Karhu 1

Mia Karhu
Ms. Elizabeth Caruso
UWRT 1103
12 April 2015
That Couldnt Happen to Me
When the topic of sex trafficking comes up, which it seldom does, most people are very
ignorant as to what it really is. . Sex trafficking is the illegal trade of sexual acts in return for
something of monetary value. Commercial sex slavery has persisted all over the world for years
and only seems to get worse. This may be because mMost people rely on the media to educate
the public on topics like sex trafficking. This becomes a problem when the media portrays
theThe problem is the medias portrayal of slavery as being predominantly over-seas. The
general public believes this information blindly, causing them to be completely unaware of the
danger of sex trafficking in their own city. This lack of awareness is not just that of Americans
but it is of those in dangerous countries as well.
The presence of media seems to play a big role in the awareness of sex trafficking around
the world. Of the 60 percent of Ethiopian females who responded in a study regarding their
awareness of the sex trade, 64 percent said their information came from television, 46 percent
said their information came from word of mouth, and 39 percent said their information came
from the radio (Mekonnen, A., Azage, M., & Abeje, G, 1). From this, it can be gathered that if
the media had never talked about itsex slavery, the public may not have ever become aware of

Commented [m1]: Work on transitions

Karhu 2

this situation unless they were directly exposed to it later. The 40 percent of Ethiopian girls that
responded that they were not aware of the sex trade, are nowwere very vulnerable to becoming
involved if approached later in life.
In a study done by Bio Med Central Womens Health, they found that the numbers of
women who were aware of the sex trafficking industry varied from country to country. In
Nigeria the study found 97.4 percent of women to bewere aware of the sex trade in their country
while only 60 percent of women were aware in Ethiopia as a whole and 59.7 percent of women
were aware in the city Bahir Dar in Ethiopia (Mekonnen, A., Azage, M., & Abeje, G.). The
difference in the numbers seemed to be due to either the persistence of the problem, or whether
the culture studied allows allowed for the discussion of sensitive topics like sex trafficking in
general. This led me to wonder whether sex trafficking was only talked about in communities
where it was prevalent or if this was just a coincidence.
So lets discuss that idea. Through all of my research one thing concerning awareness
became blatantly clear to me: the extent of the problem directly correlates with awareness. In
every study I came across, I found that countries who had more exposure to sex trafficking were
also significantly more aware of the dangers of sex trafficking. Even in America there seemed to
be an obvious correlation. I also found there to be a trend in the type of environment in which
sex trafficking was commonly reported. Sex trafficking seemed to beis much more prevalent in
metropolitan communities areas because ofdue to the population and atmosphere. In a study done
by the Institute of Medicine (U.S.), professionals in social work were asked if they had worked
with or been exposed to a victim of sex trafficking. Professionals from the metropolitan areas
had a 54.7 percent rate compared to professionals from the micropolitan areas who responded
with 29.8 percent (Muluken Azage, Gedefaw Abeje, & Alemtsehay Mekonnen, 10). It seemed

Karhu 3

that no matter where in the world the studies were done, sex trafficking was more commonly
talked about in large cities where sex trafficking had and would continue to occur. While it is
good that awareness is growing in countries who have a high level of danger in regards to sex
trafficking, these numbers are not high enough nor are the numbers coming from countries and
cities with a lower risk.
Of all the sources mentioned in spreading awareness, it appears that word of mouth is has
always been more reliable and consistent in this day and age. Although the media seemed to
cover sex trafficking a little bit, awareness was more common when a community was more
directly involved in it (Mekonnen, A., Azage, M., & Abeje, G., 4 ). This meant that information
about sex trafficking is usually spread through word of mouth. ThisThe information being spread
through word of mouth seemed to be more accurate compared to that of mass media. The
problem with word of mouth is that it only reaches so many people. Some people may never hear
anything because they did not encounter the right person with the correct information. This
leaves many people unaware of their own danger regarding sex trafficking. I wanted to join the
efforts in spreading awareness about the sex trade. To do this, I needed to find a platform that
would spread awareness the most rapidly. Instead of using a picture, I wanted to use my art skills
and create a painting to raise awareness . With my painting I wanted tothat would expose the real
danger that exists for many girls around the world. The truth that anyone can become a victim of
sex trafficking.
With so little general awareness worldwide, spreading awareness thus far has been
through small efforts branching out into large cities in attempts to make an impact. What may
work for metropolitan areas though, may not work for smaller communities (Muluken Azage,
Gedefaw Abeje, & Alemtsehay Mekonnen). Each different community has its own way of

