What we can learn about sex trafficking in America from survivor, Chrystul Kizer
Trigger warning: This article contains stories about violence and the sexual abuse of children.
At the time of this writing, Chrystul Kizer is a nineteen-year-old female claiming self-defense as a victim of sex trafficking while on trial for the murder of Randy Volar.
What elements are present when identifying instances of sex trafficking?
Traffickers use several tactics to fabricate debt or threaten violence in order to collect "workers." Traffickers often target young women and men who have fallen on hard times (this includes runaway children) and start their long con by acting like good friends. Traffickers trick their "friends" over time into selling their bodies for money in order to pay back the trafficker for helping them.
If you look at the details of the Chrystul Kizer case, you will find these elements of sex trafficking in her story.
Sixteen-year-old Kizer met thirty-four-year-old Randy Volar on a website Kizer's friend convinced her to use to make money as a prostitute. Kizer was already struggling to survive, living with her mother and repeatedly taking cover from her mother's abusive boyfriend. She would have described Volar as her only friend at the time—someone who wanted to help her get away from her own abusive boyfriend. Volar gave young Kizer a place to live, took her shopping, and even took her out to dinner with his own mother. The progression of this seemingly generous courtship is a sex trafficking tactic known as "trauma bonding." Kizer was in trouble and Volar played the part of the knight in shining armor.
Volar used his financial resources to bail Kizer from jail when she was implicated in a car theft.
Paying her bail was the wrecking ball Volar would hold over her, according to a report in the Washington Post. He used this incident to make sexual requests from her for himself and to sell her to other people so she could “pay him back.” When Kizer resisted, Volar threatened her life.
Kizer is standing trial for murdering Volar; her plea is self-defense.
According to Kizer’s account, Volar touched her without her consent when she came to his home after a fight with her boyfriend. When she tried to get away, he pinned her to the floor. Volar was shot and his body was burned inside his home.
Incriminating evidence about Volar's predilection for filming himself having sex with multiple, black, underage females as young as 12, has shed some light on Kizer's motivations.
Chrystul Kizer is pictured during a hearing in the Kenosha County Courthouse, Nov. 15, 2019, in Kenosha, Wisc.
Sex trafficking survivor Cyntoia Brown-Long wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in Kizer’s defense, reflecting on Kizer's resemblance to Brown-Long's own story.
Brown-Long was jailed for murdering her trafficker and was recently released in August of 2019. Moving on in her freedom, Brown-Long has undertaken the role of an activist to shed light on the alarming number of women who have suffered similar circumstances to herself and to Kizer. She shared some startling statistics from the 2016 Vera Institute report:
“86 percent of all women in jail report having experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, 77 percent report partner violence, and 60 percent report caregiver violence.”
These numbers coldly distract from the strong role trafficking may have played leading to the incarceration of these women. Brown-Long calls for a shift in our criminal justice system to better support women who are victims defending themselves from people who have placed themselves in a position of power.
Currently, the criminal justice system tends to penalize women who are in threatening situations, forced to sell sex services as prostitutes.
Volar was charged in February of 2019 with child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime with a minor, and second-degree sex assault of a child. This adds up to a felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison. Volar was released, paid no bail, was told he'd receive a court summons, and was never summoned.
Women trying to regain control over their lives are often tried as violent criminals rather than victims of criminal activity. However, most states in America offer sex trafficking victims an "affirmative defense"— meaning if a survivor can prove their crimes were directly motivated by trafficking, they can be acquitted of all charges against them. Unfortunately, Kizer is standing trial in Wisconsin where this defense has never been applied in a murder case.
In the words of Cyntoia Brown-Long, "For every injustice we see in the criminal-justice system, there is a law, practice or policy that allowed it to happen.
“That is where the change must happen. In Kizer’s case, a loophole in the law allowed a judge to deny her the ability to use an 'affirmative defense' — the option to argue that she should be acquitted because the crime occurred as a result of her being trafficked. Now, unless her appeal is successful, a law specifically designed to protect victims of sex trafficking simply would not apply to Kizer. It is only when we bring the cracks in the system to light that we can effectively lobby to close them. It is only in closing these cracks that we can ensure justice for all."
Here’s how to advocate on behalf of Chrystul Kizer as a sex trafficking victim:
Wisconsin residents, find more resources on how to make your voice heard here.
About the Author
G Okuma started writing her dreams and fictional court cases at age 6. Her long-term collaborative relationship with words led her to the College of William & Mary and eventually to freelance writing. Aside from assisting clients with online content, she's learning to garden in the highland desert of the southwest, advocating for human and animal rights, writing letters to those seeking an act of friendship on Instagram (@dear.little.g), practicing and teaching yoga, and exploring art and life with her husband and two cats.