413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

The methods of manipulation and persuasion described by pimps were direct and verbal (e.g., promising
a better life by engaging in sex work), as well as non-verbal and indirect (e.g., clear demonstrations of
wealth, first developing romantic relationships). Table 6.2 presents the often used tactics of persuasion to
encourage women to engage in sex work for a pimp. The following sections explore each tactic in greater
detail.
Table 6.2 Persuasion Tactics
Tactic
Romantic or sexual relationships
Mutual dependency
Monetizing sex
Associated lifestyle
Reputation
Features
Often used to recruit individuals not previously engaged in sex work; appeals
to individuals’ emotional needs
Emphasizes the benefits of a pimp/sex worker relationship; encourages
concept of shared, day-to-day subsistence
Encourages women to get paid for activities they were already engaged in;
often used to exploit women in economically vulnerable situations
Verbal promises of material comforts; outward display of wealth and business
profits
Pimps build reputations around how they treat and take care of employees;
generally helps attract individuals interested in or already engaged in sex work
Romantic or Sexual Relationships
Respondents regularly engaged in romantic or physical relationships with women prior to pimping them.
Cobbina and Oselin (2011) have observed this practice, finding that pimps and traffickers may originate as
the romantic or intimate partners of the women they ultimately facilitate in commercial sex. Particularly
when recruiting women who had not previously engaged in sex work, respondents frequently commenced
a business relationship by first expressing romantic interest. As a result, personal attraction played an
essential role in recruitment. One pimp explained that the relationship “started off with a physical
attraction, someone attracted to me or the tools, like cars, designer watches” (D8); another respondent
noted that “looking good, smelling good, feeling good” (B3) helped him recruit women. Dating was often
the first step to recruiting women into sex work. A respondent explained that he would “probably date
[prospective employees] first, see if [I could] get comfortable with them” (D7). Pimps also routinely
misled prospective employees into believing they were interested in developing a romantic relationship.
One offender explained how romantic relationships were used as a tool, comparable to extortion:
It was really like, it’s going to sound bad, but it was extortion. It wasn’t really like
extortion, it was just the way it works. The way you put it to a person. A person tells you
they love you, but how much do you love me, how far will you take your love for me
(E13)
Pimps also reported having sex with individuals as a way to measure their willingness to sell sex. A 20-
year-old respondent, who started pimping at age 16, explained, “One thing I would do was that I would
sleep with them once, to see where they were at sexually” (A4). Other respondents encouraged friends to
have sex with women to measure willingness. A 24-year-old offender explained how he used his own
social network to help him identify and recruit new employees: “We’d have things that were called turnout
parties. One time, I saw three girls walking together. I brought them to my three homies … and if they
had sex with them, from that I knew they would be down because there were sexually active. I don’t know
if they knew that [was what I was doing]” (A3).
Respondents observed that their employees sought many of the same satisfactions from pimps—such as
material comforts, romance, and sex—as they did from an intimate partner. One respondent believed, “A
woman wants a man in her life 90 percent of the time, unless she is a lesbian … the reason of feeling
secure, feeling comfort and what not” (E3). As is discussed below under management and organization,
pimps often encouraged competition between employees by rewarding high earnings with personal time
with the pimp. Romantic relationships were thus not only a tool of recruitment, but also allowed pimps to
exert control over employees by appealing to emotional needs and rewarding business profits with
attention.
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