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April 5, 2012 Members of Virginia Street Gang Charged with Running High School Prostitution Ring

 A street gang based in Fairfax County, Virginia was charged with running a prostitution ring in a high school. The gang members recruited high school girls and the girls who refused to participate were threatened. The girls were recruited through Facebook or were approached by a gang member on the streets or while at school. It has been reported that at least two girls that tried to quit were beaten or cut with a knife by Justin Strom, the accused leader. Girls from age 16 to 18 were required to have sex with Strom and multiple other gang members as an initiation process or a “try out.” Some girls even volunteered for the prostitution job. In order for the young women to get “customers,” some gang members would take them door to door and solicit them in apartment complexes. This minimized the girls walking out in the open for others to see and supposedly maximized profits. The girls were paid anywhere from $20 to $100 so perform sexual acts and were told they could keep half of the money. The other half was given to the gang members and split between all of them. Originally, the police had charged 5 members of the gang for sex trafficking but now the number has jumped to 11 gang members.
 * Summary: **

 The topic of slavery was extremely hard to relate to what is being discussed in class. The article being analyzed involves a case of sex trafficking, which is a form of slavery in today’s world. Sex trafficking has been referred to as “today’s slavery.” The sometimes violent and aggressive act of forcing young women to sell themselves for money is illegal and highly looked down upon. The topic of slavery and sex trafficking relates to what the Americans were doing to the Japanese-Americans during World War II. The Japanese were forced into specific living conditions and stripped of their freedom and American rights. The young women being sold have been forced to do the same thing. The women, although they are American citizens, have lost their basic rights and privilege of freedom because of a group of people. Girls didn’t choose to become a part of the prostitution ring; they were sought out and recruited by the gang members. Well, in the case of Japanese-Americans and the American authorities, the Japanese-Americans represent the recruited women and the Americans represent the gang members. Even though the Americans knew that forcing the Japanese-Americans into internment camps was morally wrong, they did it anyway for the “good of the country.” They did it in order to protect the country from potential Japanese spies. The gang members forced the girls to sell their bodies for money in order to make money for themselves and share just a little with the girls, although they were supposed to get half of the profit. The acts of recruiting women became violent if the chosen girl fought against the gang members. The punishment for resisting involved beatings or being cut with a knife. There was no discussion about violence toward the Japanese-American people during the time they were being moved to internment camps.
 * Relevance: **

As previously stated, sex trafficking and prostitution is look at as today’s slavery. The act of selling women for sex, and sexual acts, has been happening for many years in multiple countries. The women used in these horrid situations are forced into the job; they did not choose to be there. Although it is illegal, the crime has been almost unstoppable because it is happening so often and all over the world. In countries overseas, some girls are taken from their families when they are as young as 10 and they are sold to older men for sexual acts. Women are seen as the weaker sex and are definitely not as respected as men throughout the world. They are repeatedly discriminated against and sex trafficking is one of the ways to show the sever sexism coming from men all over the world. When African Americans were forced into slavery, the reason that it was “acceptable” was because they had a different skin color than the whites. The men in other countries feel the same way toward women and they feel that sex trafficking is acceptable and justified in their country and community.
 * Evaluation: **

1.) If sex trafficking is illegal, why does the media “glorify” prostitution? 2.) How many gangs have been charged, and convicted, of sex trafficking in Pennsylvania? 3.) Are there any major companies in America attempting to stop prostitution? 4.) Are there programs that help women that have been rescued from prostitution rings get back on their feet? 5.) Why haven’t more gangs been caught and stopped already?
 * Questions: **

Works Cited BARNES/myfoxdc, AUDREY. "Feds: Fairfax Gang Pimped Teen Prostitutes." //Washington DC Local News, Weather | DC Maryland Virginia News | myfoxdc WTTG FOX 5//. N.p., 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/feds-fairfax-gang-pimped-teen-prostitutes-032912>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"BBC - Ethics - Slavery: Attempts to justify slavery." //BBC - Homepage//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/justifications.shtml>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Members Of Virginia Street Gang Charged With Running High School Prositution Ring | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. N.p., 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/29/members-virginia-street-gang-charged-with-running-high-school-prositution-ring/>.