The Rise of Sex Trafficking Online

Abstract

Human trafficking has been in existence for thousands of years but commonly has been labeled slavery. Early examples are present in Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome and more recently in Europe and Africa more expansively with the Arab Slave Trade and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Modern discourse on human trafficking has been heavily influenced by the practice of white slavery in the late nineteenth century. Throughout the twentieth century, a number of national and international efforts, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were made to address human trafficking. Starting near the end of the twentieth century, attention on sex trafficking began to take off, with governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and higher education examining the prevalence and economic magnitude of the crime. Right around the turn of the millennium, there emerged an increased awareness regarding the relationship between the rise of the Internet and the sex industry more broadly. With expansion of the Internet, as well as different forms of communication, research has increasingly indicated sex trafficking as being intimately linked with social networking and online classified advertisements. Knowledge about sex trafficking on these platforms has led to increased efforts to combat the act through legislation, community awareness, and education, as well as through technological developments in the private and academic sectors. As this body of research further develops, there is a need for recognizing how the Dark Web and remote online sexual exploitation fit into this picture.