Prostitution is not a victim less crime. The victims are the prostitutes. The pimps and the customers are the people who should be punished.
35
One thing that needs to change is our own mindset about these exploited girls -- we have to be clear that older teens and even girls just over the age of consent are still KIDS who cannot make informed decisions about their lives yet, and who are terribly damaged by this kind of exploitation. Their bodies are being sold, but they are not prostitutes. They are rape victims.
I was very struck by the fact in the Epstein case that people were willing turn a blind eye to his conviction in part because his victim was 17 and thus viewed (by folks who wanted Epstein's money/favor/social capital) as kind of a "borderline" minor, really almost a legal adult, and because their interaction was defined as prostitution rather than being called what it was -- statutory rape. They told themselves they could give him a pass because of this. The legal definition of his crime and his enablers' ability to think of his victim as "almost" an adult granted him more than another decade of freedom.
26
Thanks for the reminder that we have a long way still to go in protecting our young girls (and boys) from exploitation. I wonder how many of those conservatives, bemoaning the breakdown of social norms, will even read this column. How many will change their approach to sex education at an early age (she learned oral sex at age 6), encourage early reporting of family abuse.
Globally, maybe it’s time for this prospective new socially responsible business/corporate model to ‘just say no’ to doing business in countries that abide child marriage, treat girls (and women) as commodities for sale, for trafficking. That would be, most of our quote allies.
Domestically, start (again) to arrest the Johns, pimps. And yes, legalize prostitution. We sell our minds, our intellect, we should be able to sell other services without pimps, without force.
14
What I don't understand is how anyone could have voted for trump when he is part of the problem. He has no respect for women and rates them according to how they look. Sadly, men such as trump are legion and in control of legislatures. Current laws oppressing women are the evidence.
41
Another perspective, to consider along with these worthy projects, is to consider what it is about our culture, society, and economic system that continues to feed poverty, drugs, brutality, child abuse, and the like. Is greed capitalism making the poor poorer and more desperate? Do men feel even more entitled to pursue young girls because of salacious media, because of our Trumpian zeitgeist, because of backlash to an increased Puritanical right wing?
Prostitution has been with us since the dawn of man, and woman. Men punishing women for it is a crime. We need more intelligent dialogue about the complexity of the issue.
7
This is a terrible situation which needs several immediate steps to slow/stop this crime:
1. Parents should have frank discussions with both girls and boys about these types of predators. Telling children "not to get into a car" is not enough.
2. Both pimps and johns, if convicted, need to be treated as severely as a drug trafficker, i.e. picture/name in the paper and longer sentence.
3. During a physical exam, doctors should ask everyone (age 10 to 80) if they have every been sexually assaulted. If they hesitate or appear nervous, doctors should offer places to receive counseling.
4. Finally, middle and high schools counselors should have sessions on trafficking and the ways it can occur.
I know that many local districts would object stating "this doesn't happen here", but we need to keep this on the forefront.
7
Your very moving book ‘Half the Sky’ should be read by high school students. Disadvantaged children are so caught up in their own world of miseries, they cannot imagine a world without despair or deceit. We keep encouraging our schools to perform better. Perhaps we should direct schools to engage in vocational training programs as part of all education programs. Local businesses can come teach and encourage internships. At least it will expose children to a different vocation and a means to earn money. We might have electricians, plumbers, gardeners, etc. instead of prostitutes and drug addicts. Mostly it will get local communities intimately involved with their schools and with the youngsters in their community.
6
Statutory rape, not forcible rape.
In Germany the age of consent is 14. So let's recognize that some of this hysteria is a reflection of our particular culture, not something universally recognized as a crime. It is certainly wrong, by any reasonable moral standard, but not worth daily coverage, week after week, by the NYT (nor five articles on the electronic front page in a single day that I recently counted).
10
From the photo "A 17-year-old charged with prostitution being questioned by the police in Los Angeles."
I hope they were just interviewing her to get the names of the men exploiting her and then ensuring she was safe and got whatever help she needed. Criminalizing teens who engage in sex work is ridiculous. They need help and alternatives.
23
Well, Nick, when you consider how long sexual exploitation of children has been happening in one form or fashion (roughly 1,250,000 years?) I wish you luck trying to stamp it out.
As much as we might despise Epstein, his actual problem was being a relic, a throwback to another epoch; so alien to our ways of thinking that it (and he) had to be prehistoric. “Prehistoric” not in the dinosaur sense but our own humble beginnings as naked hunter-gatherers.
Child rape was a constant throughout prehistory. Much of the reason why we are socially organized the way we are today must be rooted in Darwinian logic, a reaction to social predation. Literacy as we moderns understand it has existed only since Gutenberg’s press. Enlightenment as we moderns understand it didn’t actually occur for another two hundred fifty years after Gutenberg. Before then, life was grim, brutal and short (channeling Hobbs).
Where there’s a need there’s exploitation; first law of politics. Needs like hunger, cold and fear create fertile grounds for sexual predation and exploitation. But, it has always been so. Unless and until you eliminate those you have no chance.
I wish you well.
3
Generally, we need to get over a misconception? rationalization? that allow strafficking children for sexual exploitation.
The major rationalization is that the children are complicit, that they have agreed to sexual relations, that they have consented. Minors cannot consent, period. Most have been exploited for their vulnerability, see limited choices, and do not understand how they are forfeiting their futures. Predators know how to find children who are likely to be swayed into making very poor decisions. That does not make the abuse the child's fault or the child's responsibility.
Globally, the failure of consent is even more stark poverty makes it impossible for families to support all of their children, making them exceptionally vulnerable to predators.
Until we wrap everyone's head around the concept that the children are not culpable- even if they are teens - then we are not going to find too many cases like Epstein's, in which the law catches up. Even our President just chuckled and observed that Epstein liked them young, unconscious of the reality of what that statement actually meant.
7
You can really observe the hypocrisy of general society when you bring up the fact that Elvis dated a 14-year-old when he was in his 20s, or that David Bowie slept with a 15-year-old when he was nearly 30. People will argue furiously that "those were different times" so they can still enjoy the music, and then they'll feign outrage about Epstein. There needs to be more moral consistency, and unfortunately there isn't.
19
My question is what is wrong with men? There is something seriously deficient in men who WANT to force themselves on children. I think probably a majority of men are complicit. If they are not the ones doing it, they probably know someone who has and do nothing. I have been lucky and other than a couple of dates that could have gone off the rails but I got out of there, I have not had any trauma. But I know at five women within my limited circle, who have been victimized by family or others. There is no supply or need to traffic women and children without the demand. Put a few billion into researching of why men want to have sex with children and women who don't want to be with them and try and fix the serious problem with men. We keep talking about everything except the real problem. Put something in the water for awhile if need be, and give women and children a break from these out of control men.
18
I think the problem of sex trafficking is generally understood and the public would easily get behind steps taken to attack it. The sustained outrage over Jeffrey Epstein is not just because people are shocked by the degenerate behavior - the outrage is also for the corruption and complicity of our "leaders" in their interaction with Epstein, including some New York journalists who seemed to have looked the other way. Yes, let's bring the hammer down on the low-life pimps and johns who exploit girls and boys, including those who enjoy life in high society.
13
The one thing that never gets mentioned in this whole sorry mess is the culture that breeds sexual predators from the time kids go through puberty.
The place to halt the exploitation and abandonment of women is to prevent young boys and men with raging hormone from dealing with their development by forcing women who are too young, immature, and vulnerable into having sex in the first place...
There was a lot of screaming about single-sex schools a couple of decades ago which led to them being abandoned of forcibly shuttered...But there were fewer young women getting abused, and the problems of hormonal aggression could be dealt with in a setting far more appropriate than in a mixed-sex classroom.
Were there still pregnancies and the sex trade?
Of course, there were. But I would suggest that the balance falls in favor of the sexually segregated schools and with the opportunities for teachers to help adjust for the forces of nature and the naivete of the students.
There also has to be a far better way of dealing with the single-mother situation were the responsible fathers just disappear from the mothers live.
That is just plain inexcusable, and it may be something that society...and its government...need strongly to address if any progress is to be made.
2
Sexual harassment and predation are a global pandemic, and they occur everywhere from corporate boardrooms and Congressional offices, to Catholic Church "priestly counseling" to dark, sleazy doorways in alleys. Rape is about power, and until the powerful fear the consequences of their actions more than learning to control and appropriately channel their behavior, nothing will change. The President of the US publicly bragged about his behavior with women on the Access Hollywood tape with zero consequences. That is the message that got transmitted around the globe. Billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, was arrested in Florida for patronizing a brothel passing as a massage parlor, but will likely not face any public prosecution. He is frequently excused as "having lost his wife to cancer", a very sad, but unacceptable excuse. Meanwhile, the establishment he patronized is under investigation as an international sex trafficking operation. Electing and appointing more women to top leadership roles has had some effect, but not nearly enough to counter human nature. However, we don't have to persist in either ignoring the problem, or rewarding it with high office.
12
Why does the society permit the sexual exploitation of teenagers? More importantly, who does the society permit unchecked predation by the wealthy and well-connected. The problem is less the sexual exploitation and more the system refusing to halt predation by the wealthy and well-connected.
We protect the johns at all costs. The judges will not release the names. The DC Madam conveniently commits "suicide" less her black book fall into public hands. So too, Mr. Epstein.
6
Why is no one doing psychological research to determine why it is that such a vast segment of adult males have a compulsion to seek teenage sex partners?
It's the appetite for an insatiable supply of girls and boys that fuels this market.
12
I wonder where our society would be right now had we treated violence - and sexual assault - against women like the serious crime that it is?
Treating crimes against women with the gravity - prosecution and punishment - that those crimes warrant may have stemmed the tide of sex crimes against children.
I have often wondered why sexual assault against women is not treated as a hate crime...because that's what it is.
Short of murder, is there anything more violent, more soul crushing than sexual assault?
We grossly devalue women when we do not prosecute and punish predators of women.
And now we face a society in which both women and children are not safe, not protected, not fully valued.
10
This story is long on terrible narratives of several victims but little support for the claim of thousands of victims. It may be true but this piece doesn't convince me.
I’m not sure how it will be possible to “ramp up prosecution of pimps who traffic children” without contributing to the mass incarceration of black men. A different progressive publication earlier this year criticized the emphasis on prosecution of pimps trafficking children because of the disparate impact on young black men relative to other trafficking prosecutions. The article noted that “between 2005 and 2015, 57 percent of the defendants in minor sex-trafficking cases are black”. It will be hard to go after the people trafficking young girls of color without having a disparate impact on black men.
