To add to this, "sex trafficking" to most people means "sex slavery," but if you look at the definition it's a broad term that includes things like helping a prostitute immigrate illegally. And then law enforcement takes things a step further, often referring to any form of prostitution as "sex trafficking" because they know that if they simply call it prostitution, most people won't see the big problem.
It's gotten to the point where I'm skeptical of any news stories I read where authorities are claiming "sex trafficking." It's simply astounding how many of those, if you follow-up on them, end up being simple prostitution cases in the end, with the supposed victims being charged by authorities for engaging in prostitution.
The Robert Kraft case is a good recent example. Authorities made a big announcement of saying Kraft and other men were involved in a sex trafficking ring, and the media uncritically spread their claims. If you look at online comments from the time, most people assume that Kraft and others were taking advantage of unwilling sex slaves. But months later the charges against the men were dropped, and the only people that ended up being punished were the women themselves, for prostitution. Authorities have a habit of making a big deceitful announcement that they're saving these women, then when the public and media attention goes elsewhere, the women are the ones the authorities end up punishing.
"But anti-prostitution activists like Hughes often use “sexual exploitation” to include any kind of prostitution or sex work—in fact, Hughes insists in her article that "trafficking occurs even if the woman consents.” "
Yes, when a desperately poor person accepts a bad job, the problem is not the availability of the bad job. It's them being desperately poor. And eliminating that bad job will likely harm them more than it helps them in their effort to improve their situation.
There's some health and safety risks associated with sex work, but we have a good understanding of how to mitigate them. Shutting down the safer oprions does not do that. Sex work also come with the risk of arrest and a criminal record; which is entirely the fault of current laws and law enforcement.
Amazon warehouse work is highly destructive. In 2019, they had an 8.8% injury rate, with 90% severe enough to interfere with work duties. The working conditions at amazon warehouses have been a national scandal for years.
If they are willing to do illegal sex work out of desperation, their inability to earn that income could be far more destructive to the individual than the sex work. That's an uncomfortable truth, and avoiding it leads to a host of harmful prohibitions, whether it's on sex work, work for under minimum wage, micro-housing units that are under minimum floor space ordinances, or buildings that are over maximum density caps, etc.
It's gotten to the point where I'm skeptical of any news stories I read where authorities are claiming "sex trafficking." It's simply astounding how many of those, if you follow-up on them, end up being simple prostitution cases in the end, with the supposed victims being charged by authorities for engaging in prostitution.
The Robert Kraft case is a good recent example. Authorities made a big announcement of saying Kraft and other men were involved in a sex trafficking ring, and the media uncritically spread their claims. If you look at online comments from the time, most people assume that Kraft and others were taking advantage of unwilling sex slaves. But months later the charges against the men were dropped, and the only people that ended up being punished were the women themselves, for prostitution. Authorities have a habit of making a big deceitful announcement that they're saving these women, then when the public and media attention goes elsewhere, the women are the ones the authorities end up punishing.