The Battle Alongside the Quest to End Sex Trafficking
In the article written by Noy Thrupkaew, “The Crusade Against Sex Trafficking: Do Brothel Raids Help or Hurt the ‘rescued’?”, Thrupkaew discusses the International Justice Mission’s (IJM) constant battle to end sex trafficking by performing brothel raids. Sex trafficking is a horrific occurrence in our world today. The emotions Thrupkaew has expressed through the article on sex trafficking have a prevailing effect on convincing the reader into understanding the cruel reality of those forced into sex trafficking and how the brothel raids trigger more fear in their lives. The author starts by discussing the issue on sex trafficking and how brothel raids affect those being rescued. The author questions whether or not brothel raids do in fact help or hurt the rescued. Thrupkaew uses statements from a former victim of sex trafficking, Ping Pong. Which suggest that the brothel raids hurt the rescued more than help them. This is because the consequences of one being rescued are far worse than those of one continuing to be trafficked. Thrupkaew’s emotional appeal to the horrors of sex trafficking is an effective strategy because readers enjoy a sense of emotion when reading an article for the first time. Thrupkaew begins her article using descriptive words like “bristly crew cut” and “former high school football player” to paint the perfect mental image of Gary Haugen, the president of IJM (Thrupkaew 12). The author refers to the padlocks he is used to seeing as “heavy brass” and “squat square one” to reinforce his strength (12). This strength can also refer to the “local law enforcement that busted the establishments in raids initiated by IJM” (12). This all reflects on the type of man he is as the president of the IJM. Thrupkaew reinforces the image of these padlocks and their positions because the lock was never placed to keep people out of the room, rather to keep someone inside, held hostage against his or her own will and weakened by whoever came inside. This helps the reader understand the physical, psychological and emotional damage that sex trafficking truly has on its victims. In her beginning paragraphs, Thrupkaew discusses photographs of factories that were once used to traffic women and children who perished while in Tuol Sleng. This was also once known as one of the “central Khmer Rouge detention centers in Phnom Penh” (12). This is important because Thrupkaew is showing the history that sex trafficking has had and continues to have on our world today. The author also uses word combinations such as “controversial” and “best work” along with IJM’s “brothel raids” (12), which leads the reader to believe these brothel raids may not help victims as much as they are supposed to. Rather it is only hurting them more by placing the families of the victims in serious danger. Thrupkaew includes statements from one former sex worker in her article, Ping Pong, who has directly witnessed the results of a brothel raid. Pong is a very reliable source that adds to Thrupkaew’s credibility. Pong states, “Rather than face a potentially long period of detention, some rescuees took matters into their own hands, knotting sheets together to escape shelters-one was hospitalized with back injuries when she fell during an escape attempt” (14). She continues to state, “The women who get rounded up usually wind up back here and doing sex work again-but this time having more debt from having to make the journey or be retrafficked again… A number of trafficking victims from the 2003 raid initially refused to provide their real names and addresses in order to protect themselves and their families,” (14). Thrupkaew uses these statements to describe to the reader the emotions of terror the rescuees felt. By using Pong’s testimony in her article, Thrupkaew adds sentiment to the serious effects sex trafficking has on someone, especially one as directly involved with it as