2
I usually do not agree with Nicholas Kristof op-eds but with this one I do. His words lend credence to what some may think are conspiracy theories regarding child abduction, mistreatment, sexual abuse, and human sacrifice. For those who do not believe the extent of this sickness in America, I advise reading "The Franklin Cover-up: Child Abuse, Satanism, and Murder in Nebraska." Make up your mind, if you dare, otherwise continue to live in the dark. Thank you.
3
From the moment that the story about Harvey Weinstein was first made public, it shouldn’t have been that difficult to reasonably extrapolate the extent to which this paternalistic societal rot has spread.
As nauseating as it may be to know that there are more people like Jeffrey Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein, and Larry Nasser, all of whom are still preying on their targets, it’s not enough to simply put a few criminal cases on display, and then pretend that all is well.
9
Our "outrage" at Epsteins 'rape' of teenage girls who were groomed and remunerated for non-violent sexual acts should be eclipsed by and not conflated with our outrage at violent sexual attacks and imprisonment of women.
"Grooming" becomes "courtship" once a girl turns 18 and her acceptance of payment for sexual acts after that point is not criminal in many states and in most developed countries.
Does that statement disturb you? If so, your outrage is not about violence. It is moral umbrage.
9
It shouldn’t be surprising that this administration has made it harder to fight human trafficking. After all, Trump appointed Acosta - the so-called federal prosecutor who granted Epstein his sweetheart deal - his Secretary of Labor before public outrage forced him to resign in disgrace. The Secretary of Labor’s responsibilities include cracking down on unfair labor practices such as human trafficking and sex slavery. Acosta’s deal with Epstein not only gave Epstein the lightest of slaps on the wrist, but illegally kept his victims in the dark. Trump’s insistence that this issue is a priority for his administration is pure bloviation.
8
Sex-related issues permeate every aspect of American life. Every institution is tainted by them. Attempts to publicize these issues is sporadic, usually set off by a public scandal. Attempts to resolve these issues is hampered by hypocrisy, secrecy, ineffective legal safeguards and complicit officials. The political will to rectify this disgrace is absent, but, on a positive note, some in the print media have striven to shed light on this dark corner of American life.
1
It is also the Jesse Epstein's. The women who sexually abuse or abused boys and men. I lived with it for 40 years. We suffer terrible consequences. The US legal system only looks for deep pockets. We are many, support is nil.
4
Despite Trump's comments to the contrary, we know he was indeed a close friend of Epstein and that at least one of the Epstein victims was recruited at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump is a well-documented pathological liar. His relationship with Epstein needs to be more deeply investigated.
15
Oh my! This is no secret and probably goes deeper and wider than you can even imagine.
While mansplaining the problem you failed completely to identify that which enables and maintains this underground of abuse and exploitation. MEN!
Men are in charge of everything on the planet that matters. Men decide the rules, write the laws, decide who will live and die, who is punished and who goes free. Men cover for each other, promote each other, lie for each other and let each other off the hook while objectifying women in every area of society. And for how long have women been blamed for the difficulty men have controlling their own sexual urges, as if self-control is an unreasonable demand.
Yes, I have generalized because I think that every adult male is either guilty or complicit. You either do it or remain silent about all the ways men abuse, objectify and discount females of all ages. Focus on the cause and the solutions become clear. Men must evolve beyond their mindset of power and control over everything but their own behavior.
12
Really doubt there are thousands with the wealth and access to people in power - like Bill Clinton - that Epstein had.
Great article. I'm happy to see the emphasis on the fact that pimps and the men they sell their 'wares' to get away scot free for their abhorrent behavior, while the girls go to prison. It has bothered me for years that women are the objects of those who fight abortion. It takes two the make a fetus, but the males in this duo go happily on their way far too much of the time
5
Maybe there should be some research into why young men grow into men who relish the exploitation of these girls? What is it in their upbringing that makes them seek out sex with girls? Clearly, this is a mental illness that should be studied, so that maybe there can be intervention in boys lives before they reach the age where they become abusers. Something must occur somewhere along the way that results in this aberration.
7
Everyone deplores the exploitation of children, and there is no question that it is real.
But Mr. Kristof's punditry on this topic is vague, and lacks credible factual support. He gives a few anecdotes of childhood sexual exploitation and rape, which no one would deny exists. However he boldly states that "tens of thousands" of men in the US pay for sex with children. Really? Where did this data come from? He later goes on to acknowledge that no one really knows the scope of this problem.
He also tends to conflate prostitution with trafficking. If a prostitute has a pimp, does that constitute trafficking? How do we distinguish between a woman who chooses to be a sex worker, and one who is being "exploited?" "Teenagers," include 18 and 19 year old women, who can make a decision to engage in sex work if they choose. Some claim that consensual "sugar daddy" relationships are common on college campuses.
Perhaps what Mr. Kristof really objects to is prostitution in general, a complex issue which is the subject of ongoing debate in our society. If so, then argue that.
3
Focus on the crimes committed by people who have sex with trafficked people, especially minors who are trafficked. Sex with a trafficked child is child rape. The focus on victims is essential, but they are not the real story as they don’t drive this industry. Who are the thousands of men who seek sex with trafficked women and children? Where are they, when will they be called out, and when will they have consequences?
8
Banks are too big to fail; child predators are to rich to jail. This is what capitalism looks like when it is allowed to metastasize into a system of concentrated wealth and unconscionable privilege.
8
Powerful people didn't just shrug and let Epstein off easy. Powerful people played with him, enabled him, enriched him, trusted him with their secret, dirty, abusive games and pulled every string he asked them to pull to keep the party going for as long as they could.
But, being outraged that wealthy, powerful men appear to have used that power to help Epstein kill himself in prison is 'unproductive'? That is infuriating, to say the least. Epstein was perhaps a more important prisoner to be kept alive than most of the terrorists kept in Guantanamo. He needed to be kept alive so he could talk and point fingers at his cohorts and enablers and fellow rapists. Now, most of them will never be named, let alone held accountable.
10
THANK YOU! I watched with frustration as the coverage of Jeffrey Epstein failed to connect his behavior to larger societal epidemics. The media regularly connects isolated incidents of racism to the rotten barrel of cultural racism that normalizes and enables them. But male sexual predators are treated like deviant rotten apples, while media voices fail to connect their crimes to larger forces such as the sexualization of girls in advertising and pornography that normalizes and enables the sexual slavery of children. There would not be a supply of hundreds of thousands of trafficked children if there were not a demand for their slavery by an even larger population of men who use and dehumanize them.
10
These men who "operate with impunity" to sexually exploit children...have been doing so for centuries to women.
I wonder where our society would be today if we had a history of prosecuting and punishing violent and sexual crimes against women?
Perhaps if we had done so - if we had valued women as they have an inherent right to be valued - the sexual abuse and exploitation of children would never had become "a thing," as the young people say.
Seriously...what if?
I often wonder why sexual assault against women isn't defined as a hate crime under the law...because that's what it is. To have sex with a woman against her will...is hate.
It is a violent, soul crushing, and hateful act. As a coach and facilitator of women's courses, I have sat in many quiet seminar rooms hearing stories too painful and shocking to write about here.
We don't even use the real word - the "r" word - instead we say "sexual assault" when referring to sexual violence against women.
I will bet my bottom dollar, had we protected women via the law - by prosecuting and punishing predators - the exploitation of children would be a rarity...instead of the common place crime it has become.
5
“They need helping hands, not pointed fingers.” N. Kristof.
Finally an informative article that it is not mere repeating the awful Epstein case.
Thank you for this article.
1
Start by finding arresting and prosecuting all of the rich and famous ‘Johns’ that are hiding everywhere.
J E had a vast network.
They must not get away.
And take their money to give it to the child victims.
Then ‘Lock Them Up’ for as long as possible.
5
Many of these perpetrators were coconspirators of Epstein. I don’t see any action trying to prosecute Epstein’s enablers and fellow perverts. Why hasn’t Maxwell been located and arrested? I suspect that they’re waiting for this to fade from the public’s memory and allow these wealthy and powerful men to be swept under the rug.
4
A friend (who works through her church on helping young women who were sex trafficked) explained that the Superbowl and the city who hosts it, is a time when the trafficking really goes up. Being rather naive, she went on “oh, yeah all those guys coming in to town for some fun.” I was dumbfounded and sickened.
8
Seriously? Mr. Kristof, this is baloney.
“President Trump and Ivanka Trump have both denounced sex trafficking, with the president saying he will leverage “every resource” to address this “urgent humanitarian issue.” Ivanka Trump has said that fighting trafficking is a major priority of her father’s administration.”
1
We know that prostitutes are usually victims of either prior sexual abuse or broken families. The most successful way to control prostitution is to dry up demand by arresting the pimps putting them in prison and publicizing the arrest of the johns. Once again focusing law enforcement on the women is not only sexist and discriminatory, but history shows it does not work. The effects of the #metoo movement and the innocence project on the “justice system “ can’t come fast enough.
2
It's not helpful to confuse the impunity conferred by wealth with failure to prosecute crimes which by their nature are difficult to ferret out and police.
This newspaper may be willfully blind to issues of class, but our justice system clearly knows who to punish and who to favor.
Who *didn't* know about Jeffrey Epstein? But what did it matter?
Yup. The shadow organisation puts out front men 'pretty boys' to procure intake analysis. The dragon attends to the rest.
”But the problem isn’t one tycoon but many tens of thousands of men who pay for sex with underage girls across the country. And society as a whole reacts with the same indifference that the authorities showed in the Epstein scandal.”
Society’s indifference is no where more glaring then the Catholic Church and its faithful. Over the past 20+ years, the sexual depravity of the Catholic Church has been on full display. After the 2018 revelations about the sexual abuse committed by catholic clergy in Pennsylvania, the Catholic coffers remain full. The indifference of the faithful and their continued support of the hierarchy is staggering.
As long as society
4
Kristof is at it again. He's the Times's designated carceral feminist, playing the old patriarchal game of claiming to protect innocent women and girls. His central claim is that prostitution is rape, or rather that the clients are rapists. Remarks as irresponsible as using racial slurs. So, it can best be combatted by putting men who go to prostitutes in prison. Which once again becomes the solution to our social problems. His rhetorical ploy stands in for a case he has not made.
