Happy Friday all. Today’s guest on Help From my Friends Friday is Author Merit Clark. I met Merit through our association with Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America. I read Merit’s first book, Killing Streak, and was on the edge of my seat while reading it. I am delighted to host her on my blog so we can learn about book two. Please welcome Merit Clark! ~ Donnell
Author Merit Clark
Hi everyone, I did a ton of research on human or sex trafficking for my second mystery, KILLING INNOCENCE. Trafficking is an enormous problem and has been identified as the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Here are some facts that surprised me and may surprise you as well:
- Pimping is an equal opportunity profession
Most people think of the traditional pimp as male, but I learned that law enforcement has seen an increase in female pimps—to where it’s now close to 50/50!
Typically, female pimps work their way up from being a prostitute themselves to being the pimp’s right hand—known in the trade as “bottom bitches” or bottom girls, like the Raven character in my book. They have more freedom and can sometimes choose their customers. They’re allowed to collect money and coach the newer female victims on what to do.
For example, Raven tells the new girls about a tattoo they can earn that will make them special. Pimps often tattoo—or actually brand—their victims with these symbols of power. It’s spun as a badge of honor and a reward. You can google pimp brandings and see very disturbing, violent and often homemade tattoos.
- Victims blame themselves
Victims are lured in through false promises, emotions, pretenses of love, safety and security. Plenty of money and all their other dreams come true.
Pimps use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and slide in at the level they see most exploitable whether it’s the need for shelter, self-esteem, affection or self-actualization.
One female pimp, “Tiffany” gained the trust of a victim by complimenting her, giving her a place to stay, cigarettes, and drugs. When “Tiffany” was arrested, this victim blamed herself and didn’t want to talk to detectives.
If you were robbed what would your reaction be? Call 9-1-1, right? Trafficking victims are very different. They’re loyal to their pimp and will take the blame 100% because sometimes, the pimp is the only person the victim can go back to.
- Successful middle-aged married men buy sex
Maybe this one won’t surprise you!
Statistically, sex buyers that have been investigated or arrested are white males in their 40s and 50s. 45% are married and have a good income. In fact, according to some studies, high-frequency buyers are much more likely than other men to make $100,000 or more annually. On average, US sex buyers spend more than $100 per transaction, so it adds up!
Do the men who purchase these “services” believe the women—often underage, sometimes children, quite possibly undocumented—chose their profession willingly? Do they believe a teenager is really “into them?” What do they think?
In fact, not much, nor do buyers care. If a man goes through the effort to contact a prostitute, negotiate a price, and drive to a location he’s not going to hesitate to have sex because the person looks young and may have lied about their age.
By the way, the laws are written so that it doesn’t matter if the offender knows the true age of his victim. If the child is under 18, the crime is human trafficking. It doesn’t matter if they lie. The factual age is what counts to the police and “I didn’t know” doesn’t fly with them.
- It’s a 24/7 industry
I had naïve ideas about how or when men visited prostitutes—maybe in the dead of night, or out of town on a business trip, or perhaps in the course of a rowdy bachelor party. Not true.
Colorado Springs police arrested “Brian,” for example, a middle-aged male, married with a good job. He liked to purchase sex before work, around 7:30 am, and frequented prostitutes along the I-25 corridor as this allowed him to easily continue his commute north on the interstate to his office.
Think for a moment about your male co-workers. Not going to look at them the same way, are you?
It may be small consolation to learn that most men have never paid for sex. In fact, it’s estimated that only 6.2% have bought sex within the past 12 months and these high-frequency buyers account for a disproportionately large share of the illegal sex trade.
“Brian” was a prolific sex buyer known to police—he’d been tied to at least 2 other underage cases—but it was hard to gain a conviction because the only evidence police had was text messages he exchanged with sex workers. “Brian” had granddaughters the same age as his victims. Even though he was arrested multiple times it never affected his employment or personal life one bit.
- It’s more popular than Starbucks
No single location dominates although a frequent venue is “massage” brothels—known to law enforcement as “Illicit Massage Businesses” or IMBs. It’s sex workers at IMBs who were targeted in the mass shooting in Atlanta. According to the Polaris project, there are more IMBs in the US than Starbucks—and there are well over 8,000 Starbucks.
As one detective told me, “The more we can make our communities aware of these crimes happening next door, the more people might understand that no victim wanted to get into this or desired to become a prostitute.” Instead, they were forced or tricked into being raped repeatedly for somebody else’s profit.
That’s really what it is: rape for profit.
If you’d like to learn more the Polaris project is a great place to start: https://polarisproject.org/
About the Book: KILLING INNOCENCE, the second installment in Merit Clark’s award-winning Denver-based mysteries, takes homicide detective Jack Fariel deep into the world of human trafficking.
The body of a young woman, murdered and discarded next to a dumpster in a snowstorm, leads Jack to the discovery of a vicious criminal network with ties to the Middle East. From the elegant mansions of Denver’s elite to the despair of young, undocumented girls with no future, Jack must unravel a complex trafficking operation that reaches into all levels of society.
About the Author: Merit Clark writes the Jack Fariel detective series set in Denver. KILLING STREAK, the first book in the series, won the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) EVVY Book Award and was a Quarterfinalist in both the 2018 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition and the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. KILLING INNOCENCE is book two in the series. In the course of research, Merit has been shot at by gang members, worn a bomb suit, and broken into a gangbanger’s girlfriend’s apartment. Not all at the same time.
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Merit, thanks for being my guest. Looking forward to reading Jack Fariel’s latest case.
Such a sad disgusting business. Thanks for bringing this into the sunshine for others to see.
I have no words. Thank you for sharing this information.
Thank you for having me, Donnell. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to shed light on trafficking. It’s a growing problem and causes so much heartbreak. Thank you everyone for reading!
What a disgusting business! Anyone who has driven along I80 has seen the sex trafficking hotline posters in the restrooms. Thanks for sharing your research! Very interesting.
Thank you Margaret. I’ve seen those signs too. Truck stops are notorious for trafficking activities and there’s a great group, Truckers Against Trafficking that’s trying to help. https://truckersagainsttrafficking.org/
I must read your book. Sex trafficking is such a dirty business.
Great, Mary! It is a horrible business and it was satisfying to put some traffickers behind bars–at least fictionally!