The Relation Between Sex Trafficking and Dating Apps
Introduction
The last two decades have seen sex trafficking rapidly grown as a form of transnational crime globally. Sex trafficking involves a form of human trafficking in which children, men, and women are traded for forced labor or prostitution. It has been recognized as the fastest-growing transnational industry estimated to a value of over USD 32 (Alyssa 24). In most cases of sex trafficking, the victims, especially women, are lured and deceived into prostitution with a promise of realizing financial prosperity or employment opportunities. Sex trafficking has become popular on dating sites due to globalization and the diffusion of the internet. Therefore, as technology continues to advance, it is necessary to understand the scope of sex trafficking on dating apps (Rahman 11). This paper delves into examining the extent to which dating websites, applications, and social media sites tend to offer easy access to identified susceptibilities for sex traffickers.
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Latonero et al. (14) affirm that despite the benefits that the rapid diffusion of digital technology has presented to modern society, including social networking sites and smartphones, new opportunities and channels for exploitation have arisen in which sex traffickers use these technologies to perpetrate the crime. Scholars also suggest that, although research is yet to establish the role of digital technologies in human trafficking, the author suggests the need to implement effective measures towards identifying and responding to new opportunities and threats that digital technologies present. Conversely, Dixon (36) provides an elaborate description of how sex traffickers users use the internet and dating applications to ensnare trafficking victims. In simple terms, most cases of sex trafficking indicate that the perpetrators usually start contacting the victims on social media sites like MySpace and Facebook. Consequently, through social networking sites, the offenders quickly establish a sense of trust with the victims, which range from expressing their admiration and love for the victim.
Role of the Internet in Sex Trafficking
Modern technology, characterized by the diffusion of the internet has increased social networks in which people from around the world can interact simultaneously regardless of their geographical locations. Dating apps and websites have been recognized as the leading cause for the prevalence of sex trafficking. The applications have made it easier for traffickers to go online to look for and prey on victims (Alyssa 13). Indeed, social media networks have made it easier for traffickers to find individuals who demonstrate signs of destabilization within the home environment, exploitation of substance or drug abuse, or run-away activities. As the number of people with access to the internet continues to increase regularly, the likelihood of using the internet as a tool to recruit victims is increasingly growing. Sex traffickers usually control their victims through online platforms. According to statistics released by the National Human Trafficking Hotline, between 2015 and 2018, nearly one thousand cases of potential sex trafficking victims are recruited through online platforms, including dating applications and social media sites like Facebook (Alyssa 45). Accordingly, sex trafficking tends to pose as people who are in search of a date and use this as a mechanism to establish trust and recruit victims.
Most of the individuals at risk of been recruited into sex trafficking are minors aged between 13 and 17 years. Sex traffickers often identify vulnerable adolescents because of their social media presence. A recent survey investigating social presence among young people has shown that teenagers, especially those aged between thirteen and seventeen years illustrate a seventy percent use of social media networks like Instagram and Facebook several times daily (Dixon 47). For instance, through posts that indicate loneliness, isolation, exploitation of drug abuse, domestic violence, and low self-esteem among the teenager serve as signals to a trafficker that the individual could be easily victimized. On the other hand, the recruitment of individuals through dating apps and social media sites is much less risky than recruiting victims personally (Dixon 54). This is because when victims are recruited through online platforms, they could never establish personal contact with the trafficker or even meet them in person.
Commercial Sex over the Internet
Equally, within the realm of commercial sex, the internet, through dating apps, has created an enormous marketplace and an entirely new product for sex traffickers, including the streaming of remote and interactive sexual acts. With a credit card and few clicks on sites, purchasers can purchase almost everything they need from the privacy and comfort of their homes (Choi et al. 263). Sex traffickers have taken advantage of this opportunity. They have triggered the sale of sexual services through dating sites, apps, and social media platforms, whose sale has proved to be efficient compared to traditional advertising sites. Similarly, sex traffickers are increasingly using fraudulent and deceptive job advertisements, including models, dancers, and nannies, to recruit potential victims. In most cases, these deceptions are facilitated via fake business profiles and sham posts of events in sites such as Craiglist (Choi et al. 265). Accordingly, the traffickers build trust with their victims online by pretending to learn and understand them. Hence if the victim is lonely, it is easy for them to fall into the traps of the traffickers.
Conclusion
Although the emergence of the popularity of mobile dating apps has increased social networks, the author is concerned about how dating applications have led to the prevalence of crimes orchestrated against the users of such apps. This is because the allure and convenience of dating apps have increased sex trafficking, wherein unsuspicious and credulous social media users often ensnared into sex trafficking. Therefore, this calls for parents, teenagers, and the society at large to implement effective ways such as spending time with their children, teaching media literacy, and being proactive in listening to the concerns of the adolescents.
Works Cited
Alyssa, Murphy. Dating Dangerously: Risks Lurking within Mobile Dating Apps, 26 Cath. U. J. L. & Tech 100 (2017).
Choi, Edmond Pui Hang, Janet Yuen Ha Wong, and Daniel Yee Tak Fong. “An emerging risk factor of sexual abuse victimization: The use of smartphone dating applications.” The Journal of Sexual Medicine 14.5 (2017): e263-e264.
Dixon Jr, Herbert B. “Human trafficking and the internet (and other technologies, too).” Judges J. 52 (2013): 36.
Latonero, Mark, et al. “Human trafficking online: The role of social networking sites and online classifieds.” Available at SSRN 2045851 (2011).
Rahman, Majeed A. “Human Trafficking in the era of Globalization: The case of Trafficking in the Global Market Economy.” Transcience Journal 2.1 (2011): 54-71.