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Stop Child Trafficking Now organizers walk through Las Vegas on Saturday night to bring attention to child prostitution in the valley and around the country.
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 | 1:20 p.m.
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- Sounds from Saturday's anti-child trafficking rally.
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Beyond the Sun
Chants broke out on Las Vegas Boulevard late Saturday as community members gathered to raise awareness and money to help stop child prostitution.
Stop Child Trafficking Now organizers walked through residential areas carrying signs with slogans like “Real Men Don’t Buy Sex” and “Stop Buying Our Girls.”
Joseph South, local community organizer for Stop Child Trafficking Now, said the goal of the walk was to raise awareness and thank investigators working to save children from trafficking operations. Stop Child Trafficking Now is a national group that has organized walks in other major cities.
Andrea Pitcher, who walked with the group, said the "24/7" atmosphere of Las Vegas means teenagers can go unsupervised. She said parents work late hours and aren’t always around their children -- a factor that can push them in the direction of prostitution, she said.
“This is a very fast economy,” she said of prostitution. “It’s also very money-driven.”
She said lack of supervision allows children to get on the Internet and look for modeling jobs that aren't always as they appear. Terri Miller, who walked with the group Saturday, said she lost her niece after she responded to a fake modeling job.
“My niece was trafficked from here to Japan,” Miller said. “Luckily, her family made contact with her and got her back home.”
According to Regulated Management, a Las Vegas-based group that says its mission is to "evaluate the problems and effects of the criminal enterprise of illegal prostitution on Las Vegas society," about 1,500 children from 40 states were victims of sex trafficking in Las Vegas over a 13-year period.
“Las Vegas has a reason why it’s called Sin City,” said Bob Fischer, communications director of Regulated Management. “There are all different forms of prostitution, and there’s a great deal of apathy in this city.”
Jackie Capasso, of Christians Against Sexual Slavery, said while child and adult prostitution are separate issues, many women got into prostitution a young age.
UNLV researcher and assistant professor Alexis Kennedy said homeless children exposed to prostitution are taken to jail instead of receiving counseling.
“We’ve drawn them here with our bright lights and now we have to take care of them,” she said. “An 11-year-old is a child, and we had a 13-year-old arrested last weekend.”
Kennedy urged residents to speak to their legislators about the need for a safe house in Las Vegas.
For now, Las Vegas has Safe Place, a nationwide project that helps children who have been sexually or domestically abused get back on their feet. Safe Place spokesman Larry Lovelett said Safe Place, which has a drop-off center, is a service open around the clock for young people when they need help.
Lovelett said children need counselors who can talk to them about their victimization.
“Pimps have PhDs in human nature,” Lovelett said. “They are playing a psychological game with these kids.”
For more information about Stop Child Trafficking Now, visit www.sctnow.org.
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More than 27 million people are living in slavery due to what is becoming the number one crime in the world. If you think prostitution is a victimless crime or between consenting adults only, think again. Another website for information on human trafficking is: polarisproject.org
"...1,500 children from 40 states were victims of sex trafficking in Las Vegas over a 13-year period."
Since this organization has identified all these "children" -- without bothering to define what a "child" is -- what exactly has it done to solve this problem they're crying about? How much of it has to do with just calculating the age of consent? Keep in mind Nevada's is 16, in many states it's still 18, and there's still some states where 14 years old can marry (implying a religious blessing for having sex).
lawabidingcitizen -- prostitution IS largely a victimless crime, so long as the parties to the act consent. That's why it's called the world's oldest profession. No amount of laws will change either natural law or human nature.
"Suppress prostitution, and capricious lusts will overthrow society." -- St. Augustine of Hippo, from Dr. William W Sanger's "The History of Prostitution," page 91
How in the world did acorn get in this discussion? Your hatred blinds you.
"prostitution IS largely a victimless crime"
Most of the girls start their career in prostitution before the age of 18.
Most of the girls were sexual abuse in their youth.
Many of the girls in some point in their career have to deal with rape and assualts.
Prostitution is a major source of STD's with the John's carrying home to their wives and girlfriends the STD's from the prostitutes.
If one wants to be an idiot and have sex with a prostitute then fine and go ahead. But don't say it is good deed and just ignore the hell those girls lives are. Also don't whine if you get a STD or get robbed and don't whine if your wife gets the STD too.
Acorn got into the discussion because some of their employees advocate child prostitution. What part of that don't you understand?
Nominated for four Oscars, starring Robert De Niro and a thirteen-year-old Jodie Foster; a Scorsese masterpiece of urban alienation, 1976 "Taxi Driver".
Enjoy
: )
SgtRock, fka jfnance32 -- and you know ANY of this how? Personal experience? Otherwise you're just making it up as you go. Again. Look behind the headlines for a change.
Harley -- got the dvd, a classic (like anything Scorsese has done)! And what about another classic with Brooke Shields "Pretty Baby"?
Yes, I know of girls that went through prostitution hell which they traded for when they were trying to escape their childhood hell.
