Lured by Love
Thesis Statement
Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking in which individuals are forced into committing commercial sex acts through prostitution and or escort services. This is a growing issue for the entire United States, especially Michigan. Women ages 11-19 who grew up in lower socio-economic neighborhoods or were sexually abused growing up are the most at risk of falling victim. These women are most susceptible to coercion through the means of a loverboy or Romeo pimp. These particular pimps prey on vulnerable women by maintaining a facade of romantic attraction to ultimately force them into sex work.
My goal of this project was to show these women that this man in their life, may not be who they think. I wanted to design a series of posters that will hang in places that these girls go, such as gas station bathrooms and truck stops. I really wanted to communicate the duality of a man manipulating a woman into committing commercial sex acts so I decided to make these posters lenticular as they show two images as a single time, depending on the angle you are viewing it from.
The Grooming Process
Sex trafficking is a very complex and messy topic. It can be hard to understand as everything is interconnected. However, one of the most important parts of understanding how sex trafficking happens is a manipulation tactic used by loverboy or Romeo pimps. This tactic is a series of steps called the “Grooming Process.”
1. The process begins with initial contact between the trafficker and his victim. He will typically look for a girl who’s vulnerable. (a low self-esteem, a history of sexual abuse, homeless, etc.)
2. He works to gain her trust.
3. This step is also called the "honeymoon phase." The trafficker uses her vulnerabilities to fill that missing piece in her life. (he could play the role of a boyfriend or a father-figure, or he could buy her gifts that she's never dreamed of owning.) This creates a sense of dependency between the trafficker and his victim.
4. After the trafficker knows his victim is dependent on him, he will manipulate her into prostitution. (He could tell her that he needs help earning some extra cash or that she needs to prove her love for him).
5. The process is complete and the trafficker has total control over the woman.
Project Goals
My goal of this project was to create a series of posters that could communicate with women ages 11-19 with a history of sexual abuse or have grown up in lower socio-economic neighborhoods as these are primary targets for a human trafficker. Therefore, I wanted to communicate with women who are currently undergoing the Grooming Process. In particular, I wanted to intervene between step 3, the honeymoon stage, and step 4, the manipulation stage. Once the manipulation has begun, it is almost impossible for a woman to escape. I wanted to show these women that this man in their life, may not be who they think; he may be grooming them for prostitution.
Lenticular Printing
I knew I wanted these posters to live in common places that these girls frequently visit, such as gas stations and truck stops. However, I wanted them to only be seen by the women so having them hang inside bathroom stalls seemed like the perfect solution. I wanted these posters to immediately grab their attention so making them lenticular seemed fitting as it would appear to move and change as the stall door swings open.
Lenticular printing involves interlacing multiple images into one single image and placing a screen with ridges on top of it. This screen creates the illusion of depth and movement when viewed from different angles.
This is a close-up image showing the ridges of my lenticular poster.
Research: Mind Map
A lot of research went into fully understanding how human trafficking happens. I found that many things were connected so it became vital to organize my findings. These photos show a mind-map I created in an effort to sort through all the information. You can see many sticky notes with a string going form one thing to another. It really illustrates how tangled this topic is. For example, in the second photo, you can see the victims include women, prostitute, minors, and escorts. Attached to the prostitute sticky note are places they frequently visit (grocery stores, brothels, gas stations, and bus stops).
Research: Terminology
I studied different terminology that is commonly used within the Sex Trafficking industry. I drew pictures that correlated to each word.
Gorilla: a pimp who controls his victims almost entirely through physical violence and force
Crash Test Dummy: a prostitute who has just started working
Out of Pocket: the violation of a trafficker's rules
Lot Lizard: derogatory term for a person who is being prostituted at truck stops
Bottom Bitch: a woman who is appointed by a trafficker to supervise the other women and report rule violations back to the trafficker
Stable: a group of victims who are under the control of a single pimp
Reckless Eyeballing: the act of looking around instead of keeping your eyes on the ground; this is against the rules
Square Up: Attempting to escape or exit prostitution
Branded: a tattoo or carving on a victim that indicates ownership by a trafficker/pimp/gang
Backpage: the primary website to advertise prostitution, it is similar to Craig's List. Luckily, this website was recently shut down by the U.S. government in April 2018.
Research: What's already out there?
