But what about the consumers?

   There are parts of my passion for those enslaved in the commercial sex industry that often confuses others (and, at times, even myself). I say that it is my dream to help set free those who are held captive; to help them escape their captors. And that is my dream.

   But what about the prostitutes? The question inevitably comes from those who are not educated about sex trafficking, and also from those who are. As the question swirls in my mind, I find that I do not have an answer.

   I understand if they're physically held with chains and locks but if they aren't, they could just walk away. This one forces me to bite my lip and hold back the bitter words I want to spew out.
  
   They have a choice. They could stop if they wanted. These statements anger me because I've never considered that those in slavery have a choice. Then I wonder how much truth they hold, and I have to listen to some music and forget the debate for a while to keep my head from exploding.

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   I think it's easy for those of us whom have never been in contact with the commercial sex industry to sit back and judge the women who provide the services, calling them horrible names and looking down upon them as if they're less than we are. It's understandable; when we think of the word "prostitution", we think of a scantily-clad woman standing in four-inch stilettos on a street corner as she lures men into buying the one thing she has to offer. We think of a half-naked woman dancing on a bar, hoping a man will approach her and ask to go into the back room. We think of a woman high on whatever her drug of choice; a "good for nothing" woman with no work ethic and no future.

   We think of the women.

   But one question no one seems to ask is, What about the consumers? What about the people who buy the prostitutes' services? Why don't we think about the men that use and abuse these women and shudder with disgust at the thought of them, rather than the other way around? These men treat these women with no respect, with no thought to how these acts must make her feel, and with no care at all to how this one sexual act with him will affect her for the rest of her life. And, yes, the individual men and experiences may begin to fade together and she will do what she must night after night, but those faces, those groping hands, those hardened hearts will continue to haunt her in her dreams.  

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   But what about the prostitutes? I still see a broken and hurting person who needs help to shake off the devil on her back, whatever that may be. I still see a soul who needs the love and grace of God. And I will help her regardless. 

   I understand if they're physically held with chains and locks but if they aren't, they could just walk away. Physical chains and locks aren't the only means of keeping someone in bondage; there is also the need for drugs to avoid excruciating detoxification, lack of anywhere else to go and/or anything else to do for money to support families, and paralyzing fear. In the words of a former prostitute: "The psychological games he played [with us] were just amazing." Not everything is so black and white.

  They have a choice. They could stop if they wanted. Imagine being a single mother with no education and five children who need you to provide for them, but it's impossible to work because two of those children are not yet in school and you cannot afford childcare. Even in imagining that, I know many of you will claim that you would still never sell yourself. Please don't speak out on something that you don't fully understand from experience. It's so easy for us to judge from on high those in a pit of despair. Be careful. 

   So, my question to you, to American society, to the world; What about the consumers who keep the commercial sex industry booming? Remember, no industry can survive without people willing to pay to purchase the product for sale.