The History of Organized Crime: Prostitution in the United States

This report provides a detailed analysis of the history of organized crime and prostitution in the United States, focusing on the period from the late 19th century to 2010. It explores the economic, social, and legal aspects of prostitution, including its connection to human trafficking and organized crime groups like MS-13 and the Russian Mafia. The report examines the structure of organized crime in the prostitution industry, detailing various venues such as internet prostitution, brothels, and street prostitution, and the involvement of transnational criminal organizations. It also discusses the economic causes, demographic factors, and psychological and biological influences that contribute to prostitution. The legal aspects are considered, including the evolution of laws and regulations. Furthermore, it assesses the effects of prostitution on society, including the objectification of women, health risks, and social disorganization. Finally, the report outlines measures to control organized crime in prostitution, such as preventing trafficking, enacting stricter laws, and implementing social programs, concluding with a call for comprehensive societal changes to address the issue effectively.

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME 1
Introduction
The term prostitution is the combination of two sensitive concepts namely the “sex”
and the “money,” and is referred to as the exchange of sexual services for goods or money
(Ditmore, 2011). Commercialization of the sexual activity is known to be a prominent feature
of the societies of the United States from the early 19th century. The subject of prostitution is
known to be one of those legal issues that has raised enormous debate over the past years and
continuing to do so in the context of the American societies. The following work is aimed at
evaluating the various aspects of the social issue of prostitution in the context of the
American settings. The evaluation would be done on the lines of various social, legal and
economic aspects.
Statistics of the issue and organized crime instances
The pervasion of the American society by the prostitution can be traced back with the
introduction of jazz in brothels, clothing styles, and the featuring of the prostitution in the
American movies, literature and music. As per the recent United Nations report, known as the
Global Trafficking in Persons report it has been stated that the children victims of human
trafficking who constitute for 30 percent of all trafficking victims, include girls more than the
boys, which are subjected to sexual exploitation (United Nations, 2018). As per the FBI’s
2009 National Gang Threat Assessment on MS- 13, it must be noted that the said gang
constituted around 30,000 to 50,000 members worldwide, of which 8,000 to 10,000 used to
reside in the United States and were involved in the operations of the prostitution activities
and related activities such as, human trafficking, smuggling of drugs, robbery, assault and
others (National Gang Center Bulletin, 2010). Another instance of organised crime in United
States was when in year 2010, a site publishing ads online, namely the “Craigslist.com,” was
ordered to shut down the adult section of the said website (Fondation SCELLES, 2012). This
was because the website was one of the most popular organised sex crime and prostitution
website in the United States. Further to state, as per the Federal Prostitution Arrest Data for
the year 2010, there were a total of 48281 arrests in the United States on lines of the
organized crime of prostitution (ProCon.Org, 2018).
Structure of Organised Crime in Prostitution
As per the study conducted by Dank, et al. (2014), it is significant to note that there
are a number of venues and models existing in the United States for the advancement of the

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME 2
prostitution. The sex trafficking occurs in United States in the form of Internet prostitution,
brothels, and street prostitution (National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 2017). It is
additionally significant to note that the organized groups of United States are working in
conjunction with Chinese and Eastern European organized crime, and involve the
transnational individuals from the said regions in the escort services, operation of the
massage parlours, beach clubs and likewise. It must be noted that the trafficking of women
and children for the employment in the sex industry and for labor prevails nearly in all major
regions of the United States (Kotrla, 2010). The victims are chiefly known to be trafficked
from the region of Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and others.
The potential benefits for the traffickers to indulge into trafficking of individuals from the
said regions are the job opportunities in the countries of origin, coupled with profit
opportunities and low risk of prosecution. Some of the widely known groups that perpetrated
human trafficking and subsequently the prostitution are the Russian organized crime groups,
Italian Mafia and others. Some of the factors that contribute towards the trafficking of women
and children are the unequal status of women and girls, capitalization of technological and
communications advancements, and the corruption that additionally serves as the means to
undermine law enforcement. The women are typically lured to be provided employment in
the jobs such as the waitresses, workers in the factories, models, nannies, exotic dancers and
others. These are then barred to leave by the typical overstay of visa after recruitment, by
employment of measures such as the debt bondage, threats, physical violence, and retention
of their documents, employment of security guards and other such means.
Prostitution, Economic and Social aspects
The major causes of the prostitution are explained as follows. The economic factors
contribute primarily towards the issue of prostitution, though the same is not the sole and
exclusive cause. The economic factors constitute poverty, immoral traffic in women and
children, unhealthy working conditions, under age employment and others. Poverty is the
prime economic cause. While the illiterate and semi-literate find it hard to get the
employment and cope up with the economic pressure, they resort to the means of prostitution.
A number of teenage girls are kidnapped by the gangsters, followed by their training and
selling of the girls when they reach the age of maturity. A number of women and children are
smuggled and sold as a part of modern day slavery and forced to work as prostitutes
(Caldwell, 2015). In addition to the above a number of demographic causes often lead the
women towards the prostitution. One of the major causes of women entering the said

