413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Main Findings from this Chapter Include:
Business structure: Findings support research suggesting that pimps manage pre-transaction preparation including finding
clients, establishing locations and times, and determining the price of the transaction (Levitt and Venkatesh 2007). However,
this study also indicates that the duties of a pimp vary drastically across facilitators; while some pimps take full control of
business management, others provide only limited oversight and leave much of the business operations in the hands of their
employees.
Employee recruitment: No previous study explores the process of employee recruitment from the perspective of pimps
or sex traffickers. This chapter contributes to extant research by detailing the locations where pimps recruit, the individuals
who are targeted, and the methods employed to recruit individuals into sex work.
Demographics of recruited individuals: Pimps recruited individuals of all ages, genders, and races. However,
multiple pimps noted that white women are more profitable in the sex market and easier to manage. Pimps also
reported that law enforcement has placed a heightened emphasis on arresting and prosecuting individuals who
pimp underage women. As a result, many offenders avoided minors, in part due to fears of arrest and
prosecution.
Location: Pimps recruited sex workers in different spaces. Findings from this study corroborate earlier studies
that suggest pimps and traffickers recruit women in a variety of locations—advertisements, businesses, online,
malls and shopping venues, social events, bus stations, and night clubs.
Methods of recruitment: Prior research has suggested that pimps appeal to individuals’ emotional
dependencies and economic needs through “finesse pimping.” This study supports this literature by finding that
different forms of coercion and fraud, sometimes independent or even free of physical violence, are used by pimps
to recruit and control employees. These forms of coercion and fraud included feigning romantic interest,
emphasizing mutual dependency between pimp and employee, discouraging women from “having sex for free,”
promising material comforts, and establishing a reputation as a “good” pimp.
Women in recruitment: Pimp-managed employees played a critical role in recruiting individuals to engage in
sex work. Employees approached individuals, encouraged friends to engage in sex work under the pimp, bolstered
the pimp’s reputation, and explained the business to recruited individuals.
Rules and regulations: Sixty percent of respondents reported imposing rules on employees. Findings from this study
offer insight into the rules imposed by pimps on employees, including: the role of drugs and alcohol in the control of sex
workers; limitations on clientele; restricted communications with other pimps; and earning quotas.
Punishment: Pimps responded to rule violations in multiple ways, including physical violence, isolation, and confiscating
possessions. Even in the absence of clearly articulated rules, pimps used discipline to exert control over employees and
encourage dependency. Fifteen percent of respondents to this study reported using violence to control their employees,
though study findings rely on self-reported information and it is possible that the use of violence was under-reported.
Those that discussed using violence indicated that physical violence was always used in conjunction with other forms of
coercion. Coercion through psychological and emotional abuse was cited by respondents as the most common form of
punishment.
Competition between employees: Pimps relied on competition between employees to maintain control and drive
earnings. Competition also provided an “incentive program” among employees, which included more personal time with
the pimp and spending money.
Relationships between pimps: Some respondents claimed that pimping was an independent and competitive business,
and that other pimps could not be trusted; whereas, other respondents stated that they looked to other pimps for support
and partnership. These respondents looked to their pimp partners as family and felt that they could go to them when in
trouble.
Travel: Travel was an essential business practice for some respondents. Seventy percent of respondents reported working
in more than one city. Reasons for travel included recruitment, police crackdowns, special events, tragedy, and employee
appeal. Pimps relied on networks in other cities to provide advice on where to find clients and how to navigate the UCSE in
that city.
Relationships with legal businesses: Some pimps enjoyed lucrative relationships with legal businesses. Hotel employees
and managers often turned a blind eye to prostitution occurring within their establishment. In some cases, legal business
employees would actively support a pimp in order to earn additional income.
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