It is true that many sex workers are abused by clients, or simply humiliated by them. But I am aware of no evidence that most or all are. "All" must be the claim a priori, as what makes the sex act rape for him seems intrinsic to sex for pay. Does he believe, like the late extreme radical feminist Andrea Dworkin, that sexual penetration is rape, and love-making indistinguishable from it? Does he believe that sex outside of love (or even marriage) is not only unspiritual but "violence"? Many American women and men beg to differ. Does he believe it necessarily "alienating" or otherwise unpleasant? Well, so are a great many jobs. Does he believe most prostitutes are sex slaves? Most are not. Does he believe that the consent given (which normally would nullify a claim of rape) is financially coerced and so "false"? That's true of most jobs.
When sex workers are asked what they want, it's usually not what the chivalrous Kristof would offer. Respect workers!
4
Trump knew Epstein and I wouldn't be surprised if he participated. Based on his history and comments he has a total disregard to girls and women, unless he can have their body for awhile.
2
How long is it going to take for a significant subset of men to stop regarding everything as their due? For them to stop regarding sex with very young women, or girls, as a reward? (I encourage everyone to rad Moira Donegan's excellent column on this in The Guardian.)
In the past day or so, news has broken of the indescribably vile opinions espoused by the esteemed computer scientist Richard Stallings, who thinks, among other things, that: Virginia Giuffre probably offered herself willingly to Jeffrey Epstein; everyone should have sexual activity by age 14; and children aren't harmed by pedophilia.
Not to mention Epstein confidante Alan Dershowitz, "one of the lawyers who helped broker [his] 2008 sweetheart plea deal" -- he "has also argued against age of consent laws, calling statutory rape an 'outdated concept' in a 1997 op-ed and suggesting on Twitter in July that a 16-year-old should have the 'constitutional right' to consensual sex." (The Daily Beast)
Why are these cancers on society celebrated rather than shunned and shamed? How many more decades of this?
11
This is horrifying but what's even worse is how many victims are left feeling that they deserved this treatment, that it was and is their fault, that they are worthless. In my opinion we do a huge disservice to all children when we force them to accept whatever adults do to them as par for the course. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be hugged or kissed. What's wrong is not respecting a child's wish. It's different if a formerly affectionate child changes suddenly. Then the adults need to ask what's happened.
Our culture perplexes me. We tell women and girls to strive to be their best. Then we tell them to be sexy, to dress in provocative ways, to invite men's and boys attention (and insinuate that they are not normal if they don't want it), and blame them for the results either way.
When are we going to teach boys and men that no means no, that there's nothing wrong with not wanting to have intimate relations with a person on any date, and that buying the meal or the tickets doesn't entitle one to a kiss or a feel? As a woman who was molested and physically and verbally abused I can state that the abuse meted out by adults in my life led directly to the molestation and other sexual exploitation. Why? Because it was made clear to me that my body was meant to be hurt. I had no say over the abuse. If I fought back I was hurt more. I experienced my own version of a Jeffrey Epstein because of this.
9/14/2019 6:17pm first submit
10
Any article shining a light on the horrific issue of sex trafficking is welcomed but I do take issue with this, "...it wasn't shocking. A wealthy white man leveraged his money, privilege and power to sexually abuse, to rape, young girls."
The article tells us that 40 million people worldwide are "locked into modern forms of slavery" but nowhere does it mention that white men are the cause. Do not sex traffickers the world over come in all colors and income classes? Is there anything "white men" aren't blamed for these days? And, substitute the word "white" for any other race and this would be blasted as a racist statement.
1
I’m just a subscriber, who cannot provide the presentable evidences on a public site like this. Even I want to do so, I anyway will not do with no guaranteed protections for those whose names and cases I would cite. Underage boys are also vulnerable as Kristof implies. The same is true for young men in unprotected situations. Those young men are not necessarily men of colors, or immigrants in dire situations. They are Americans, who live without home for years, whose sole supports are drugs and drug providers, for their hardships to go through. Those men might know how to perform oral sex when they were younger, but had never been enforced to do so with no choice until they fell into that situation. Because they are men, the society tends to see them as less vulnerable and drugs and sex are their own choice. But, situationally, circumstantially, different kinds of sex exploitations exist other than underage girls as victimes. When a homeless man is freshly homeless and still in his 20’s, predators of all kinds exploit him sexually while he himself may not be fully aware of it as sexual exploitation. After 10 to 20 years in the same situation, he would be caught in the depth of something from which he can hardly escape.
1
The usual wringing-of-hands, bloviating mess from Mr. Kristof. Better to keep it simple: Use Swedish model for sex trafficing (go after the pimps and johns/leave the girls alone or help them); stop talking about the innate dignity of sex workers; and, realize that the criminal activity/arrests occurs almost exclusively at the local level--hence the paucity of federal actions.
1
If any of these girls had been in school before they were forced to the streets, why hadn't their teachers seen what was happening? I taught (for a short while) in a middle school in Brooklyn and, without any training or encouragement to poke my nose into the students' lives, I watched for signs of abuse -- bruises on the surface and hurt under the skin. No doubt, my concern was due to my own difficult childhood with drunken, abusive parents, but still ... . Teachers should see -- and do something -- if a six-year-old is being sexually molested!
2
One thing that might make some difference is prosecuting the johns who patronize under age prostitutes for statutory rape. If the prostitute is under the age of consent in the state, any sexual relationship is criminal.
2
Much has been written about Jeffrey Epstein but no one has talked about whether much of his fortune came from the men who sought sex from his "proteges." Were these well-known men "johns" who used Epstein to procure sex with underage girls? What is their punishment?
This aspect of the story is under-reported. Is it part of the iceberg?
2
Dear Nick:
Please read and promote "No Visible Bruises" by Rachel L. Synder. Everyone needs to read and understand this book and the issues in it about domestic violence. Even if there is no violence in the home, there is the bias throughout our entire society that supports the continuation of sex trafficking as something to be tolerated.
We are living in a time when women's rights and lives are under assault by (mostly) rich, white men, many (like DJT) happy to exploit women knowing they can get away with it. That other women sometimes participate in this, or go along with it, is truly distressing. I wonder how many MAGA supporters know about or even care that the situation with sex trafficking exists. They "deserve it" is a pathetic attitude, but a common one.
I can't imagine why the Senate would oppose the Violence Against Women Act except as a means to suppress women. Isn't that just, in a word, pathetic??
Forbes magazine chose 4 men to pick the 100 most influential people and they came up with 99 men and one women. Again, pathetic. That is the nature of the issue. Women? Who sees them? Who hears them? (You do, for one.)
Keep up the good work.
2
So many elites are linked to this guy too. Imagine how many others at the top of the elitist ranks must be sweating bullets right now.
Yes thousands more and they can be found in your federal government.
Epstein is described as essentially a rapist, but wasn't he just as culpable as a pimp? He was trafficking young girls to old men--or so it seems, though the interest in that side of the story seems to have waned completely since Epstein's convenient death.
Meanwhile, it seems obvious that procurers such as the noted busy vampire Ghislaine Maxwell, devoted follower of Epstein, also ought to be sought out and prosecuted. Unfortunately, the nasty crews of people who profit from and delight in the sexual exploitation of girls include women.
2
“It’s part of the same behavior, part of what we allow as a society,” Lloyd added. “He got away with it because society said he could, and that’s what other johns think as well.”
Sorry, but Jeffrey Epstein didn't get away with it because society said he could. And my first name is John.
I served as a prosecutor and assisted in the prosecution of sex criminals as an intern, ultimately prosecuting prostitutes once I was barred in the state of Pennsylvania.
What the author, keeping with his pattern in focusing on the ultra wealthy and white (remember his aloof series, “White people just don’t get it?”) ignores is that a disproportionate number of the patrons/johns are people of color, primarily African American men.
For every Jeff Epstein there are thousands of black men with lengthy criminal records looking for illegal sexual gratification. Not that Jeffery Epstein (and his ilk) don’t deserve the most severe punishment, but if the author’s interest is stopping crime and not continuing his misguided theme of white privilege, I politely suggest he focus on the realities of the industry.
4
if you’re going after the “hot air” on this issue don’t stop at trump...no fan of his here but at least he spoke out...what did we get from obama, clinton (!), bush, bush, johnson, kennedy and, of course, carter who had his own issues with thoughts of a certain nature?
I think we can all safely say that the current occupant of the WH is NOT going to do anything about sex trafficking. As for Ivanka I don't even know why she was mentioned. The fact is until fairly recently Epstein was great friends with the trumps. They liked to have parties where it was just the two of them and a room full of beautiful women and girls. A recent guest of the trumps was Robert Kraft another man that Donald greatly admires and also a man that was charged with having sex with young Asian girls.
So is that clear enough for everybody? The current occupant has been credibly accused multiple times of sexual assault and we made him president. Epstein was accused of raping multiple underage girls and got off scott free essentially and was still welcomed in our plushest of American households. Robert Kraft is revered in New England and still a welcome guest in the White House.
Why would anything change when they're finally at the point where they don't even have to be embarrassed anymore?
3
Men shouldn’t have sex with underaged women. But equally important is to point out the tens of thousands of girls who lie bout their age and are willing to have sex and get favors from privileged men until the moment the issues are exposed and they are again after the money crying foul play.
2
Yes, there are many more out there.
More than 1 in 3 women and nearly 1 in 4 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact at some point in their lives.
Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 38 men have experienced completed or attempted rape in their lifetimes. Source: CDC
And those are just the stats on what has been reported. What about the millions who never say a word about it.
Now we a president who has sexually assaulted many women and have two men who have sexually assaulted women on the Supreme Court and God knows how many there are in Congress. Notice how they all defend eachother's "secrets." Time for some real investigations and real consequences. Epstein didn't get away with abusing young girls for decades because he hid it. It was accepted by the rich, entitled bubble he lived in that he thought was above the law. The priests who abused all of those children also thought they were above the law.
1
Responsible parents teach their children how to behave and keep them safe.
Most healthy men in middle age are instinctually driven to copulate with fertile young females. Baring a radical neutering of the male gender, this will remain true. (If you secretly think maleness itself is the problem, skip to the next comment.)
Unless you are a man-hater, you have to accept that the desire of a few men to abuse underage girls—while reprehensible, illegal, and wrong—is a part of humanity and will not go away.
Given those facts, children need to be protected. (Of course it is also obvious that men who abuse girls must be punished severely.)
However more responsibility needs to be placed on the parents. The article talks about an alcoholic mother who taught her 6 year old daughter to give oral sex! The resulting bad outcome for this child really rests on this mother. With a proper upbringing, none of this would have happened.
The parents failed to protect their daughter. They are also very guilty.
The mother doesn’t get a pass because she’s a woman or has her own problems.
