413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Another female interviewee, serving time for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, explained, “I have been
robbed and raped and punched in the face. I was raped by a client. I was robbed three times” (F1).
Beyond physical violence, other personal safety fears were reported by both male and female pimps. For
male pimps who engaged in sexual relationships with their employees, the fear of contracting sexually
transmitted diseases was also present. One pimp reported, “I was worried about AIDS” (D3). Fears
surrounding poverty and hunger, while not commonly shared, were also described. One respondent stated
simply, “My only concern was not starving” (E5). When asked what component of his work caused
personal concern, another interviewee responded, “I like that question. I was always worried about
something because I am a deep thinker. When I would sit back and think, the worst I would think about
was hunger” (D13).
Fears Around Employee Safety
Employee safety was also a concern expressed by respondents. Pimps feared their employees could be
raped, contract sexually transmitted diseases, or even be killed while working. One respondent explained,
“I was more worried about them being harmed. We had a bond, this was my family. My biggest fear was
that something would happen to them, which is why I made the ‘don’t drink and drive’ rule. I had them
tested, for them. They all had children, so the safety of our kids [was a concern], too” (H8).
Respondents had varying perspectives on employee use of weapons for self-defense. Twenty-two percent
of respondents reported that their employees carried weapons while on the job. One respondent avoided
carrying a weapon due to a prior charge, but did allow his employees to carry weapons: “They had their
little tasers, mace, and pocket knives” (E10). Another interviewee explained, “I got them these tasers, I
guess you call them stun guns. They looked like a cell phone. Turn it on, hit the talk button. Starts
clicking, gets 1 million watts. They were expensive, like $99. I bought them online” (G10).
Other respondents reported that the pimp served as the primary line of defense against customers who
became violent: “Some [girls] might have mace. No sense in having that if I’m right there with a pistol.
They already know that I’m going to shoot. If I have a problem, I’m going to pull the pistol out” (G12).
Similarly, another respondent reported that his employees carried weapons, but emphasized the role of
the pimp in ensuring the safety of employees by stating, “Girls carried mace when they worked the streets.
They had a code of conduct that was their safety, and pimps had a code of conduct that we go by to make
them feel safe” (E2).
In lieu of weapons, other pimps tried to arm their employees with information to help them recognize and
avoid dangerous situations. One pimp explained his security approach:
The only security I give [employees] is how to protect yourself. No gun, no knives, no
mace, only understanding and knowledge about how to protect yourself. Whenever you
go to trick’s house, if there’s no furniture in that house, get out that house. No furniture is
a no, that’s a rape house. I’ve learned that the hard way. If dude says, “Hey I just moved
in, I’m waiting on furniture,” get out of that house. When girls get raped, they get raped in
a vacant apartment. That was one of my things. Things that he say and do going to give
you a red flag. I ain’t have no gun, all I got is my mouth piece. (D5)
Other respondents tried to mitigate the risks of client violence by carefully choosing the locations in which
their employees worked. One respondent reported:
You are not going to put yourself in a place where you need security. I am not going to be
in the hood. Don’t need security if there are police out there. The girls had mace or pocket
knives … had me on speed dial if they were having a bad situation. (D3)
While pimps took some steps to ensure employee safety, safety could not be guaranteed. Some
respondents reported that employees were raped while working. Interviewees took varying levels of
remedial action. When asked if he took his employee to the hospital after being raped, one offender
reported, “I would ask them; it depends on how they reacted. Some of them would act like it is okay and
we would just keep going. Others, I would drop them off at a hospital. I would wait in the car or maybe go
in with them” (B4). Another respondent whose employee was raped while working took her to the
hospital, but did not go inside: “When I first started, a girl got raped a few times. I took her to the hospital
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