THE SEX AND ADULT ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY.
There are a variety of businesses that involve adult entertainment. Brothels, strip clubs, sex clubs and the pornography industry are made up of businesses that require a constant stream of young women to maintain their business.
The type of work required is not usually something that women would choose to do. It often eventuates due to a lack of alternative employment options and the need to earn a living. Women should be aware that these industries are regularly associated with trafficking, and work in one of these types of businesses may lead to work in another at the discretion of the trafficker, without the employee having any say in the matter.
RECRUITMENT INTO THE SEX INDUSTRY
A recruiter, e.g. someone offering you work, may not always be the starting point of a sex trafficking situation. There are many true stories from around the world of young women being deceived by someone they believed to be their boyfriend who lead them into a nightmare of sex trafficking. Finding an identity and going against their parents’ advice is normal for many teenage girls. This often includes interaction with men and having a boyfriend for the first time. Young women can get carried away with a man who showers them with attention and affection. The girl may overlook the real intention of their boyfriend who may be trying to lure them into a trafficking situation. The younger the girl, the more easily they can be manipulated and have their weaknesses exploited. It may still take some time, even months, for the boyfriend to win the heart of a young girl and offer her a nice life together away from home, but many traffickers will be prepared to wait due to the share of the girl’s income they will get. Such traffickers are commonly known as pimps, and can quickly turn from a boyfriend into someone that manipulates, controls, threatens, assaults and traps their former girlfriend, forcing her into sexual slavery. All young women in Kenya should be aware of this risk and have comprehensive knowledge of their boyfriend’s work and life before agreeing to move away with him.
THE ROLE OF THE SUPPOSED BOYFRIEND.
There are many true stories from around the world of young women being deceived by someone they believed to be their boyfriend who lead them into a nightmare of sex trafficking.
As with forced labor trafficking, recruiters looking for women to work in the sex industry are likely to target those that are young, in need of work, and perhaps needing to escape from their current circumstances. Those still trying to trying to establish their future are particularly vulnerable. The details of the work are likely to be vague as traffickers deceive victims, and the sex industry involves a lot of illegal activity. The work offer may be disguised as some other type of entertainment, such as acting or modeling. As with any other type of employment, a decision to accept entertainment work should NEVER be made instantly and must be researched. It should not be assumed that sex industry recruiters will always be men. Women also lure young girls into the sex industry.
WORK LOCATION.
Any offer for women in Kenya to work at the coast may be a trafficking situation. Whilst the sex industry exists in Nairobi and other towns in Kenya, major towns on the Kenyan coast, particularity Mombasa, have a sex industry that is well known in Kenya and internationally. Any offer for a woman to work at the Kenyan coast must be thoroughly researched and should NEVER be accepted without a full under-standing of what is involved, where the work site is, the rate of pay, the hours of work, leave entitlements, and other standard employment conditions. If work is accepted on the coast, contact details and information about the work should be left with trusted family and friends who care about you, will contact you to find out how you are, and look for you if you can’t be contacted. If these precautions are not taken, sexual slavery may be the result.