3
"President Trump and Ivanka Trump have both denounced sex trafficking". Really?
Remember the question when can you tell a liar is lying? Whenever he moves his lips. Did the Trumps move their lips when they "denounced sex trafficking"? They must have.
Remember Putin's Hump used to be buddies of Jeffrey Epstein? No we don't want to do guilt by association but it is a natural connection when the grouper of Access Hollywood meets Epstein.
Good thing is, though, the column did not lose credibility when it says the Hump's attention seems "to be largely hot air". However, is it "largely" or "totally"?
2
Yes, and I worry also about the 15-year-olds who are not raped but convinced to have sex with smooth-talking men who impregnate them, move on to new girlfriends, and leave them (and us) holding the bag.
2
Kristof has forgotten about the Catholic clergy!
3
Excellent reporting, well written and a must read.
This is coming for somebody who criticizes the NY Times for being a neo feminist mouth organ, ie women should get 50% of everything because they are women and present day men should atone for five million yrs. of manhood.
This is different. There is no middle ground on children abuse male or female.
We should always be vigilant 24/7 and error on the side of caution.
1
I worry about this issue and the migrant border children. Where there are vulnerable children, they are predators nearby, often wearing uniforms or badges or carrying clipboards.
10
The indifference of the ultra rich to sex-trafficking among young girls (here in Palm Beach, Jeffrey Epstein's home territory) is vomitrocious. We've seen abominable winks and nods from men who availed themselves of the exploitation of underage women.
In addition to Southern Florida, where Epstein hobnobbed with President Trump, he plied his foul trade in Manhattan, in England and Europe, in the USVI and in New Mexico. He escaped judgement and opprobrium by suiciding in the Manhattan House of Correction recently.
Mr. Epstein wasn't judged properly in Florida, and his malign associates in England and the US haven't been arrested either. Mr. Epstein's vile sex-trafficking tentacles even reached into the Royal Family and into some of the richest families in America. What a wasted life.
2
Thank you Nicholas!
5
Mr. Kristof,
You were part of the chorus that railed against backpage.com. But in actuality, Backpage.com was a benefit to sex workers as it reduced pimping through disintermediation. When will sex workers finally have a voice? No, not to saved from some brutal pimp, which by and large is an unfounded, outdated stereotype used to falsely conflate sex work with sex trafficking, but to have the right to work legally like everyone else.
2
Epstein pain women for sex. Many were not exploited but were willing participants, and further it has not been proven that they were abused or exploited by Maxwell.They accepted money for what they did. True, there are evil pimps that exploit women, but the notion that there are thousands of "monsters" out there ie men who pay for sex (perfectly legal in Germany or Greece, ect). Your title, and the whole reaction to this is misleading and disproportionate to what happened. It reeks of typical fake woke outrage - and fearmongering, as your op-ed does as well.
10
Powerfully true article.
1
Human society is out of balance, we need more women participating in and in charge of all institutions to check the greed, exploitation and cruelty evident everywhere where males are in charge.
7
Thanks Mr Kristof for yet another great article
1
If you were serious about maintaining the anonymity of the girl pictured, you shouldn't have published a photograph of her distinctive tattoo.
3
Case 1:10-cr-00580-MSK Document 1 Filed 11/17/10 USDC Colorado United States v Brenda Stewart is the record of a criminal prosecution of a "madam". The charges were 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (Tax Evasion), 18 U.S.C. § 1952 (Use of Interstate Commerce Facility in Aid of Racketeering), 18 U.S.C. § 1512 (Witness Tampering), and 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (Money Laundering) only. There was a huge record in this case including names of the customers and bank cards used for payment. The names of later resigned in disgrace federal judge Edward Nottingham and other important people were supposedly on the customer list -- search for "Denver Players." Even though the credit card records would have convicted the "johns" of at least a misdemeanor for soliciting prostitution from adults, DOJ apparently never turned over any of the records to the State of Colorado or Denver County so that the customers could be prosecuted. Or Colorado authorities decided not to prosecute the prostitutes and their customers for state crimes of solicitation etc. And none of the articles or public statements from the authorities discuss the women or girls (or young men and boys) who were sold, at all, even though the operation had extensive records that came into possession of DOJ.
1
While Trump continues to deny any collusion with Russia, by his own words he cannot deny that he passively colluded with the pedophile and child rapists Jeffrey Epstein. He wrote off Epstein's criminal actions actions as having an "active social life" and liking women some on "the young side". I believe that any half decent individual who observed what Trump saw regarding Epstien iwould have immediately severed ties with him and contacted the authorities. While Trump seeks to prevent desperate women and children from even receiving n temporary safety in this country because of imagined "bad guys " coming in, it seemed that he was for years more than comfortable "palling around" with a pedophile, one of the worst guys imaginable.
2
Save girls before this happens.
This is why we need more clinics modeled after Planned Parenthood; the Safe place you can go as a young scared female to get education about your body so you know what’s going on.
The first step is information they need when in trouble. They know what support would make them non-runaways. A safe bed, food. Consultation. A Clinic for planning, “Before you run away, check here.” Let’s save the victims before they are sold.
Predators sometimes feel pedophelia should be legalized. As if children are just Meat. THey are people’s babies. Their physical brains are non matured until into their twenties. They are no match for a sick greedy adult. And a mature woman can think, a sick greedy adult is her only economic option. HELP THEM.
Our society is over-sexualized and distorted. So this is “our” institutional problem and legal problem to compensate for the human capacity for only short term thinking.
4
Thanks for your report. America society is in trouble for years,. When a group of very rich individuals are involved in this kind of crime, money is the best cover-up, unfortunately. We can make very strong laws against the sex-traffickers, Pimp..., we decided to look the other way, just because everyone gets a fat check to be quiet. I hope the next president be a female. Maybe we can accomplish something. Vote Blue
4
Excellent piece, Nicholas Kristof!
I find the statement that there are " thousands of Jeffrey
Epsteins out there " unworthy of appearing in the N.Y. Times.
There are thousands of examples of just about every ugly
behavior on planet Earth " out there. " Let Mr. Epstein rest in
peace " out there, " where ever that is.
2
The article might make the point better without the closeup of the 17 year old girl's chest at the top. No I don't believe that you think the tattoo is interesting.
Has anyone bothered to make the connection between the origins of this nation in free labor from volunteers and slaves and the way vulnerable people in general have always been exploited by those who can?
There is a lot of the pimp in plantation owners and the slave trade. There is an article in the WaPo today about Isaac Franklin and John Armfield two of the most brutal slave traders in our history who regularly raped the women they bought and sold. They were high society ultra wealthy men like Epstein.
Sexual exploitation is a problem in all of human history and the Epstein's among them are not common at all. He was wealthy and had an army of assistants to procure and protect as do most wealthy powerful people who do this. It is the same for the victims but the perps are much much different. Most Johns are sad broken men not predators like Epstein or pimps. They are exploited by the pimps too.
I think maybe cops and advocates are watching too much porn and buying into the idea that this is fun for anyone involved. I bet even Epstein loathed himself as he did it. I've known a lot of awful human beings and few of them are so heartless as to take real joy from the pain of others. It is a pathetic dark dance of people trying to kill the pain within.
4
Barr sure managed to shut down the Epstein investigation.
Even with thousands of photos of underaged girls with Epstein's "friends" I would be willing to lay odds that none of those men will ever be indicted. The "Old Boy" network takes care of it's own.
11
consensual sex for money between adults needs to be decriminalized, and the law enforcement efforts wasted there need to be refocused on sex with minors for money and child trafficking
3
"powerful people seemed to shrug and let him off easy": quite true and, of course, we can understand why the victims are outraged and angry. Now, of course, it is important to find out who these powerful people were and still are. Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker pointed the finger at the MIT media lab but there are many others. For instance, why did Epstein get a "non prosecution deal" in Florida granted by Acosta who claims Epstein was above his pay grade for he belonged to intelligence? The victims were cheated out of a trial then as they are now after his death.
The Times should come out with its own investigation of the matter for the truth is coming out in dribs and drabs in between the very numerous conspiracy theories.
Who helped the predator and why? This is what we should know.
3
"help vulnerable youths avoid being victimized"
Let's look at that fourth idea more closely.
Why do we have throw away girls?
Why is our country set up to throw away our people, our young people?
That is taking a dog eat dog economy and politics much too far. It should never come to young girls with no place to go, and no options but a pimp.
3
why a wealthy white man? once again,
a ny times columnist prints a broad
generalization about one race of people
and it will probably go unchallenged.
sexual exploitation transcends all
racial and economic boundaries.
just thought I might add that obvious
fact to this serious discussion.
7
Legally, under aged children are sexually used and abused. They are too young to give consent to prostitution and therefore they should not be called prostitutes.
4
Mr. Kristof,
Thank you for attending this issue head-on and being explicit in details.
The Tacoma-Seattle corridor is now the second-largest teenage-girls sex-trafficking hotspot. At times, when I drive through back highways (Federal way) to avoid I-5 traffic, you see young teenage girls standing by parked large-trucks, around seedy hotels. It's jarring & depressive.
It is an entire pillar of abusive, sexually exploitative rot extending from top-down. I hear folks call it prostitution here often, I say this is pedophilia.
A 14/15/16 yo is A CHILD, not an adult.
If Senate-Congress, both don't pass stringent laws to effectively curtail these practices, do not give immunity to young teenage so-called prostitutes, thereby, letting pimp slip away, nothing will get better.
If girls below age 21 (at least) know that law stands on their side, many would come forth to get out of this filth.
I recall a young prostitute patient a few years back, who said, doc, once you get into the trade of giving your body away for money, you're afraid of the pimp, but doubly afraid of the cops because they catch us first, johns & pimps always somehow slip away.
Also, she said, so many of us do drugs to bury the humiliation day in & day out, and by then, the noose is so tight... she cried with such desperation, it hurt.
We tried to get social services but she was deathly afraid of her pimp. She said, he would find me, one way or another.
Epstein's case was a mere chip at the peak of this iceberg.
8
@Ash. Biologically, they are adults. Different cultures have very different ages of consent. We may regard others' lower ages as indecent, but we don't have a unique path to wisdom.
1
While it is important to keep in front of us that most child sexual abuse occurs in far less spectacular circumstances and is alarmingly common, Kristoff is, as he often does, oversimplifies a very complex topic to fit his needs as a paid columnist, namely having something to write about. (That is how he gets paid.)
There are not thousands of Epsteins in the United States.
First, the amount of money at Epstein's disposal and the financial circles in which he operated are populated by less than 1000 people in the US.
