Study: Sex trade worth $39.9M to $290M in U.S.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- The underground commercial sex economy in eight U.S. cities was worth $39.9 million to $290 million in 2007, an Urban Institute study indicated.

"From high-end escort services to high school 'sneaker pimps,' the sex trade leaves no demographic unrepresented and circuits almost every major U.S. city," the study released Wednesday said. "What we know about the underground commercial sex economy is likely just the tip of the iceberg."

The study focused on Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Seattle, San Diego and Washington.

Pimps and traffickers interviewed for the study took home $5,000 to $32,833 a week, the Urban Institute said.

Most pimps said they thought media portrayals exaggerated violence. Although pimps may have underreported the use of physical violence, they cited frequent use of psychological coercion to maintain control, the study said.

Prostitution may be decreasing on the street, but is thriving online, the study indicated. Pimps and sex workers advertise on sites such Craigslist.com and Backpage.com to attract customers and new employees, and to gauge opportunities elsewhere.

Explicit content of younger victims is becoming more available and more graphic, with offenders often saying they consider their participation a "victimless crime," the study said.

Among the changes in policy and practices recommended by the Urban Institute study are:

-- Cross-train drug, sex, and weapons trade investigators to better understand circuits and overlaps.

-- Keep using federal and local partnerships to disrupt travel circuits and identify pimps.

-- Offer law enforcement training for victim and offender interview techniques.

-- Increase awareness among school officials and the general public about sex trafficking to deter victimization.

-- Enforce the laws for offenders consistently.

-- Impose more fines for ad host websites.