a big age difference considering he is 42, but he said it doesn’t matter. We met online, and he has been nothing but supportive. He makes me feel confident and appreciated. Things my parents have never made me feel.

My friends don’t understand. They say it is creepy, but I’m in love I think. I’ve never felt so strongly for a man. The guys at my high school are the worst (thank god I graduate soon). They’re so immature. Mike says I shouldn’t waste my time with 18 year old boys because they are horny and stupid. Mike tells me he actually appreciates my mind, not just my body. That is love, right?

I’ve met Mike secretly one time. He took me to a nice dinner. My parents thought I was at a friends house studying. Other than that we have just been texting, but the connection is so strong. He tells me he would never let anything bad happen to me. He even offered to financially support me until I graduate high school. I would love to go to college for English. My parents told me that was stupid and that they would not support such a degree. But Mike said he may be able to help pay for college, but would hate to see me leave town. So I only applied to a local community college.

-Jen

I am focusing on sex trafficking for this project. For this assignment, I will be writing “journal entries” on this blog as if I were a victim who had been journaling throughout this horrific experience. The “character” I am writing through is an 18-year-old girl named Jen with a rocky home life. Jen has met an older man Mike who comes off as sweet and charming. I am wanting to convey the emotional turmoil in these entries, so information could be sensitive and raw. Below is a short introduction on sex trafficking.

Sex trafficking is a primary form of human trafficking activities. Sex trafficking is most known in the form of forced prostitution. Forced prostitution takes place in the form of escort services, street walking, brothel work, massage parlors, nail salons, strip clubs, sex tourism, porn, phone sex, and more.

Sex trafficking occurs when someone uses force, fraud, or coercion to cause a commercial sex act with an adult or a minor.

Victims of sex trafficking can be U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, women, men, children, and LGBTQ individuals. Vulnerable populations are frequently targeted by traffickers, including runaway and homeless youth, as well as victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Sex traffickers use threats, manipulation, lies, debt bondage, and other forms of coercion to compel adults and children to engage in commercial sex acts against their will.

So, what exactly is a commercial sex act?

It involves sex-related services in exchange for compensation (i.e., money, housing, jewelry, electronics, socioeconomic opportunities, etc.)

In order for trafficking activities to be officially recognized as trafficking in America, there must also be evidence of force, fraud, or coercion unless the individual is a minor who is less than 18 years of age and engaged in commercial sex acts. This is defined by the United States government through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Key Statistics (with links) 

Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, operated by Polaris, has received reports of 34,700 sex trafficking cases inside the United States.

In 2017, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimated that 1 in 7 endangered runaways reported to them were likely sex trafficking victims.

Globally, the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.8 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally.

Sex Trafficking. (2018, November 09). Retrieved from https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/sex-trafficking