Few people are able to garner the "cover" gained by associating with former US Presidents, Royalty and major universities. That takes planes, islands and enough disposal cash to throw big donations around.
Finally, Epstein was not just a monster; he was a normalizer. He wanted to normalize his behavior--didn't the royalty of the past have young wives. He even wanted to propagate the world with his genes.
We cannot lose track of how he heinously used the power of celebrity, politics and money. Why? Because, now that he is dead, these tools must be taken away from those who aided an abetted him down to the last man or woman.
It is also worth noting that the picture chosen for this opportunistic piece is deplorable. Cutting a human face in the middle, while understandable to maintain anonymity in this case, contributes to the objectification of people, especially women. Maybe it is time for Kristof to retire.
3
The FBI should release the list of Epstein’s contacts so that one can at least see more of the “iceberg “.
3
First
I am very disappointed you are directing us/me to Fake Book. No way am I ever going there again. I am constantly tricked onto FB or Insta with decieving links
Second
The JE case is not done by a long shot until we expose all his buddies, donors, enablers, Colleges and Rich criminals.
Third
Many of us know all too well how women and children are sexually abused constantly. Boys also. It's a nasty world everywhere. Both my wives were abused by their fathers and raped by others.
My marriages failed. Now I know why. I was trying to save them. Took decades. Now I pay penance.
Yet I remain angry at powerful people who abuse...
6
Epsrein killed himself just a month ago, but in the Trump era bad news is quickly replaced by more bad news, and one gets the impression that Epstein’s horrors are already being fast forgotten.
Oh for the good old days of slow news.
1
I think that some definitons are in order, "rape, age of consent," etc. "western standards, relative moral values, why one society's values should prevail, colonial mentality," etc.
2
Three strikes and these violated children are out!
Strike 1: They are children. No rights, no way to self-protect, swing and a miss.
Strike 2: They are poor. No sympathy for their plight, no power. Foul ball down the left field line.
Strike: 3: They are female. Disposable, subservient, mere delectables for the perverted tastes of those will to pay for them. Called strike at the knees.
That's the nature of the game, folks. We choose to play, we live with the unhanged Epsteins in our midst.
7
Follow thru on Epstein............shine a light on the other men involved.
1
Jeffry Epstein isn’t a one-off, isn’t the exception. If he was, you couldn’t sit down at any computer and quickly be viewing porn, even child porn, but you can. Anyone can quickly and easily find images on the Internet with young girls that are about to raped, helpless to stop rape, being raped, being gang raped, or images where a girl is demeaned, humiliated, de-humanized.
If Epstein was merely a rare “bad apple” human trafficking wouldn’t be a world-wide scourge.
Even the term, “human trafficking” is sanitized, removed from what is really doing on: Men kidnap a young girl and forcing her into sex-slavery with men as customers. Admittedly, there are, in rare occasions, women involved, assisting, grooming, managing, but 99% of the perpetrators are men. More importantly, no one could seriously suggest that women are the customers - women are not the reason human trafficking exists.
What happens if you remove men from this scenario? Men are doing the kidnapping; men are doing the raping of girls as customers.
Similarly, take the following popular statement, “A good guy with a gun is required to protect us from a bad guy with a gun.”
We keep talking about the guns….why can’t we talk about, “the guys?!”
The question is, “What is going on with men?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8
Why can’t we talk about men? Why can’t we even reference “men” or “male?” in relation to these social, humanitarian and criminal issues that are primarily about men?
10
Fellow Commenters, There are thousands of Epsteins just around the corner from his Manhattan townhouse. The horror of Epstein's
rapes has generated endless press, as it should. However, he was just a courtier to the royals up and down Fifth Ave who have been on a predatory spree that has literally brought the earth to its knees. Capitalism is global rape, slavery wrapped in updated language like 'Branding'. (What a perfect metaphor for selling ourselves and all others.)
Salacious press about the horror of sexual rape and human trafficking needs to be matched by a lot of ink revealing the pillage that our wealthy kin take as normalized privilege.
Epstein opened a clear trail to the doors of Wealth which hide incorporated crimes against humanity. His death was necessary to divert journalists away from the creepy 'Business' our true pimps blithely, even proudly, swing around.
Sometimes I wonder how many men I know buy people for sex.
8
The elephant in the room is rarely if ever mentioned. We talk about humanitarian issues, child pornography, human trafficking, mass shooters, child molestation, gang violence, rape, domestic violence, gambling, drunk driving, assault, priests and coaches molesting children, child abuse. Our prisons are full of them and while some are non-violent offenders, in for petty drug offenses, many are so violent that whenever we let them out, what follows is a crime spree that includes theft, rape and murder. Genocide, war, weapons of mass destruction, entire legions of soldiers fighting each other over the course of centuries, millennia. - the issue is men.
Jeffry Epstein isn’t a one-off, isn’t the exception. If he was, there wouldn’t be porn, child porn, human trafficking wouldn’t be a world-wide scourge.
Why do we need some men to protect us from other men? “A good guy with a gun is required to protect us from a bad guy with a gun.”
We keep talking about the guns, why can’t we talk about, “the guys?!”
The question is, “What is going on with men?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8
2
The indifference by the very rich to sex-trafficking among young girls (here in Jeffrey Epstein's home territory) is vomitrocious. In addition to Southern Florida, where Epstein hobnobbed with President Trump, he plied his foul trade in Manhattan, in England and Europe, in the USVI and in New Mexico.
Mr. Epstein escaped judgment and obsequy by suiciding in the Manhattan House of Correction recently. He was never brought to justice properly, and his bevies of malign associates haven't been arrested either.
Mr. Epstein's vile tentacles reached into the royal family and into some of the richest families in America. What can we do about indifference to the sexual exploitation of young children, Nick Kristof? What is the answer to this horror of our times?
Everyone should read the NY Times bestseller from the early aughts titled "A Billion Wicked Thoughts" about on-line porn as early on in the book there's an analysis which establishes that the problem is much, much deeper than what Mr. Kristoff portrays and, hence, renders his proposed proscriptions if not pointless than at least not much more than a band-aid.
2
Rapists never stop raping. Stop using the euphemism "sex offender." Once convicted, stop releasing these predators back into society. Either lock them up for life requiring them to work at least 40 hours/week in prison, or execute them. The Violence Against Women Act is a misnomer, for rapists also attack males. And if anyone ever rapes me or a member of my family, I will do what we do with rabid animals, bye-bye.
1
"Thousands More Jeffrey Epsteins Are Still Out There"
yes, and many of them are catholic priests.
4
And one of Epstein's playmates went to church today with his mother, the Queen of the UK.
1
Thanks to Mr. Kristof's piece I was motivated to email my two senators, Rubio and Scott, about this problem.
Surely, they're against violence and for the increased protection of women. And obviously this is neither a Democratic or Republican issue; it's an American issue.
Mr. Kristof, thank you for this needed reminder. I think national awareness is important, but feel that local enforcement is the only solution. Though faces like Jeffery Epstein, Robert Kraft and Antonio Brown, get the headlines, these people will usually escape prosecution and distract from real solutions.
I feel that the Mayors of our major cities need to direct their police departments to arrest the pimps and the men that pay for this. Many will want to differentiate between over age of consent and under age, but this will become a distraction, as does making it appear to be a partisan issue.
Its not enough to just publish names and hope the chance for an embarrassing moment will curtail demand significantly. We need to help these at risk young women, incarcerate pimps and johns. We may need to provide a legal venue for prostitution to mitigate the illegal sex trade for consenting adults. I hope not.
Children should never be prosecuted for prostitution. This only adds abuse to abuse. Neither, for that matter, should adults. People are either forced into prostitution or go into it out of desperation: it is never a path anyone wants or enjoys. It is pure torture for the prostitutes, every second, even and especially if they “enjoy” it. I know this from my own work with them.
There has always been prostitution and there always will be. In every country in every society. The problem is the addiction that drives the business. It will never work simply to say “legalize it” because the addiction will always be driving men to forms of acting out that are abusive. Primarily with children. There will always be men who are psychologically disturbed, who will pay to have sex with children.
These men are the problem, and the pimps who profit from them. Sometimes, shockingly, the pimps are the children’s parents.
These men and the pimps must be the focus of the legal efforts to confront prostitution. There is no one answer. In some cases the consequences must be severe enough to be prohibitive. In others, treatment and recovery from sexual addiction which is rooted in the men’s own experiences as abused children will be indicated.
At least stop persecuting children. They are victims of unimaginable abuse, and they must be given love, care, and a safe place to live and recover.
9
I thought this was going to be a story about Stanford White, Harry Thaw and Evelyn Nesbit. White was Epstein's twin. His perversion involved a velvet swing and young girls. Like Epstein, he was a society favorite. Likewise Thaw, who was crazy and obsessive. Both had money.
Eyes Wide Shut said it all about our decadent elites.
1
Stop calling them “underage girls”.
1
Thousands still out there? Let's bring back witch hunts, Scarlet A's, and book bannings. This is the glorious new Left, the Moral Majority of the 21st century, and a moral utopia is just waiting for us to impose. The Right failed, surely the Left should try. Let's get them! And the millions of white racists.
1
@mainliner -- @mainliner, You seem to have confused your mixed-up political views with a cultural issue and also seem to assume that your ridicule is a rational response. This is not a "Left" or "Right" issue -- and not a matter of whose political "side" wins.
2
Good grief. This article broadly states that it is a bipartisan talking point to be anti sex trafficking, but you still take it as a partisan attack. The article’s main point is that not enough is being done, still. Why wouldn’t the group that is in power be asked to do something? In your cowardly way to “support your team”, you seek to deny the problem and belittle the concept that people (children, in this case) need help. I find your partisanship, particularly when using it to be detrimental towards society, disgusting.
4
The problem of young girls and boys being trafficked in cities like New York is almost ancient. One can read it is novels such as, The Alienist, which doesn't bode well for the victims as it dooms the children to a life of oppression and ill-treatment and death. I believe that the book was based on fact. It is written of the time of the turn of the 20th century and it is not the first account.
This article draws the reader's attention to the privilege of the rich and of general everyday corruption, but also to blind eye of the law, because these scoundrels, pimps and procurers are still out on the street. It is time to prosecute them as well to the fullest.
In addition to this, it is time for big-time counseling for the kids. These children feel worthless, they feel as if they deserve this treatment from their abusers and this is the cycle that needs to be broken so that they could lead a normal life.
Also, the general public needs to understand that these children as just this, children, not whores, not prostitutes, just children that were exploited and just did not know how to get out of the situation.
