Link – Invisible Boys: Inside the Push to Help Unseen Victims of the Sex Trade

“”There was this predominant narrative out there that this is an issue solely affecting girls,” project manager Meredith Dank recalled. “Then we found all these boys, and we complicated the narrative a little bit.””

It’s interesting that the existence of male victims of sex trafficking somehow complicated the narrative. I’ve never understood how when it comes to trafficking children, the sex of the victim somehow matters in how people view it. Victims are victims, but somehow girls are seen as victims, and boys we get these concerns about how they might be criminals or drug addicts. I can’t help but wonder if the locals would have the same concerns if it were a house for female victims of sex trafficking?

If it’s a case of viewing male victims as a problem, but not female, then it only shows how much we, as a society, are lacking in understanding and compassion. Males do get sexually assaulted, boys are trafficked and sexually abused, and survivors deserve the same support that females do.

Invisible Boys: Inside the Push to Help Unseen Victims of the Sex Trade – NBC News