Sex trafficking words

After spending two full days at the UNC-sponsored conference on sex trafficking, I was appalled at The N&O's coverage April 5, which missed the point on so many levels.

For example, your story referred to Kika, the woman who was sex trafficked into the United States, as a "former prostitute." This courageous woman is not a former prostitute. She is a victim of sex trafficking.

You correctly reported that Kika's passport was taken and she was forced to "work" in brothels -- but you incorrectly stated that she "had sex with dozens of men as her captors collected the money." In reality, Kika was forced and threatened into having sex with these men, and she described several instances in which she was violently raped. If one is threatened with death or coerced in other ways, she is not "having sex." She is being raped.

At the conference, I was pleased to see a focus on strategies for reducing/eliminating prostitution and sex trafficking. Experts agree that the best strategy is to reduce the demand, and that this is accomplished by arresting the buyers, not the victims! Another strategy is to publish the names of arrested buyers.

The media can help by investigating and "outing" buyers and by educating the public about the human and social toll of sex trafficking and prostitution.

Kim Dixon

Chapel Hill