day 12 - modern-day shackles

There is a discrepancy in the terminology usually applied to the term “prostitution”. First, prostitution has a connotation of voluntarily offering sexual services, overlooking the fact that many are forced to sell their bodies against their will (in this case, “forced” or “coerced prostitution” serves to better convey this aspect). Perhaps a more accurate term to describe this issue would be “sexual slavery”.

 

Slavery? you might be saying. That seems a bit harsh… Slavery is practically obsolete in today’s society. The term might have been applicable when slavery was a serious part of the economy, and when slaves were traded, and when they were forced to do labor. But certainly not now. Not in contemporary society.

But aren’t those same criteria present in sex trafficking and forced prostitution?

Many girls exchange hands at border cities, where demand is high. Think about it: With an increasingly globalized economy and social system, it makes the trafficking of victims across borders not only a possibility, but a highly profitable economic resource. We don’t only see Nepalese victims of sex trafficking in the brothels of India; we see women end up in forced prostitution half a world away. For example, women from the countries of the collapsed Soviet bloc, as well as other politically unstable countries, find themselves targets for brothels in Italy and Western Europe.

The victims of sex trafficking and forced prostitution are basically imprisoned in brothels. It doesn’t matter if they don’t want to be there; they must sleep with anyone they are told. Often, their owners forbid them to ask a man to wear a condom because they will be paid less for the act. They are threatened and punished if they don’t cooperate. They are punished even more severely if they try to escape. Those that refuse to comply may be starved or maimed, and some are even drugged to keep them perpetually submissive.

Besides a psychologically submissive state, many are kept in a perpetual economic state. The money from forced prostitution often goes directly to the brothel owner. If she is lucky, the victim may receive a tip from a customer; but the amount is small and often used to pay off debts (such as food, medicine, utilities, and even her purchase price) that her owner has falsified.

The most striking similarity to slavery is that these women are not human beings. They are property. Immaterial, replaceable chattel. They exist only to provide economic gain; and their owners are indifferent as to whether the girl lives and suffers through each day, or dies of HIV/AIDS. The price of a human life is the small sum that a john has paid for her.

Slavery. Can the term apply to anything else more than this?

Janna