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As a hub of global tourism, and as a port city, Boston is a prime location for both domestic and transnational human trafficking.
 The Boston Public Health Commission’s Family Justice Center (FJC), a coalition of an outstanding group of social service and criminal justice partners with deep knowledge and experience of human trafficking in Greater Boston and long experience of working together, has developed this human trafficking public awareness campaign to inform the public that commercial sexual exploitation is happening in Boston and surrounding communities. It is not a victimless crime! The sex trade destroys lives and we need your help to reduce demand and provide resources for survivors.
Despite increased efforts of law enforcement in Boston, adult sex trafficking continues to thrive in the form of internet-based solicitation, street prostitution, escort services, massage parlors, strip clubs and brothels in apartments. In 2010 the Boston Police Department Human Trafficking Unit investigated 100 cases of human trafficking and made referrals for services in other cases which involved youth that were deemed at risk for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).
Kim’s Project
Kim’s Project, a Boston-based survivor-led program for adults and FJC partner, has served more than 150 survivors of sex trafficking since 2006, at least two thirds of whom were ages of 17 to 25. According to Kim‘s Project, more than 38% of adult sex trafficking survivors seeking services report to have aged out of child welfare, juvenile justice or mental health systems. My Life My Choice (MLMC), a survivor-led program for commercially sexually exploited girls and another FJC partner, served 40 victims in their Survivor Mentoring program in the last year alone, all of them under age 18; MLMC has served well over 150 girls.
Boston’s SEEN (Support to End Exploitation Now) Coalition
Boston’s SEEN (Support to End Exploitation Now) Coalition, headquartered at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County at the Family Justice Center, focuses on minors. SEEN launched a database in 2005 to identify girls up to age 18 who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The number of identified sexually exploited and high risk youth reached 450 in August 2011. Of these 450 children in the database, 40% are Black, 23% Hispanic and 26% White. In terms of age, 14% were 12-13 years old at time of referral, 16% were 14, 28% were 15, 24% were 16, and 15% were 17 years of age. Since months or years may elapse between when a victim first becomes sexually exploited and they are referred to the SEEN Coalition, statistics on age may not reflect the true age of first victimization. Approximately 62% of children in the SEEN database have a history of running way, and more than 70% have a history of sexual abuse and neglect, similar to national statistics.
Commercial Exploitation
Young male victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation are, if anything, even less visible. Evidence points to strong associations among homelessness, substance use, sexual minority identity and commercial sexual exploitation.
In a world where the song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” receives an Academy Award, we need to question the glamorization of violence against human beings. We need to stand up and say we won’t tolerate the exploitation of our city’s young people, and we need to hold the pimps and people who buy sexual services accountable.
Our Goal
The ultimate aim of this public awareness campaign is to shed light on the sex trade and make the public aware that prostitution is not a victimless crime; it ensnares and abuses those being bought for sex through coercion, fear, and violence. We must recognize this as a public health concern: the physical violence, rape, psychological trauma, sexually transmitted infections and the lifelong health consequences that can include mental health or substance abuse issues for victims.
We also look forward to quick enactment of human trafficking legislation which includes Safe Harbor provisions to increases penalties for pimps and johns and to treat children who are being exploited as victims rather than offenders. By identifying human trafficking as the predatory crime that it is, we can make strides to protect the community by holding the true parties responsible for the crime of sexual exploitation and develop desperately needed services for victims.
For more information about commercial sexual exploitation and agencies that advocate for change and provide services for victims Click Here.
View our Campaign Posters!
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Family Justice Center Phone: (617) 779-2100 Fax: (617) 779-2173 Email: amdelaney@bphc.org 989 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA 02215 |
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