413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

External Neighborhoods
Pimps also recruited from neighborhoods outside of their home community. Twenty-six percent of
respondents travelled to specific neighborhoods to recruit. Some respondents explained that they sought
out neighborhoods based on perceptions of the women that inhabited those spaces: “I wouldn’t go to the
ghetto neighborhoods. I’d go to the suburbs where it’s a little more class” (D7). While pimps did not limit
their recruitment efforts to specific locations, particular neighborhoods may be targeted where pimps
believe that women will be susceptible or open to engaging in sex work.
Internet
The Internet has become a powerful tool for employee recruitment. Media stories and news reports over
the past few years have highlighted the growing concern over the role of the Internet as a facilitator for
prostitution, with columnists such as Nicholas Kristof covering the role websites play in recruiting and
advertising human trafficking and prostitution (Fink and Segall 2013; Kristof 2012; Neuman 2013). While
websites such as Backpage have been used to advertise commercial sex transactions to johns (Kunze 2010;
Latonero et al. 2011; Latonero et al. 2012; Smith, Vardaman, and Snow 2009), online advertisements have
also been used to recruit employees through job announcements, escort ads, false modeling businesses,
and other forms of advertised employment (Sykiotou 2007; UNGIFHT 2008).
Findings from this study corroborate that online advertisements and social media websites have opened
the door for new forms of employee recruitment. Twenty-two percent of respondents recruited through
the Internet. According to respondents, pimps used specific language to advertise on erotic services
websites: “I recruited them on the Internet. At the end of the ad for erotic services I put ‘now hiring
models.’ The ads were on Craigslist and Backpage” (F1). In some cases, online recruitment created a
steady stream of “applicants” and enabled pimps to run a systematized recruitment process:
I [recruited them] through employment ads, interviews, second round interviews, etc. I
had an 1,100 square foot office. I didn’t reveal the specifics [in the ads]. I would say,
“Hiring bikini model types—instant cash—must be 18.” People call, they speak with the
point center which is pretty much the secretary, not too many specifics are revealed. We
do same day appointments. Every interview or appointment is booked within 10 to 15
minutes of each other. When you come in the office, there are five or six girls waiting.
(D8)
Extant research has also suggested that traffickers and pimps increasingly recruit individuals through
social media, such as online chat rooms, dating websites, and social networking websites (Latonero et al.
2011; Latonero et al. 2012). While uncommon among this study’s respondents, at least two pimps
reported the use social media such as Facebook, MySpace, and MocoSpace to recruit new employees.
On the Track
Pimps also sought employees on the “track” or “stroll,” an area or street known for prostitution within a
particular city. Twenty-two percent of respondents reported recruiting employees on the track. On the
track, pimps could easily target and hire women already engaged in or interested in engaging in sex work.
Respondents explained that women already engaged in the underground sex market did not require
training or an introduction to the lifestyle. One pimp explained that his recruitment model focused on the
track: “I drove around these areas where people—where tricks—were looking for women to have sex. I
stayed in those areas. When I see—whatever female I saw—if she walking in that area and I see her getting
in and out of cars, I’m looking to recruit” (D13).
School, Mall, and Transit Stations
Respondents also reported recruiting at schools (11 percent), malls (4 percent), and transit stations (3
percent). Pimps who recruited from schools started pimping at a young age, and recruited from school
while they were enrolled. Transit stations also afforded pimps opportunities to recruit employees.
Transportation hubs brought heavy traffic of different people, and drew individuals of all ages who might
165