“This was not human trafficking, where the women were beaten/raped/drugged beyond all choice.”
For some, they did not know what they were getting into until it was too late to say “no.” From the article, this is what the judge said:
“The women are alone in a hotel room with two men they barely know who, although friendly at first, become aggressive and agitated if the women express hesitation or a desire to leave. Several Plaintiffs testified that they had second thoughts prior to or during the shoot but felt they were not in a position to try to leave.”
Perhaps these women did not experience some of the more horrific extremes of abuse that you mentioned, but there is a reason for criminal charges being brought in this particular case. Linked in the article is a WaPo article explaining the criminal charges:
Here are some excerpts:
“the young women submitted applications through websites such as BeginModeling.com”
“Women say that after responding to modeling ads, they were ultimately tricked into performing in pornography that was posted online.”
“A criminal complaint... alleges that some of the women were threatened with ‘legal action or outing’ if they didn’t perform, barred from leaving shoots or even sexually assaulted.”
“The FBI complaint claims the women were not given a chance to read the contracts or allowed to keep a copy, instead rushed into painful sexual encounters... Some allegedly signed after company employees gave them alcohol or marijuana.”
This is why an ounce of common sense is worth a pound of cure. Where where the girls' parents when they decided to go all alone to a hotel room with strange men? It'd be like wearing a MAGA hat in downtown Berkeley all alone.