Behind the Scenes

An average, conventional midcentury house in a middleclass Anytown. Seems like the kind of domicile the average Joe would live in. After all, no one would ever suspect such a normal, upholding residence to house shady, illegal brothel operations under the noses of a countless number of law-abiding citizens. What’s yet to be revealed will completely transform the way we view these worldwide institutions. As officials continued to crack down on human trafficking, they have come across one such house at Plainfield, New Jersey and discovered four girls between the ages of 14 and 17 being confined as sex slaves (names undisclosed to protect victims of trafficking). And this discovery is barely just skimming the surface; human trafficking is an affluent industry that occurs on an international level. New York Times magazine writer Peter Landesman presents us a precise introduction to human trafficking and its global predominance in his featured article, The Girls Next Door.