Why are we tolerating child prostitution and forced prostitution in the United States?

Okay, this is not a news item in the sense that this appalling evil is not new in the US. What is news – or ought to be news – on the TV, radio, Internet, etc. is that there still has not been much reduction, not to mention eradication, of child prostitution and forced prostitution in the United States here in 2012. In recent months, I have heard of news stories about this ongoing atrocious injustice in Atlanta and in Las Vegas. It is widely known to be a chronic problem in the immigration entrepots of New York City and San Francisco. Forced (coerced) prostitution is not limited to those major cities, and American girls are being coerced into prostitution in addition to the poor girls from overseas brought into the country illegally for this.

To bring a little perspective on how destructive child prostitution is to the girls forced into it, I have heard, in a rare radio piece about this issue, that the life expectancy for many of these girls is just 22 years. So, death, at a very early age, is what awaits them after they have been forced to have sex with as many as ten to fifteen “customers” per 24 hour period for several days each week.

As Americans have a proclivity for lecturing the rest of the world on the subject of human rights, to avoid hypocrisy and to do the right thing, we need to act to eliminate the gross violation of these girls’ and young women’s human rights and of their dignity as human beings.

Regrettably, the demand for child prostitution remains high in our society. This is in itself a (damning) indictment of our culture. Let’s stiffen the penalties for the consumers of child prostitution, and more vigorously pursue and bring to justice the suppliers of it (organized criminals).

Let’s support the groups that are fighting against this terrible evil that ruins and destroys the lives of its victims.

Please contact your elected government representatives at both the state house level and in Congress in Washington. Let them know that you want the laws already on the books more vigorously enforced against those guilty of human trafficking and child prostitution (of American girls and of immigrant girls brought to the United States for prostitution). If federal monies are needed by some of the states to fight this evil more vigorously, then so be it. (It is past time we had a more serious and honest debate about what our national priorities should be and how to allocate resources to achieving those priorities.)

Thank you for reading and for your concern. Now, contact your elected representatives (by email, phone call, fax or paper letter), and please speak with your clergy and fellow church members to encourage them to speak out and to work against this infectious evil that is destroying the lives of so many girls and young women across the nation. And support groups (with your time, talents, and/or resources) that rescue and then help these abused, enslaved and exploited girls to heal and rebuild their lives.

https://larrysmusings.wordpress.com/