Commented [m2]: Make more concise

Last two sentences should be combined into one

Karhu 4

sharing ideas. In most metropolitan areas, money is less of an issue so large movements can
easily take place while in smaller communities they may not have this type of resource in order
to pull something of this scale off. I chose to use paint as my medium to help spread awareness
because it can be both in person and online. This kind of medium can be shared easily oin both
of these types of communities.platforms in all types of communities.
Social media has become a very important tool in spreading word quickly. This makes
social mediait an important platform in spreading awareness to many people in a short period of
time. Social media can be a great way for all communities to learn about sex trafficking because
it is so widely used and does not require sufficient funds. It counteracts the issue of word of
mouth because it has the capacity to reach many with little to no effort involved. All I have to do
is post a picture of my painting on social media and there it can reach hundreds of people in a
very short amount of time. This is why I believe my medium was a great way to display all of the
information I have learned through doing this project. Social media also reaches people of all
different ages. While my audience will mostly be young adults I am friends with on social media,
it also has the potential to be shared with others who are younger and older. I believe young
adults and young girls are the most important audience for me to capture. These are the girls, and
sometimes boys, that need to be aware of the dangers of sex trafficking the most.
In order for awareness of sex trafficking to help make a difference, there must be more
emphasis on training for law enforcement. If officers are trained to recognize the signs of sex
trafficking then it will be easier to prevent it from happening. Once our law enforcement is
trained and aware, systematic responses to trafficking situations will be more advantageous
(Muluken Azage, Gedefaw Abeje, & Alemtsehay Mekonnen, 13). As of now, responses are often
delayed and do not provide much beneficial aid to those victimized by it. The delay keeps the

Karhu 5

victim from getting the right help and the trafficker from getting the appropriate punishment.
This is why sex trafficking flourishes, because often times it does not come with quick
consequences. Many times traffickers can get away with what they do for a long period of time
before they are prosecuted which, in turn, puts many more girls in danger.
There are currently many organizations who provide awareness and rehabilitation to the
victims of sex trafficking. One of these organizations being the A21 Campaign. This
organization helps spread awareness, provides rehabilitation services, and partners with other
campaigns in political movements against slavery (Cain, Christine)("Our Solution - The A21
Campaign."). Using social media as its platform, the END IT MOVEMENT organization spreads
awareness about sex trafficking through pictures. In their pictures tThey use athe red X on the
hand as a symbolto symbolize of beingbeing a slave and cover the face in the picture with the
Xd onwith the hand to symbolize losing yourself to slavery.
For my product I wanted to do a tribute to the END IT MOVEMENT but instead of my
medium being a photograph, I chose to portray it through paint. In my painting I stay true to the
red X on the hand. I specifically made the person out to be very similar to myself in order to
symbolize the truth that anyone can be a victim in the sex trade. In my painting I include a
thought bubble giving the real statistics of sex slaveryregarding the number of sex slaves on
Earth currently. I thought that the thought bubble should be included because in a picture you do
not get to see the statistics behind the real problem. With my painting I really wanted to
emphasize the need for awareness. T and to really have my painting raise awarenessdo that I put
it on all of my social media in hopes of reaching the people who follow me. Maybe my painting
will inspire others to continue and help me raise awareness. That is my goal with this project.

Karhu 6

Works Cited

Original
"What Is Sex Trafficking? - Shared Hope International." Shared Hope International.
N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
"Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the
Literature." ASPE. N.p., 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
"United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." What Is Human Trafficking? N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
Frundt, Tina. "You Searched for Tina+frundt - Women's Funding Network."Womens
Funding Network. N.p., 28 Nov. 2005. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
"WTLC." Human Trafficking. WTLC, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
Sillesen, Lene Bech. "Covering Sex Trafficking: Journalists Can Do Better." CJR, 12
Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
"Sex Trafficking | Human Trafficking for Sex - End Slavery Now." Sex Trafficking |
Human Trafficking for Sex - End Slavery Now. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

Karhu 7

Greve, Ashley. "Human Trafficking: What about the Men and Boys? Home HTC Blog
Human Trafficking: What about the Men and Boys?" Human Trafficking Center. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016
Coorlim, Leif, and Dana Ford. "Sex Trafficking: The New American Slavery." CNN.
Cable News Network, 21 July 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Bruxvoort, Dana. "Is the Media Helping or Harming Anti-Trafficking Efforts? Home
HTC Blog Is the Media Helping or Harming Anti-Trafficking Efforts?" Human
Trafficking Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
New
Mekonnen, A., Azage, M., & Abeje, G. (July 16, 2014). Sex trafficking awareness
associated factors among youth females in Bahir Dar town, North-West Ethiopia: a
community based study. Bmc Women's Health, 14, 1, 1-8
Muluken Azage, Gedefaw Abeje, & Alemtsehay Mekonnen. (July 09, 2014)
Institute of Medicine (U.S.)., In Clayton, E. W., In Krugman, R. D., In Simon, P.,
Institute of Medicine (U.S.), & National Research Council (U.S.). (2013). Confronting
commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States. 1, 1014
Cain, Christine. "Our Solution - The A21 Campaign." The A21 Campaign. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.