1
There is a good organization fighting this in the Philippines.
https://www.preda.org/about/about-preda/
Paedophilia is abhorent. But the only way to root out Jeffrey Epsteins, paedopile teachers and priests may be to round up all the suspects and tattoo them. "God will recognize the innocent", those whose skin refuses the tattoo.
2
@Tuvw Xyz
Excellent idea. I’m in.
1
In a country of 330,000,000, no surprise.
So why is the Times so obsessed, week after week, with Epstein? One day I counted five articles on the electronic front page about him.
Hardly a mention of that ring in England exploiting girls of 13. The perps were Pakistani immigrants, apparently a mitigating factor in the eyes of the Times.
2
NYT - what ever happened to the owner of the “spa” that Robert Kraft patronized?
4
The articles in this paper are heart breaking, sex traffic, meth addiction in Iraq, Trump re-election.......has the world gone mad.
That the ATC personnel in the St Thomas control tower had a running pool on how many teenage girls would exit Epstein’s airplane whenever it landed there and the fact that the wife of the ex governor, Cecil DeJong worked for Epstein in the USVI (his business took advantage of the EDC program there) while teenage girls where all over his compound is troubling to say the least. Epstein made no effort to hide his perversions and everyone looked away. His Island was known as “pedophile Island” locally.
15
Another statistic to make your blood boil and your stomach turn...child pornography is a multibillion dollar industry in this country. That means there are a whole lot of people, probably more than thousands, out there with this type of perversion. And many who are making money off of it. I still wonder if part of Epstein's fortune was made in the child porn industry, we may never know.
Jeffrey Epstein story is indeed the tip of the iceberg. Thank you to Mr. Kristoff for helping to raise more awareness and shining a light into this hidden horror of child sex industry.
2
Thank you, Mr. Kristof. This should be an issue in need of attention and reform that we can all agree on.
Is it too soon to tie the solutions we need to the election of Senator Warren as president? I believe that her education, experience, and past performance make Mrs. Warren a clear choice for president.
4
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 86 percent of child sex trafficking victims were under the care of social services when they went missing. Only about half of missing foster care children are reported missing. One in three sex trafficking victims are recruited within 48 hours of leaving home.
I know those are depressing statistics but we can clearly see a trajectory that enables sex trafficking. By all means, go after the pimps and the johns. Make the punitive costs crushing. I'd love to see Bob Kraft get his scarlet letter. However, there is clearly a profile for vulnerable young women. We're clearly failing to identify and protect these vulnerable children in time.
If we know the conditions which create victims, why can't we prevent them?
19
In ancient times, during the Roman Empire, nobody cared. Women and girls were protected by their father and brothers, but everyone else was fair game.
Then Christianity came along, and sexual exploitation and slavery were explicitly denounced as sinful. Everyone has a soul, and everyone is responsible for everyone else. Naturally, there were many lapses, but the theory was there and universally accepted. Bad men felt intimated.
No we are throwing out not only explicit Christianity, but religious thinking in general that shaped the culture. People are still talking about "ethics", but they are pretty much doing whatever they want, provided only they don't get arrested and taken to jail. They have gone back to protecting and promoting their family and their group, but don't care about anyone else.
If you look at countries that never had a Christian culture, it is much the same. The poor and exploited people in Asia and Africa are oppressed, not helped. There is simply no reason to be care about the problems of others, and so nobody does.
1
A horrible situation. Many with kind hearts propose interventions that are well meaning, but are they effective? Can money solve the issues raised better than promoting a culture in which parents stay together, care for their children, protect them from harm and instill good values. Government intervention is markedly unsuccessful. Where is the cry from our media, who glorify sex and violence in the name of profit, or from progressives who demand a woman's right to have sex without demanding an equal measure of responsibility?
2
Thanks for this. Back in the early eighties my state and local region started work and training in this area. Our local metro hospital had a volunteer sex abuse team with a variety of professionals. The powers that be somehow decided despite the increasing numbers seen at the hospital to turn it into a singular clinic and not use the team approach which was similar to Child Abuse Team at theThe National Children’s Hospital in D. C. I am not sure what happened to the clinic but our region and state lost thousands of rape kits that were never used in the legal sydtem.
Something went terribly wrong. The Center for Misding and Exploited Children had just been created and I as a professional had great hopes of using them as a resource for the team. Glad to know they are still around.
This is such a pressing issue and also one needs to look at it in intergenerational terms.
15
Thanks Mr. Kristof for a needed alert and reminder that there are many, many Epsteins out there. We have known for some time that these men (it is more of a male problem) are most often in our own neighborhoods and families leading what appears to be normal lives. A proven weapon in fighting this assault is to educate, inform, and train children through comprehensive nationwide courses in Human Sexuality Education. A strong scientfic, medically accurate, and psychologically sound curriculum that is age appropriate is needed. This awareness and alert training should start early in elementary school and continue annually through high school. The results would be kids who are more in charge of their feelings and bodies, have the correct knowledge and strategies to counter threats and persuasion, and realize the lifetime costs of sexual aggression by and to others, STD'S, and pregnancy. Armed with a rational and widely held knowledge of the correct role of human sexuality, we should see fewer lives ruined by exploitation.
8
ALL adolescents need personal mentoring, support, and structure. We gave all that up as a society in exchange for the Modern Times. Bad deal. We can never concoct a "Rite Of Passage" app, video, or software package that can replace human care for the young. Or the old, for that matter. In so many ways, we are "progressing" towards failure as human beings and as a society, and somehow think we can legislate, pontificate, finance, or invent our way into a workable future At some point, the line between sophistication and delusion becomes porous.
5
Epstein may be the tip of the iceberg.
But let's insure that all his accomplices are fully prosecuted and the names of all those involved are revealed.
Epstein's crimes were staggering but not as much as the courts' willingness to pass such a light sentance and for his accomplices not to be prosecuted at all.
As of now, I sense a desire to move on. The courts have boatloads of information; supposedly including the names of a thousand or so persons who were associated with Epstein. Why hasn't this information been released?
As of now, Epstein-gate seems to prove that the system favors the accused and not the victims.
34
The only reason this continues is because there is demand. Too many commenters wrote about how to intervene in the supply side, but that will never fix the problem. Adults who pay children for sex are committing a crime, and we as a society must find the will to do something about it.
46
A lot of people knew about Epstein - even Trump stated that Epstein liked them young. But no one did a thing. And, our Child Protective Services isn't protecting...there is a huge disconnect between what social/case workers do in the field - and what the administrative/judicial/academia/enforcement side doesn't do. I hope no one has to ever file a CPS complaint; the complainant is treated like someone just adding to the work pile, causing trouble. We have the laws to value and protect our children; we need the character and courage to enforce them.
25
@Patricia
I agree with your comment but as a retired Civil Servant I can attest that most agencies are under staffed. So when someone reports something it's just adding to a overloaded work load. The observation you made is possibly a how am I supposed to deal with this in addition to what I already have and not enough time or resources.
I clearly remember working 10 - 12 hours a day without overtime and it's exhausting and your home life suffers.
I also remember how Civil Servants were portrayed as lazy and greedy. There are unfortunately always some folk who abuse their jobs but the majority of folk are hard working and dedicated.
1
How about prosecuting delinquent parents?
That is where it all starts.
And allocate more funds to early childhood intervention.
8
How about starting by prosecuting and outing the johns & pimps and believing young girls & boys when they are brave enough to seek help.
6
@MassMom
Nope.
Does not work.
Outing johns merely drives the trade further underground, making it more dangerous for sex workers.
Prostitution has been around for thousands of years. There is no indication this situation will change. Prostitution is legal in many nations, but not in the US, except for certain rural counties in Nevada.
The point is that prostitution is common throughout the US, even though it is illegal.
Sexually abused young women and drug-addicted runaways are most likely to be inducted into the sex trade.
Did you not read the story of Faye Simpkins, who was inducted into sexual practices at age six by an alcoholic, drug-addicted father. This man (parent) is not a victim. He should be prosecuted.
Most social dysfunctions start in the home or because of the influence of shady friends and acquaintances.
1
This is, first of all, a poverty problem and begins long before most of its victims become part of the underground sex industry.
Programs and law enforcement strategies that help reduce sexual victimization should be pursued, but it is irresponsible and ineffective to wait that long.
Our society needs to invest a great deal more to insure that children born into poverty don't fall behind academically as a consequence of the poverty of their parents- even if the behaviors of the parents are partially to blame.
Remedial intervention can only be truly effective if started when children are very young. There is a delicate balance between excessive government intervention in protecting at-risk children and excessive government intrusion into the private lives of families.
However, we are not investing nearly adequate resources in providing pre-school for parents that can't afford it. Once children enter a public school system they can be monitored and the sooner cognitive development problems are discovered the better the opportunity to overcome them with remedial education efforts.
The same thing goes for identifying cases of sexual child-abuse, which is often related to the other issue in any case.
Once a young teenager becomes a run-away, the problem has likely already been at least a decade in the making and essential years of potential development have been lost- the window to full potential permanently closed.
25
I sometimes wonder if we could reduce the problem of human trafficking and exploitation if adult prostitution were entirely legal and tightly regulated, as in the Netherlands? This fight feels like the war on drugs, where the more vigorous the effort to prosecute crimes and impose harsh punishments, the more the activity is pushed even deeper into the violent underworld.
Any thoughts?
9
@LV the legalization has lead to more exploitation, not less, because those countries who have legalized it cannot keep up with the demand.
https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/lids/2014/06/12/does-legalized-prostitution-increase-human-trafficking/
-----Countries with legalized prostitution are associated with higher human trafficking inflows than countries where prostitution is prohibited. The scale effect of legalizing prostitution, i.e. expansion of the market, outweighs the substitution effect, where legal sex workers are favored over illegal workers. On average, countries with legalized prostitution report a greater incidence of human trafficking inflows."
https://www.dw.com/en/inside-the-battery-cage-prostitution-in-germany/a-44350106
4
@LV Mr. Kristof is addressing child abuse, another issues altogether,
1
I think we need to rethink our laws on prostitution in this country. To know that children are being sexually exploited and charged with a crime is outrageous. In Canada (among others) prostitution has been redefined. People who charge for sexual acts are not the criminals; people who pay for it are.
46
Well, on a simpler level, we consistently see families coming into restaurants, for example, and instead of having conversations, they make do with their phones.......no human interaction, face to face, even when the food comes, the phones overtake the table - all ages.
