Slavery is Alive and Well - A Take on Sex Trafficking

by Tali Autovino, 10C

The sad reality of sex trafficking.
(Source: www.pbs.org)

Many people think of slavery as trans-atlantic slavery. There are more human slaves today than there have ever been in history. Approximately 27 million adults and 13 million children are in the slave trade (Skinner). Women (as well as the small number of boys that are enslaved) are exploited and degraded sexually. It is a forced labor that is based off supply and demand. Human trafficking continues to grow as a criminal organization because humans, unlike drugs, can be sold repeatedly (Shelley). These women are not treated equally let alone humanely. These enslaved human beings are often subjected to extreme forms of physical abuse, confinement, and psychological harm.

The average age of entry for a girl to be sex trafficked is 13. However, the age still varies. In some parts of the world, girls as young as three-years-old can get trafficked. It doesn’t matter how old the girl is because all women are looked at the same once enslaved. They are not valued for anything but their bodies and sexuality. Many countries that have a fair amount of sex trafficking will almost always have a society/culture that is patriarchal. This is because men are the customers. Despite the fact that many of these men are fathers, it is often a cultural expectation that girls will be sold into brothels and the sex trade.

All victims of sex slavery endure some of the most brutal and mortifying experiences. Young girls, as young as six-years-old, can be raped up to 40 times a day.

What an average room looks
like in a brothel. Some of the victims
aren't even allowed to leave
their room when punished.
(Source: polarisproject.org)

Dina, a seventeen-year-old girl from the Congo left work early one day because she was starving. She was walking when five men surrounded her and told her they would kill her if she cried out while they raped her. After they all raped her, they shoved a stick inside her, leaving her half-dead and paralyzed from the waist down. We should not have to live in a world with such cruelty. Girls should not have to make the decision between starving to death or risk being raped. Since we are currently facing this worldwide issue, wouldn’t it make sense that everyone should aware of it? One person is just as much a part of this world as any other, so why should one have to suffer while another does not?

How can you help? There are millions of ways. The easiest one is to spread the message. Plenty of people out there have no idea such terrible things are happening in the world, and if they do they could choose to not pay any attention. Take the responsibility to inform those people. Tell a friend, tell your mom. Ask them to tell their friend or mom. It’s a chain reaction and wouldn’t it feel good to be able to say you started it?

If you want to help fight even further, joining the “Not For Sale” campaign would be a great idea. The “Not For Sale” campaign is a movement solely dedicated to the freedom of human beings and to “create a world where no one is for sale.” The website: www.notforsalecampaign.org will help get you started on your road to helping the world. We have to be the people who say stop, for the victims who can’t.