Human trafficking survivor: I was raped 43,200 times

Look at that sensationalist headline! It both catches the eye and boggles the mind. That sounds like the kind of number is generally seen in a Mercedes commercial for the cheapest model of their newest car, or when talking about the amount of people who were affected by depression in the US last year. But no, this number reflects the amount of time a woman was sexually abused, and it is very simple. Its math. "She says up to 30 men a day, seven days a week, for the best part of four years -- 43,200." When you multiply those numbers and get the result you can really compare it to the common idea of rape in the US. A woman gets raped a number of times while in an abusive relationship with a relative or "loved one," but in the end, enough is enough and she tries to get help. However, in a place where there may literally be no hope, there is no end to the sexual abuse.

This story comes from a woman named Karla Jacinto who experienced an enormously small part of this incredibly large industry that spans the border between the United States and Mexico. One town in particular seems to facilitate these crimes, Tenancingo, Mexico. It has connections to Mexico City, New York City and Atlanta, among others. This woman's story starts long, long ago in a country not really that far away, where from the age of 5 she recalls being abused. Situations like these clearly illustrate how negatively the criminalization of prostitution affects the sex slaves involved in it. There are no quaint shanty towns in Mexico that serve as the epicenter in the dangerous vacuum cleaner market.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/10/americas/freedom-project-mexico-trafficking-survivor/index.html

Stuart Young