Roman Velychko
Mr. Pitkin
English 102
24 May 2014
Rough Draft
Portland Oregon is known as one of the most livable cities in the United States. From its
colorful array of nature, to its moody weather, Portland is a very civil and beautiful place for
starting a family, business and/or career. However, hiding in plain sight is a problem many don’t
even really know exists. Human trafficking is something we usually associate with third world
countries that are corrupt and do not have strict laws over human rights, but you would be
wrong. Human trafficking, particularly focusing on sexual exploitation is actually happening in
our towns, in our neighborhoods and on the streets we travel every day. How unlikely is that,
right? Well based on my research, supported by newspapers, scholarly journals and periodicals
this is a massive problem here in the Portland/Vancouver area. Girls of all ages from as young as
12 and up are exploited for their bodies by other men/women for profit. In this case the Portland
Police refers to them mainly as pimps and traffickers. In this paper we are going to dig into how
big this problem actually is, who is affected by it, how to get out of sexual exploitation, and how
can we make sure the pimps are charged for the full extent of their crime.
To understand how this problem is so rampant nowadays, we have to take a look back at
the history of Portland. According to Katelyn Beaty, the Oregon Constitution of 1857 had a lot to
do with it since it contains one of the most liberal free expression clauses. This meant that
openness and free speech would be put above almost all else. In her opinion, this is the exact
reason strip clubs and adult entertainment could flourish so successfully around this area. Just to
put in perspective, Beaty goes on to make a clear point that 65% of schools in Portland are
within a mile radius of a strip club(26). Shocking but true, we as a community allowed this to
happen, but it shouldn’t be a serious issue since this industry isn’t hurting anyone except for
maybe the eyes of our youth. Well Beaty also disagrees with this by explaining that during a
police raid in 2009, seven underage girls were found to be victims of sexual exploitation within
the premises of the strip club. Girls that were still in high school and middle school were sold for
sex in the parking lots of these adult entertainment hubs (26). Seven may not be a number in the
hundreds but anything more than zero is a problem.
Laura McVicker from the Columbian states that there is roughly 200-300 underage
children trafficked in the Portland/Vancouver area, and the way it begins is much simpler than
initially perceived. As the author explains in her article, Jennifer was only 13 when she met the