Now, imagine other ways of being ignored as a child, as a teenager, by parental alcoholism, drugs, parents who are physically or mentally absent for whatever reason, or abusive. Feelings of emptiness, being abandoned by those who are supposed to provide love, stability, confidence take over.
Are the feelings of being alone at the restaurant table a small incident of being ignored? Multiply that.
Where do kids go for the attention they need - and deserve? Even if it’s so false it’s sick and leads to danger of all kind, do they search? A young mind seeks and yearns but may not have any idea the psychological or physical ramifications of making bad and desperate choices.
Real love may be harder to find today if you’re young......
14
My granddaughter has an exceptional third grade teacher. She asked the children to fill out a simple questionnaire that included a question about sadness. My granddaughter wrote that she feels sad every day. When my daughter expressed concern the teacher explained that many children in the class wrote something similar. I wish she had included a question about loneliness. This teacher is truly exceptional since she pays attention to the emotional lives of her students even though she has 20 + students she teaches every day. Children who eventually end up selling sex most likely are starving for love from the depravation they experience starting in early childhood. Our schools do an amazing job but the split between cognitive development and emotional development is misguided at best. Common practice reflects an assumption that cognitive development belongs in the schools and emotional development is relegated to therapy. Both therapy and teaching address human development but they are split to the detriment of children and the adults they become. My granddaughter’s teacher is exceptional but in a system where emotional development is not central, there is little she can do. Children who lack a strong foundation in emotional development are at risk of looking for love in the wrong places. As a society we need to do much much better.
23
Mr. Kristof: Excellent, important article. Thank you. I am a Pediatrician in Baltimore. My parent organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, has asked pediatricians, when doing teen check ups, to add 3 new questions to the usual questions we ask about sexuality. The 3 new questions are: 1. Have you ever traded sex for food, clothing, shelter, money or anything else of value? 2. Have you ever had sexual pictures of yourself circulated on the internet? 3. Have you ever been asked by someone to have sex with another person? This is just a first step, but the AAP was concerned that physicians are missing an opportunity to find out about sex trafficking. I am sorry to report that I receive "Yes" answers frequently. Responding to sex trafficking is of course complicated, but I do feel we are making a first step: If you don't know that a problem even exists, you can't solve it.
82
@Piping Up - I very much hope that the pediatricians are also asking, "Is there anyone forcing you to let them touch/use the personal parts of your body or theirs?" Also, I wonder if the doctors are asking these questions in front of the parent, who might be the very person who is abusing the child... or married/related to the person who is abusing the child. And of course the child would be afraid to answer. Abusers are skilled in knowing how to keep children silent.
I am a survivor of extended sexual and physical abuse by a step-parent who threatened to murder me and my mother if I ever 'told', and then by an adult relative (who also was chosen to be his State's "Teacher of the Year"). I was 10-11 years old at the time. I didn't end up being promiscuous or involved in prostitution, but as an adult I've had to have counseling for anxiety and depression. I hope doctors and others today know ways to reach out to the children they treat and make them feel safe to talk about what they're experiencing.
54
@JT Sorry you had to go through that JT. Child abuse is quite common here in Canada too. Sadly, the 'authorities' expend far too much effort destroying those of us who speak out, in an attempt to better childrens' lives, instead of providing any effective solutions. I have even been severely disciplined by my governing law society for "requesting prosecution of (childhood) sexual assault" and for "being on a mission to help children." Your suggestions are great tho! Wishing you the best on your journey to recovery.
15
@Jane-- I suggest you go to a qualified professional unconnected to your "governing law society," whoever that refers to, and discuss the specifics of what happened to you. Perhaps Mr. Kristol or someone he mentions in his column could point you in the right direction. Remedies will vary, depending on whether that society is a government agency, a religious group, etc.
3
The point of all of this is that Trump and other politicians can’t be counted on to do the right thing.
What’s new under the sun!
For a modern democracy to work, millions of citizens must be vigilant and spend their personal time monitoring the government and making sure necessary laws are in place to protect young people.
As an American expat, I chose a country that is far from perfect but does have a record of providing most health services to all those in need for a very low price through national health care.
France and other Western European countries lead the world in caring for their citizens in need.
28
@Michael Kittle. I guess you have never been to Amsterdam.
2
Is there anything that can be done about the predators who travel and operate in poverty stricken countries like Laos and Cambodia?
20
@Tell It Like It Is that is an issue the UN ought to address.
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index.html
@Tell It Like It Is Atlanta is one of the sex tourisms hot spots. No need to go to Thailand or elsewhere when all you need to do is get out of the airport and hook up, if not already arranged via the internet.
The same is true for every Super Bowl or other male driven gathering.
Decades ago I was in a graduate level sex education class when many of the males had no idea that they can get STD's from a blow job, nor that it is prostitution. These were guys on the medicine track.
3
The wisdom in healing should become integral to a broad-based politics of prevention. Prevention should become a priority in all aspects of society—especially access to health care.
Programs that heal what is preventable imply broad-based failures of prevention by parenting, neighborhoods, schools, and community organizations.
The elements of programs that heal should be expansively applied to broaden good parenting (especially including access to planned parenthood services for persons who know they're not ready for parenting); en-owning of neighborhoods by their residents (and vastly greater municipal funding of community organizations), funding for counselors in schools, training of teachers to recognize mental health issues and collaborate with counselors, home/school partnership for supporting student development. And more.
1
And how many Americans look on in horror at the child marriages in India or Africa while ignoring the fact that despite some recent legislative progress, child marriage (under the age of 18) at 14 and potentially lower with parental or judicial consent is still legal in 48 states? In 2017, Human Rights Watch pointed out that Afghanistan had tougher child marriage laws in place than some parts of the US. We are an example for no one.
89
This article covers a staggering amount of ground, especially when Kristof talks about all forms of human slavery across the entire globe. I can only speak about the Epstein Syndrome (if you will), and the pervasive abuse of young lives. I just think that adult sex, if it's not satisfying or frequent enough, may be one factor that makes men look for gullible inexperienced young teens, Is adult activity becoming too complicated, or fidelity in some marriages has (both) partners finding that the relationship is lacking. But this criminal behavior puts another human being through a life of coping with the memories and dreams, and may even (at times) require prolonged therapy lasting for many months, or longer. Any young woman should consider (if they can) taking up self defense classes, and people who have been attacked or physically intimidated, even excessive horseplay, should find out how to defend themselves starting out with what works and what's easy to practice doing. It won't be flying from building to building (at least not at first), but it can really make you feel better, at least for awhile.
1
the problem is with SOCIETY based on winner-take-all capitalism. Reduce the laws that make criminals out of people doing basic human things. Direct more funds to meeting people's needs. Shelter/Housing. Healthcare. Food. Create places where people can come to engage in alcohol-drugs-sex; under controlled circumstances. REDUCE the 'crimes' for which people are incarcerated - to ONLY those which threaten the life and property of others. Even then the underlying reasons must be understood. When someone is determined to be a CRIMINAL punishment must be firm and fast. Socialism.
3
You are suggesting they went easy on Epstein, because that was the way the system worked. Another take would be some very wealthy/prominent people were involved in his trafficking, and to keep that quiet, his lawyers used that as leverage to get him off with just a slap on the wrist, and at the same time, broke the law on behalf of the victims. Barr has said he's going to investigate how he was "allowed" to commit suicide and that's it. It sounds more like a cover up for not investigating the identity of accomplices and fellow travelers that Epstein had --enablers-- which might include Trump. We need to see all the evidence against Epstein and get an attorney general who believes in Justice.
99
@loveman0
It's a lot like all these highly respected republicans with great reputations somehow not finding the proof of criminal or illegal activity around the president in spite of him actually confessing publicly and bragging about how he is allowed to do it anyway.
2
Thanks, NYT and Nick Kristof for another good piece about the prevalence of this terrible scourge on poor women, many women of colour and yes, young women runaways from all social classes in families where they receive no support. Of course, young boys also suffer in this global marketplace. This piece points out what a serious crime against young women and girls this is on those who experience a tougher time growing up overall in environments where there is little support. I am an advocate as a medical social worker and have worked in women's rights in California and Oregon for many years. This issue is very important but rarely covered well. Thanks to Nick Kristof and his wife, this issue keeps popping up and bring noticed in the media.
The recent Epstein saga has a long history in the past 10-15 years, already in the courts. THe attention then received was ignored. We who care about young women and girls finding their strengths and getting empowered --- hope that the focus on advocating for them and highlighting the benefits pimps and johns receive gets proper media attention.. Nick and his wife have written an important book Women Hold Up Half the Sky, a very good read. A piece of strong advocacy.
28
There is one area of Me Too that has been entirely left out: incestuous abuse, molestation and rape. This is the main part of my Me Too. This is the first time I have said anything about it publicly, and it is still so traumatic (I am 72 now) that I can't even write it down for myself.
In my practice as a clinical psychologist, I have seen quite a few victims of sexual exploitation in families, including women who were regularly raped by adults as young as three or six. Most of the rape occurred in children under 12. Some women came out to their families, and they were always met by denial, hostility and rejection, which usually resulted in cutting off all relations. I am afraid that I would lose all my remaining family if I talk. I actually keep in contact with only one sister, but I know she wouldn't believe me.
I do hope we will be hearing from these Me Too victims. The theme is in many movies (e,g. One Thousand Acres), but is not discussed. My male colleagues tell me they have never had a case of incest or inappropriate family sexuality.
123
DV Leap is working on this, in cases where the mother seeks custody. There is starting to be some limited media coverage. The Center for Judicial Excellence in California is also doing this work. You're right, though, visibility is hard to achieve.
15
@dr. c.c.
I heard of a case (I knew the family) that the step-father was abusing the young step-daughter. His brother found them and beat the stuffing out of him. The police arrested him, and I believe the mother was also charged. That needs to happen more often. I don't know if the girl got any counseling, but I hope she did.
5
It's such a big negative that one does not know even how to start a few comments. Let me just say this.....look around and do your little thing each day to stop situations and/or potential situations that don't seem right. Fear not to speak for we might make a mistake about some situation but nothing wrong with being cautious . We need to practice trying to speak out about it with as little offense but simply for defense through learning.
1
This is not a new thing. It's been going on for hundreds of years, as long as there have been rich, powerful men. It will continue for hundreds of more years as long as there are rich, powerful men.
Because there is no direct link to Trump, the Liberal media have forgotten the Epstein story. The Conservative media has done the same because of no direct link to Bill Clinton.
Despite all the promises made by the DA, there seems to be little to no news on the "investigation".
It is up to the media to investigate this.
42
@Fred. — you think poor, powerless men can be relied on to be blameless? At least you restrained yourself so far as not to add “white” before “rich and powerful”.
