The tech sector in Washington accounts for 22% of the state economy and ranks first…
Local Employers’ Reputations Threatened by Illegal Sex Buying
UPDATE: WTIA is hosting a morning conference in Seattle on May 10, 2016 to engage with the local tech sector to combat illegal sex trafficking in partnership with Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST).
Join us May 10 @ 8:30am – noon
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Very few people living in the Seattle area will have failed to hear about the law enforcement operations that took place in early January that resulted in the shutdown of The Review Board, a major sex buying website linked to cases of commercial sexual exploitation.
The Review Board encouraged buyers of commercial sex to comment directly about their experiences and ‘rate’ the women they met. It is estimated that the site had around 20,000 members.
Fourteen suspects were arrested, most of whom are accused of being prolific sex buyers who posted about their experiences online and encouraged others to follow suit. Many of these suspects are employed by businesses based in this area.
As these cases are being prosecuted, information on people buying sex, and those promoting sexual exploitation, is becoming publicly available. Employers are waking up to smell the proverbial coffee and are starting to realize that this issue is closer to home than they may have originally thought.
What is sex trafficking?
The term ‘sex trafficking’ has become all too familiar in recent years. But how does sex trafficking relate to prostitution and sex buying? Traffickers exploit vulnerable people to compel them into commercial sex through force, fraud or coercion. And they recruit children. The demand for commercial sex in our society far outweighs the consenting supply. And victims of trafficking fill the gap in that supply.
An estimated 300-500 children are prostituted in greater Seattle, some as young as eleven years old. Most of these youth are American. We’re not just talking about women who are brought into the U.S. from overseas. We’re talking about vulnerable young people from our local communities.
Why should the tech sector be concerned?
Technology has historically been linked with facilitating sex trafficking. Traffickers use websites, social media, apps, and networks to attract, groom and promote their victims.
However, those in the fight against trafficking have started using technology to disrupt trafficking. Tech companies work closely with law enforcement to identify and track traffickers and their behavior. Many businesses have initiatives to help prevent sexual exploitation and to support vulnerable people who may be recruited by sex traffickers. Tech companies are being lauded for using their core businesses to work extensively on online safety. They provide job training to vulnerable youth. They support local programs for trafficking victims through philanthropy and employee volunteer programs.
Now a new conversation is increasing the pressure on tech firms to engage further on this issue.
In King County, the highest percentages of men arrested for buying sex from underage girls were employed in technology, along with transportation, manufacturing, and construction–disproportionately compared to the number of employees in those sectors. Online sting ads show IP addresses linked to tech firms accessing the sex-buying sites.
Industry Sectors of Sex Buyers (with minor victims)
Of the 104 people charged with soliciting sex from children in King County, the majority work in local businesses, in a variety of industries. Many of those soliciting sex online are browsing these websites from their places of work, during the workday, and with one of the ‘peak times’ being 2 p.m.
The patterns that are emerging are putting the reputations of tech firms at risk. Data is showing who is online buying sex and when. And there’s a clear inconsistency between how the technology sector is engaging with these issues externally, such as online safety and trafficking prevention, and the behaviors of employees internally, whose actions contribute towards increased demand and, therefore, trafficking.
Is there any doubt that this sector, which implicitly condones objectifying women, has an issue attracting and retaining a gender-diverse workforce?
The law-enforcement activity around The Review Board has not only catapulted this issue into the ‘in boxes’ of tech firms, it has also given them a great opportunity to start looking how they can engage with issues of employee behavior before their reputation is put on the line.
Learn more about how this issue may be affecting your company and how to prevent it by contacting BEST, and by joining WTIA for its Sex Trafficking & the Tech Industry Symposium on May 10th.
Listen Now to an interview on KIRO radio.
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Thanks for bringing attention to this. A great organization making an impact on this issue is the Genesis Project in Seatac.
I see no indications that the reputations have already been damaged and only conjecture that they might be damaged. It seems like the biggest risk is one of guilt by association. Also. the writer appears to strech the point about tech. The author said that the highest percentages came from tech, but the included graph should IT in a 4 way placement for 2nd place.
I agree that something should be done about the problem of not enough women in tech. I’m also concerned that scare tactics often backfire. Blaming the tech industry for facilitating sex trafficking because they run services used by traffickers seems a bit much. It would be like blaming the State and Cities of Washington because public roads, buses, airports and seaports were used. It would be like blaming the newspapers and the Post Office. But these days, the only thing appears to count is tech (as nobody else appears to have any money).
We’re raising this issue with the tech sector to enable engagement that might prevent risk and reputation damage. The graph included is only one ‘snapshot’ that indicates the breakdown of buyers, and highlights tech along with transportation, manufacturing and construction. When compared to the numbers of people employed in each of these sectors (based on SIC / Dept of Labor), each of these sectors has a disproportionally high number of buyers.
We are absolutely not blaming the tech industry for facilitating trafficking. However, traffickers take advantage of technology to exploit vulnerable people. They also use ports, hotels, truck stops, online payment tools, and many other businesses.
To your point, King County and the City of Seattle are both working closely with BEST to identify how their employees can be better trained to identify people at risk of trafficking, and to prevent it. Likewise, truckers have been engaged in preventing trafficking, and many hotels around the country are training their staff to identify activities that put vulnerable people at risk. While they are not to blame, they recognize they have an opportunity to make a difference on this issue.
Tech firms have been proactive in trying to use their products and services to prevent exploitation. They have an additional opportunity to communicate with their employees about the harm caused by sex buying, to prevent future exploitation of the vulnerable people in our communities.
We are not singling out the tech sector – but yes, the post on the WTIA blog is specifically geared to the role the tech sector can play in helping to end this practice.