I looked at various posters and campaigns that had a similar goal as me, to bring awareness towards Sex Trafficking. I found a lot of these posters had similar themes, they were dark in color and had messages that beat around the bush. I knew that I wanted to create a set of posters that were different from whats currently out there. I wanted my posters to be bold and eye-catching with a message that was clear and concise.
Sources:
1: Luxembourg Government Direct Ad
2: Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking
3. The Blue Campaign by The Department of Human Services
4. Free the People
Initial Pencil Sketches
Below are some of my initial pencil sketches where I really started exploring the two faces that a trafficker uses to manipulate his victim and the duality involved in becoming a prostitute.
Design Process:
These are some explorations where I really began seeing how I could disrupt the image of the woman. I was trying to convey the feelings of a victim once she has been manipulated into prostitution where she can't get out. I really wanted to play with different ways to convey that she might be feeling broken and stripped of her identity.
Final Results
This is the first poster I designed. I really wanted it simple and easily readable as these girls do not have time to sit and look at a poster for extended periods of time. I really wanted to focus on conveying the duality that the woman faces in being manipulated into sex work. I took two images of a woman. A before, where she is in the "honeymoon phase" of her relationship, and I juxtaposed it with an after image, one where she has begun the prostitution. I wanted to show the trafficker was in charge of taking away her identity.
Conclusion
Overall, I knew I wouldn't be able to solve the issue surrounding the Sex Trafficking industry, let alone end it. However, I really wanted to communicate with these women and show them that this man in their life may not be who they think. This project taught me that researching and staying organized is absolutely vital when trying to create a series of posters that communicate a messy topic.
In addition, my posters caught the attention of a handful of mid-Michigan's schools. They have committed to placing my posters in around 200 schools for the coming 2018–2019 school year.
Sources
1. Blue Heart Campaign. (n.d.). Blue Heart Campaign agaisnt Human Trafficking. (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) Retrieved from UNODC.
2. County, G. (2018). Genesee County Human Trafficking Child Victim Response Draft.Genesee County.
3. Department of Homeland Security. (2017, Nov 2). Human Trafficking. (Department of Homeland Security) Retrieved from Department of Homeland Security.
4. Department of Homeland Security. (n.d.). Blue Campaign. (Department of Homeland Security)
5. Elzbieta, G. M. (2016). Trafficked Childred and Youth in the United States: Reimagining Survivors.Rutgers Univeristy Press.
6. Equality Now. (n.d.). Trafficking Survivor Stories. (Equality Now) Retrieved from Equality Now.
7. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016, May 03). Human Trafficking/Involuntary Servitude. (U. D. Justice, Producer) Retrieved Jan 15, 2018, from FBI.gov.
8. Human Trafficking Center. (n.d.). What is Human Trafficking?(Human Trafficking Center) Retrieved from Human Trafficking Center.
9. Lutnick, A. (2016). Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villans.NY: Columbia University Press.
10. Mapp, S. C. (2016). Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.New York, NY: Oxford Univeristy Press.
11. National Human Trafficking Hotline. (n.d.). Michigan. (Polaris, Producer) Retrieved Jan 15, 2018, from National Human Trafficking Hotline.
12. Nevada Attorney General. (n.d.). WARNING SIGNS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. (State of Nevada) Retrieved from Nevada Attorney Genreal .
13. Polaris Project. (n.d.). Sex Trafficking. (Polaris) Retrieved Jan 16, 2018, from The Polaris Project.
14. Shared Hope International. (n.d.). Trafficking Terms. (S. Hope, Producer) Retrieved from Shared Hope.
15. Shared Hope. (n.d.). What is Sex Trafficking?Retrieved Jan 14, 2016, from Shared Hope.
16. Smith, L. J., & Mitchell, S. A. (1984). Juveniles in Prostitution: Fact Versus Fiction.Saratoga, CA: R&E Publishers .
17. The Center for Victims of Crime. (n.d.). Grooming Dynamic of CSA. (National Center for Victims of Crime) Retrieved Jan 15, 2018, from The National Center for Victims of Crime.
18. The International Association of Chiefs of Police . (n.d.). The Crime of Human Trafficking: A Law Enforcement Guide to Identification and Investigation. (IACP) Retrieved from IACP.
19. U.S. Department of Justice. (2017, Jan). National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. (U.S. Department of Justice) Retrieved from U.S. Department of Justice.
20. U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). 15 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking. (U.S. State Department) Retrieved from U.S. Department of State.
21. Women, Health, and Development Program. (n.d.). Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation in the Americas. Retrieved from Pan-American Health Organization.
