Speaker describes links between prostitution, sex trafficking

Sexual trafficking exists in order to support prostitution, said Lisa Thompson, a liaison for the abolition of sexual trafficking for the Salvation Army in Washington D.C.

Thompson, who spoke Monday during the university’s annual Social Justice Symposium, said about 500,000 women from across the world are trafficked annually into Western Europe for sex. Between 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked internationally.

She also told the students that prostitution is harmful, despite media images and cultural attitudes that seek to make it acceptable.

“There’s no limit to the creativity of people to establish fronts for prostitution,” she said, mentioning massage parlors, escort services, health clinics and the Internet.

“Those who are most at risk of becoming involved in prostitution and sexual trafficking are ethnic minorities, poverty (stricken), have a history of prior sexual abuse and, especially in countries like India, are widows and children,” she said.

Once a person is caught in the life, the dependency between the victim and captor develops and makes it hard for them to leave, she said.