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME 3
business is the family background. In majority of the cases, an individual has gone through a
traumatic childhood witnessing incidents such as the separation of the families and parents,
leading to a long lasting impact in terms of needs of love and affection that is exploited by the
persons in said industry. Further to add, a bad neighbourhood is yet another demographic
factor. The brothel operators are known to haunt and exploit the families living in the nearby
areas of the brothels. The children are exposed to this business at a very young age and are
often lured to an opportunity making them part of the industry in teenage itself. In addition to
the above there are psychological and biological factors adding to the causes of the issue.
Often individuals are known to be suffering from mental conditions such as depression and
other physical defects, which lead either them forcing their female partners to enter the said
industry or be a part of the industry itself as a customer or operator.
Prostitution and Legal aspects
The late 19th century witnessed a variety of efforts directed towards the suppression of
the prostitution in varied Western societies. For instance the Anti-prostitution campaigns
flourished from the 1860s, coupled with the activities on the lines of the international
cooperation to put a stop to human trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution. This
was followed by the establishment of the Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children
by the League of Nations in the year 1921. Further, adoption of convention by the United
Nations General Assembly for the suppression of the prostitution in the year 1949 was a
significant legal step against the issue. In context of the United States, the federal government
is nor granted the powers to regulate the issue of prostitution and therefore, the individual
state laws govern the same. By the year 1915, majority of the states had enacted laws for the
regulation of the profits of prostitution and the banning of the brothels. Accordingly,
prostitution is considered illegal in the most of the parts of the United States by the virtue of
the various state laws. The prostitution is prohibited throughout the 49 United States as
governed by the State and local laws therein, except in 12 of Nevada’s 16 counties. The 12
Nevada countries in which the prostitution is allowed is governed by a framework where
there is requirement to obtain the license, registration and the regular testing for sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs).
Effects of the Prostitution on the society
There is no doubt to the social, personal and family disorganization as well as the
negative influence on the community as a whole, as caused by the prostitution. It is a wide

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME 4
known fact that the prostitution contributed towards the objectification of the women, leading
them to suffer from deterioration. Prostitutes are known to lose the societal status and moral
respect as enjoyed by the other men and women of the society, which further leads to their
isolation and respectable people hating them (Prakash, 2013). In addition, large number of
male participant of the said industry view and regard women as mere sex objects. The said
attitude towards the women lead to high incidences of murder and other forms of violent acts
perpetrated against the prostitutes. In addition the individuals exercise their power against the
said women by employing the sexually, emotionally and physically abusive methods pushing
the women into a vicious circle of poverty and abuse. In addition to the above it is significant
to note that the history of sexual exploitation further sets the scene for the likelihood of
substance abuse which is yet another menace in the society of United States. Further to the
list of the effects is the deterioration of the health cover of the society as a whole. The
prostitution acts can lead to the causing and transmission of the sexually transmitted diseases.
The said diseases are not only transmitted to the partners, but are often lead to the genetic
defects in the children as well. Thus, the above explanation of the statistics and impacts on
the society demonstrate the grievance of the issue of prostitution.
Measures to control the Organized Crime of Prostitution
Some of the measures that can be adopted by the country United States in order to
address the issue of prostitution are listed as follows. It is necessary to prevent trafficking in
the various adjoining and source countries to prevent the transportation and recruitment of
women and children in the said industry. A combined set of legal, social, and cultural reforms
are necessitated to get pass the gender discrimination which is by these individuals become
the prey of the said industry with a hope of getting a better job opportunity in the United
States. Some additional measures can be in the form of more stringent laws and penalties on
the organized group that engage in the trafficking of females and operation of the brothels,
websites of the said industry. The legal measures penalties, criminal fines, and forfeiture of
the assets of the individuals that are connected to any form of prostitution or incidental illegal
activities. In terms of social efforts, NGOs can take initiative and be guided to raise
awareness programmes and campaigns by the use of various media, magazines, television
and others. In addition authorities must set up rehabilitation centres for the medical
treatments and after care of such victims.

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME 5
Conclusion
As per the discussions conducted in the previous parts, it can be concluded that
prostitution is a grave social, economic and a legal issue because of the number of factors
associated with it. In order to address the said issue, a radical change in the society is
necessitated. As discussed in the previous parts, economic hardships, psychological stress and
social conditions together contribute the issue of prostitution. Further, the statistics as
highlighted in the work shed light on the intensity of the issue. In addition, the work
highlighted the impact that the said industry leaves in context of health and societal standing
of the women who are part of the industry either voluntarily or by force. Some of the steps
that can be taken in order to address the issue are the comprehensive study and review of
economic conditions, social practices and also the provision of sex and health education. It
can be rightly stated that addressing the issue comprehensively will aid the society as a
whole.

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME 6
References
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too. Retrieved from: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-
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Ditmore, M. H. (2011). Prostitution and sex work. ABC-CLIO.
Fondation SCELLES. (2012). Sexual Exploitation, Prostitution and Organized Crime.
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https://www.fondationscelles.org/pdf/rapport_mondial/sexual_exploitation_prostitutio
n_Fondation_Scelles.pdf
Kotrla, K. (2010). Domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States. Social work, 55(2),
181-187.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (2017). An Empirical Analysis of the
Intersection of Organized Crime and Human Trafficking In the United States.
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street-gangs.pdf
Prakash, H. (2013). Prostitution and Its Impact on Society-A Criminological Perspective.
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United Nations. (2018). Global Report on Trafficking in Person 2018. Retrieved from:
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2018/GLOTiP_2018_BO
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