In the San Diego county, there are 11 strip clubs that exist and currently bring in a net profit of $70.4 million dollars a year. Although many will argue that this figure is helping the city’s economy, many others are calling into question the morals and ethics behind the “world’s oldest profession” that is prostitution.

These clubs can be found within the Gaslamp quarters, the Loma Portal, Chula Vista and El Cajon. Sources take into account that with the heavy presence of Marine and Navy officers docked in the San Diego area following World War II, more and more clubs both sprouted and thrived.

Although the presence of officers has greatly diminished since that era, the businesses that came about from those times still stand.

According to a study done by Fox5 San Diego, “police enforcement of strip clubs ranked last in a list of priorities,” when compared to other offenses such as burglary, assault and auto theft. As a reader, one might assume that this fact proves how strip clubs are less than a threat to the city as one might believe, but in reality, strip clubs do not just have the power to corrupt a community, but the workers overall as well.

In an interview with a former strip club owner, author Luis Rivas highlights the violence and depravity that do indeed occur in this area of work. The confessionalist that was interviewed states “I was told to listen and take note of the advice and direction from the managers, which only reinforced notions of domination, sexist male hierarchy.”

Pacers, a highly known strip club and bar in the area of the Loma Portal, San Diego, received the Editor’s Choice Award from www.sandiego.com as the best strip club for the past two years. This club offers complimentary party bus specials, an array of different sizes of TV’s (always showing sports) and an air-conditioned patio. Does that draw you in?

This instance with the club, what they advertise and the awards they proudly exhibit, shows proof of turning a blind eye to the corruption and misconduct occurring within the area. Strip clubs are an exploitative form of “pleasure” that hide the brutality and derogatory nature of the business behind flashing lights and the allure of male-dominance.

“Local and federal law enforcement officials are concerned that prostitution is becoming a larger problem with more gang involvement, greater use of the internet to arrange meetings and more juvenile sex trafficking,” says Keegan Kyle with the Voices of San Diego. The Voices of San Diego did research into this idea and the events happening in El Cajon.

The article in which this is made mention of highlights that strippers are no longer just being used in clubs, but out on the streets as well. San Diego Lt. Rudy Tai states that drug dealers are “not out of drugs, but they can make more money with prostitutes.”

With the lines of illegal activity being crossed with prostitution and drugs because of the business that is found in this area, it is not too long before this phenomena will escalate into something much larger than it may appear, if it hasn’t done so already.

In fact, San Diego is ranked number 13 on the list made by the FBI that names cities designated as a “high intensity child prostitution area(s).”

Both the University of San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene University gathered together to conduct a study that showed there are “3,417 to 8,108 trafficking victims per year in San Diego County, and the average age of entry into sex trafficking is 16.”

The main problem with human and sex trafficking occurring in the San Diego area is not only its heavy prominence across the entire county, but that many people are turning a blind eye to this issue that affects every facet of a child/teen/adult’s life.

Is sex and human trafficking within the area of San Diego heavily impacted by the deep strip club culture that is also within the city? There is no exact proof to that says yes. But both businesses that do thrive in San Diego are tainting the community and the persons in which are being forced or gravitated into this occupation.

Whether you’re a San Diego resident or located across the country, the depressing truth is that San Diego is not unique; there are cities and towns scattered throughout this nation that are experiencing the exact same issues.

As citizens, it should be on the forefront of our minds to stand up to these illegal acts that indeed have the power to destroy not just the morals of a city, but a country as a whole.

Stand up for those who many not have the power to speak up on their own behalf.