1
@Larry D You make a good point. But, I would suspect that in North America there is more abuse done by rich and powerful than by poor and powerless.
I would also suspect that the majority of these "rich and powerful" Are White men.
The article (at least to my reading) is referring to Epstein "types" and not your garden-variety offender, of which there are many.
My comment is directed at the Epsteins of the world.
I stand by my comment and thank you for your reply.
2
Thousands of years, Fred -- thousands. The Bible says that when Abraham was very old and drawing near to death, he took a young "concubine" to his bed to see if that might revive him (Eeeew!). Strangely enough, I have never heard this passage preached on in church, or even commented on. For thousands of years we have not considered this behavior worthy of comment.
3
Nick -- you have been on the forefront of so many critical issues that result in humanitarian crises, from the ravages of war in the Middle East and east Africa, to gun violence, and especially to the abuse of women at home and abroad. This is yet another excellent piece. We like to believe that we have moved far past the point where women were property, but those vestiges of a more savage era are still with us, in well secluded corners, but often in our streets at night.
44
Don’t Senators know that women vote in greater numbers than men and that in 2020, the 100th year anniversary of their suffrage anniversary they may turn out in huge numbers.They are tired of fighting for reproductive rights, earning unfair wages and lacking affordable child care.If the Senate does not vote to authorize the Violence Against Women Act they should not count on any votes from women!
76
@JANET MICHAEL
Janet, from your lips to the ear of every voting age female US citizen - register and re-register as necessary, then VOTE as though your very life depends upon it! Because it does.
4
Here's a new slogan that many people won't like, and that's too bad: "Fix the parent, save the child."
25
@Fred
Sadly, Saoirse Kennedy died from an overdose last month.
Courtney Kennedy and Paul Michael Hill were the parents. What needed fixing?
This issue needs TONS more outrage and action. And anyone who thinks this administration will do anything but make the situation worse, is just helping to make the situation worse.
51
Most people do not know that law enforcement is going easy on the pimps and johns abusing under-aged girls and boys. The Jeffrey Epstein case—where seeming indifference to child rape was the attitude of prosecutors in Florida and New York—was shocking to most of us.
Thank you Mr. Kristof for your tireless efforts over decades to shine a light on this grotesque problem. You have been begging people to pay attention, and you have been right. Absolutely and completely right.
146
@Ann Not always true that law enforcement goes easy: Here in the Chicago area Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart started "NJSI [National Johns Suppression Initiative] in 2011 to draw national attention to the role sex buyers play in fueling sex trafficking. Since then, the sheriff's police and more than 140 participating agencies have arrested more than 9,500 johns, his office said." https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190731/cook-county-sheriffs-office-arrests-45-as-part-of-national-sex-trafficking-sting
You can find his efforts often concentrated on big events such as the Super Bowl, college football championship, other sports mega events. He believes a deterrent is publishing names & pictures of the johns in their local communities. He does great work and thoroughly supports anti-sex trafficking efforts.
4
Those thousands include men (and women) across a very wide swath of society. For example, the exploitation of underaged girls has been a part of the music business for ages. Bands like Led Zeppelin were notorious for this kind of behavior. Everyone thought they were cool. Didn’t stop them from receiving Kennedy center honors. They were certainly not the only ones. If we truly want to end sexual exploitation, we need to bring it to light regardless of where it exists.
92
When I saw the headline of Nicholas Kristof's Opinion, 'Thousands More Jeffrey Epsteins Are Still Out There', I thought 'thousands'! Of course, we all know there are more Epsteins out there, but thousands? I wondered if Kristof was referring to the number worldwide, but, no, he was pointing to the number of exploiters, pimps, abusers, rapists and trafficers of youngsters in the USA. Thank you Mr. Kristof for providing the names of organizations that are helping the victims; noting that the Global Slavery Index reports that '40 million people are effectively locked into modern forms of slavery' as well as reporting the reduction of resources, initiation, support and implementation of enforcement in this area by the Trump administration. The abuse of dogs gets more attention in our country than the ravaging of children. That is an indication of why the monsters are able to carry on. Kristof gives us a sense of the scale of this brutality to children, adolescents and young adults, while suggesting some of the ways we can help.
61
I hope people in law enforcement are checking periodically to see whether any of Jeffrey Epstein's underperforming jailers suddenly have a large mysterious infusion of cash into their bank account. Or their kids' college bills are all paid off.
Or maybe everyone in authority has decided they don't want to know.
126
It makes you wonder if the universal basic income would help in these cases?
36
@NotKidding Not if the parents are alcoholics or drug addicts. It won't help the kids at all.
2
Excellent opinion piece Mr. Kristof! Recently the MIT beneficiaries of Epstein’s philanthropy, one of whom resigned, played down the connection between MIT and Epstein, even going so far as to blame the victims themselves. Richard Stallman’s defense of Marvin Minsky, even though Stallman has tried to walk it back, is another classic example of powerful men sticking together to defend each other. I’ll bet they both took money from Epstein, either in the form of academic or research support, and both reaped other rewards as well. Justice for the poor and powerless is administered in a wholly different way than it is for the rich, powerful, and well connected. And their morality is above reproach as well, hmmm? Minsky is dead, but Stallman should be severely investigated and punished.
98
Mr. Kristof:
E)We could start by demanding the Senate pass the Violence Against Women Act (which may require taking back the Senate).
At the very least, a vote ought to occur before the election so that we know what side each senator is on.
F)Emphasizing the need for adequate, obtainable, cheap birth control, which will save lives by preventing pregnancies, save lives by having fewer unwanted children who continue the cycle of poverty-escape-prostitution-early death, and decrease the number of abortions.
423
@Mike S. Absolutely! For those who don't know, the Violence Against Women Act was originally passed in 1994 but has to be re-approved every five years. It has had significant effects in reducing domestic violence in particular, yet--incredibly--it is stuck in the Senate and has expired. It's a no-brainer to pass it.
Likewise, as I've written, the Trump administration has changed regulations on Title X--the leading family planning program in the U.S.--in ways that are leading to the closure of women's health clinics around the country. I wrote about visiting one clinic in West Virginia that couldn't give STD tests because of the new Title X regulations.
362
@Nicholas Kristof I just don't understand this president or the president of the Senate, taking much needed money from good programs like the Violence Against Women Act, or closing women's health clinics, or housing for abused women. Why? Is it just because they feel powerful by denying unfortunate people any kind of help?
I do not understand their rational, nor do I understand the people/voters who support these mean spirited politicians.
144
@Mike S. Yes, exactly, the Senate should vote on renewal of this Act this year. It seems likely most voters are not aware of this legislation, what it would do for them and their daughters, or the need for periodic renewal.
25
I worked with girls and boys (they too are exploited) to deter them from the juvenile justice system and with young and older women in addiction treatment. I recall an 18 year old at a homeless shelter who truly believed her only option in life was to be a prostitute like her alcoholic mother. Others came from incompetent or addicted parents, were addicted themselves and/or had untreated mental illness and, in one case, a physical illness that manifested psychological symptoms. Most of these children did better when placed in group homes but when they returned home, if the parents had not changed, the situation soon backslid. The mean age of these children was 14.
Sex trafficking and other exploitation of children won't be stopped until we as a nation start putting significant resources into helping families, starting when children are young. Education, for children and for their parents, and the opportunity to provide an enriched environment make a huge difference. For example, one family with three teenage girls, two of whom were on probation in another state, struggled with outrageous violent behavior in the home, doors being knocked off hinges and the like, kids using drugs and more. The mother attended a parenting class. I met with the family to set agreed-upon behavioral standards. They all signed off on them. The situation improved quickly as the mother enforced the agreement.
241
@Barbara Thanks for your work with these kids! It's very easy for people to be judgmental when they see a girl on the Web or on the street selling sex. They don't know her back story, and they don't know that her pimp will beat her up if she comes back empty handed. They need helping hands, not pointed fingers.
224
@Nicholas Kristof...
See my response to Ms. Breen, sir.
And while your kudos are well directed, the legislation does nothing to address the problem.
3
@Barbara
A thousand likes! Well-said and Thank you!
5
The State of Maine just enacted new legislation prohibiting anyone under 18 from being prosecuted for prostitution. As a state senator, I was pleased to vote for it. It's not a cure-all by any means, but I hope it will take away one institutional hurdle for young people who are trapped in the sex trade. Fear of prosecution should not accompany attempts to escape.
472
@Cathy Breen Thanks for your work on that legislation! I completely agree, and it's heartening to see more states moving in that direction. When teenagers are at risk of being arrested, they distrust the police and have no where to turn when a pimp beats them up or a client rapes them. It's a knotty problem with no easy solution, but locking kids up is not the way out.
179
@Nicholas Kristof
See my response to Ms. Breen, sir.
And while your kudos are well directed, the legislation does nothing to address the problem.
(Apologies for the repeat...posted against the wrong comment.)
6
@Cathy Breen Kudos to you, Sen. Breen, and please keep working on this issue.
4
Thank you (again) for bringing attention to a dire subject.
Also again, (and with any social ill) there needs to be an ''all of the above'' solution, but mainly it is again, about money.
That means money into the social system where there are not enormous caseloads for social workers and the like.
That means money for programs to get people off of the street. That means money for more prosecutors, judges and everyone on down the line that can put teeth into the justice system. (at all levels)
That means more money to scrutinize people coming into the country with one designation, when we all know that will not be what they end up doing.
The first thing to go when the federal budget gets squeezed are the line items for such things at the state level, That gets downloaded to the municipal level and so on. The costs coming back though to society far outweigh what would have been required. (like all things)
Maybe we could stop a war or two? Just a thought.
127
Money is needed at all levels of government to help the victims of the sex slave trade, VICTIMS OF ALL AGES, ALL SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS AND OF BOTH GENDERS. The pimps and the johns, NO MATTER THEIR LEVEL OF WEALTH, should be put in prison (without the possibility of parole) for 30 years on the first offense alone. But the money needed to fight he sex slave trade won't come (because just like our veterans, public schools, teachers, infrastructure and so forth) because the politicians at all levels of government (especially conservative politicians) give tax cuts to the mega rich and mega corporations so they can collect bigger bribes (legalized by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court not to many years ago) from special interest that don't represent the needs of the bottom 99%, especially the bottom 90% of Americans. There are too many Americans who are greedy/naive/corrupt/self centered/ignorant to stop the tax cuts for the mega rich and mega corporations and put the tax money gathered to good use such as helping the victims of sex trafficking.
1