Sex Trafficking and the Taste for the “Exotic”
At least a million children are enslaved in brothels in Asia, to which men from the US and Europe travel specifically for the purpose of unrestricted “sex” with unfree women and children who literally can’t say no, lest they be beaten or killed for doing so. But exploitation of enslaved Asian women isn’t limited to Asia. For those men who can’t afford to be sex tourists but still crave the “exotic” and passive Asian woman of their stereotyped fantasies, enslaved women are trafficked into the USA. China, Thailand, and Korea are among the top countries from which women are trafficked into the USA for purposes of prostitution. Here are some quotes from an important story about the women enslaved in the Korean “massage parlors” found in many cities. Click on the link for the full story.
Korean massage parlors are a common presence in most major U.S. cities – so much that those in the know refer to them with the acronym of KMPs. It is also widely known that these venues offer more than a massage – they function essentially as brothels, where South Korean women work as prostitutes controlled by a wide-reaching, shadowy and highly profitable network of traffickers and pimps.
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| The U.S. government estimates that about 17,500 foreigners are trafficked into the U.S. annually, though some NGOs put the number much higher. Sex trafficking is considered to make up about 80 percent of cases, with trafficking for domestic, agricultural, food service and other types of labor making up the rest. |
South Korea ranks third as the point of origin for trafficking cases |
| at least 10,000 Korean women are doing sex work in the U.S. |
| Polaris Project co-coordinator Kaitlyn Lim attributed this to a web of factors, including Americans’ demand for “exotic†Asian women |
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February 29th, 2008 | Category: Gender, Trauma
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March 5th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
This “important story†is about 90% innuendo, urban legend and anecdote. A little objective research would have revealed to the article’s author that these evil networks of traffickers and pimps primarily operate from residential homes and apartments not store front businesses which are too easy targets for vice and other law enforcement. By the way, most of those “in the know†refer to these store-fronts as “AMPs†(Asian Massage Parlor) not KMP. While many of the girls working in these store-front businesses may be, by their own choice, somewhat recluse; nevertheless, they are not being held in slavery. The same people that make the claims of slavery also describe the girls’ living conditions as inhuman. They are forced to sleep on the floor and are only given a foul smelling gruel called kimchi to eat. Give me a break!
Every so often law enforcement goes on a campaign to clean up these AMPs, and inevitably, you hear the claims of “evidence of human trafficking†in the press release, but check back six months later and you’ll find that the police were never to substantiate their claims. The real result was that a few store-fronts were closed and the girls were forced into the underground network of traffickers and pimps working out of houses and apartments.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I notice that, while the article does source all of its assertions of fact, you do not source yours. I also notice that you refer to women as girls. Your identification of the delicious and popular dish called kimchi as a “foul smelling gruel” is just strange. You seem to find the possibility of enslavement for purposes of prostitution incredible, even though the reality has been proven many times over and is recognized by the United Nations as a worldwide problem. Given all of that, I see no reason to find your assertions more credible than those of the author of the article.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:44 am
My “sources†are based on first-hand observations and experience rather than an incestuous web of pontificating essays and articles where academics take turns quoting each other.
If the word “girls†offends you, would you prefer that I refer to these young ladies as hyong-je?
The reference to kimchi, as well as sleeping on the floors, etc. was paraphrased from an article printed in a newspaper (I don’t remember if the original source was the LA Times or the SF Chronicle), a few years ago. Sorry, I don’t remember the date or the author’s name either, but it does demonstrate a total lack of understanding of many who can’t see beyond Western culture.
A few months ago, the Washington Post published an article that examined many of the facts and figures cited in this story. Many of the findings in that article were totally contradictory to “reality†as you; the US State Department and the United Nations perceive it.
I don’t find “the possibility of enslavement…†or even worse conditions unimaginable, but shutting down all store-front AMPs not only doesn’t solve that problem, in fact, it makes the problem worse. If you really want to do some useful research, go to a major metropolitan area where law enforcement has successfully closed down all “illegal businessesâ€; then locate the underground network of 10-day houses in that city and find a way to examine the conditions there; then visit some store-front businesses in another city and objectively compare the conditions and attitudes.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
ka-ja
you seem to know a lot and I would like to know more. In my studies I am seeing that you are probably right.
the question is where do we find these underground places that do have trafficking victims?
thanks for your thoughts