Escorts and sex workers are seen as easy targets, given their controversial societal position and frowned-upon career choices. But all this does not justify the crimes perpetrated against them. Several serial murder cases worldwide were committed against this working class because of a lack of protection and human rights.
If we take a look at the most notorious serial killers in American history, most of them stated that they found sexual violence against prostitutes as a way of asserting dominance and power, like the most recent Long Island Serial Killer or the Torso Killer who ended many innocent lives triggered by their inhumane impulse.
But why is this vulnerable group considered such an easy target? Let’s shed some light on the facts and figures surrounding crimes against prostitution and sexual violence.
Prostitution or sex slavery is not the ideal career a child would want for themselves, but many are forced into it by shaky circumstances, a cruel past, or sex trafficking. While many enter the field on their own accord to survive, this still does not make them eligible for any form of violence or assault.
Why Are Crimes Against Escorts So Prevalent?
Escorts are seen as vulnerable because they are considered easily disposable. Why? Because most of them do not have family members waiting for them at home, no one would notice if they go missing. In the case of a respectable person, their missing complaints are registered, and search operations are launched as soon as the clock ticks past 24 hours.
Many serial killers use the social and religious dogmas and stigmas attached to prostitution to justify their crimes. Gary Ridgway, one of the most notorious murderers in American history, known as the Green River Killer, killed 48 sex workers from 1982 to 1988.
When sentenced to 48 life sentences without parole, he summed up his killing spree as:
“I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes… I also picked prostitutes because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew that they would not be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.”
Prostitution is the most dangerous profession in the US, even more hazardous than oil rig workers and Alaskan fishermen, as the death rate of escorts is the highest among all other occupations. Every 204 out of 100,000 sex workers die yearly, most of whom are murdered mercilessly while others fall victim to accidents. And to add to this horror, this statistical data does not include those who have never been reported missing.
Violence and assault against this working class is not just a stereotype for movie plots but an actual crime trend that has plagued the American streets, especially in Chi City, where Jack Fallon, a relatively new detective on the homicide unit, is investigating a serial murder case of an escort while dealing with vile threats from the Southside street gang. Read his mission to bring justice to the most deprived class of society in the crime thriller Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders.
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