Also, there are tons of studies and surveys by experts that show that nearly 80% of prostitues start in their teens and come from abusive childhoods and they have very little self-esteem.
There are tons of stats on the high level of STD's in the prostitution business.
But heck....like I said...if a guy wants to be idiot and have sex with the prostitute then go right ahead. Just don't whine if you get a STD.
But don't say the girls are having the time of their lives by giving oral and/or other sex with tons of strangers while constantly worrying about being beaten up, rape or getting a deadly STD.
They are void of any self-esteem and do not think they are worth anything.
Like you said.....it is mainly a victimless crime.........here is a class of koolaid to go along with belief.
Why not you try the prostitution trade for awhile since it is so victimless? You must have a belief there is a low chance of getting a STD.
I am sure your wife would really love you being in the biz.
IMDB gives "Taxi Driver" an 8.6 while "Pretty Baby" with a thirteen-year-old Brooke Shields gets a 6.5 and one Oscar nomination, Louis Malle director.
Just put on "Pretty Baby" and would encourage all 13 year-olds to at least wait a year.
: )
Forced protitution or under age protitution is a crime and therefor against the law. while I support these groups that try and stop it, I amazed at how people can throw these numbers (27 million,1500)without some sort of proof or accurate studies. I'd believe the 1500 if it were 1526 instead. If your going to quote numbers or statistics, name your source.
ls1 -- in Washington state it's now a felony to buy tobacco online, along with padding your resume and parting out a car without a license. It's a federal crime to leave marshmallows at a campsite. It's a federal crime to "misappropriate" the likeness of Hootie the Owl.
Government is completely out of control.
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others." -- Thomas Jefferson, "Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-82"
the places where it is legal have less sex crimes and less underage girls working look at holland, belgium, germany for examples
where it is illegal such as uk they have much higher rates of sex crimes..
go figure.
"the places where it is legal have less sex crimes and less underage girls working look at holland, belgium, germany for examples
where it is illegal such as uk they have much higher rates of sex crimes..
go figure."
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." -- Tacitus
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws." -- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Ch. III, "White Blackmail"
So do you think we can look forward to a brilliant R-J editorial touting the free-market benefits of child prostitution? Why should the evil guvmint interfere? Leave those kid pimps alone! They're good 'merican businessmen! We love capitalism! We hate the guvmint! Yeah! Yay for the free market!
I agree 100% with sgtnance.
Harley,
You are trying to be funny & provocative.
It comes across differently in print than in your mind, I assure you.
KillerB, you are somehow tainted by a prior experience involving sex. Care to share?
Harley -- excellent historical perspective, especially the bit from Tacitus (Roman senator and historian, 56 -- 117 A.C.E.). And Ayn Rand rules!
gunowners4obama -- get real or expect to be disrespected and ignored.
gmag39 -- no. And either get serious on this or expect the same.
The threshold questions everyone should be asking and answering here are 1) what is the REAL age of a "child" which should trigger the state's criminal jurisdiction, and 2) what is the state's compelling interest in interfering with consenting citizens' private associations?
Before answering keep in mind up until about World War II girls were marrying at age 12, and around 1877 the Supreme Court approved a 13 year-old's marriage without parental consent. Marrying a man almost twenty years older was not uncommon. The current stupid laws aside, what's the difference between now and then that could validate this criminal interest?
Killer:
Your predilection for responding to every story involving illegal sexual activity, to the point of defending it, does raise the ol' eyebrow.
/:}
gmag39 -- and ___? Otherwise raise away.
KillerB, Your question about WWII and 12 year old and 1877 and 13 year old works if you assume that the ages for maturity were correct. What if the people setting the ages at that time were wrong? Would that not invalidate the argument? If you use 60 to 150 year old data you may be using incorrect or no longer applicable information in your opinions.
castle -- good questions. The answer is in the federal Bill of Rights, Ninth Amendment, and Nevada's Declaration of Rights, Section -- the unenumerated rights clauses. The point-- what's the difference between the people's rights against government intrusions into private relationships then and now?
I seem to be the complete opposite of everyone else here in coming at it from the basis of protected liberties and inalienable rights. Most here seem to be in favor of virtually unfettered government invasion.
KillerB,
You are indeed correct in your charge that the Federal and State governments intrude more today in people's "private" life than in the late 1700s and early 1800s and 1900s. To examine why this has happened the question "what is different today than then?" first needs to be asked since if things have changed you would expect government to follow the changing enviroment in which it functions. If it did not then there would be no ammendments to the Constitution or new laws passed or revoked.
So the question as to what has changed in personal relations is still valid. If the answer is "not much" then government may have gone too far. If the answer is that a lot has changed or that government was not involved to the correct level in the first place then maybe it is at this time.
Either way may be valid; I don't know for sure but my opinion is less government control is probably better for the citizens.
FWIW:
"Taxi Driver" just happens to be airing tonight at 11pm on TCM (channel 40/Cox) commercial-free.
Enjoy
: )
I have to wonder how many of the parents with kids in this picture, etc., answered their kids' question "what's child prostitution?"