Everything about Sex Slave totally explained
Sexual slavery is a special case of
slavery which includes various different practices:
- forced prostitution
- single-owner sexual slavery
- ritual slavery, sometimes associated with traditional religious practices
- slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes where sex is common or permissible
In general, the nature of slavery means that the slave is
de facto available for sex, and ordinary social conventions and legal protections that would otherwise constrain an owner's actions are not effective. For example,
extra-marital sex between a married man and a slave wasn't considered
adultery in most societies that accepted slavery. Female slaves are at highest risk of sexual abuse and sexual slavery.
The term "sex slave" and "consensual sexual slavery" are sometimes used in
BDSM to refer to a
consensual agreement between sexual partners (see also
total power exchange). This shouldn't be confused with the meaning of the term as defined in this article, which refers specifically to unwilling slavery.
Modern types
Forced prostitution
Forced
prostitution is a form of sexual slavery that's often directed at immigrants to Western and Asian countries. Often the "owners" of these people will confiscate passports and/or money in order to make them completely dependent. This practice, also known as
sex trafficking or
human trafficking, is illegal in most countries.
Human trafficking isn't the same as
people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is enslaved. Traffickers use coercive tactics including
deception,
fraud,
intimidation,
isolation,
threat and use of physical force,
debt bondage or even force-feeding with drugs to control their victims. Women are typically recruited with promises of good, legal jobs in other countries or provinces, or are tricked into a false 'marriage', and, lacking better options at home, agree to migrate. Traffickers arrange the travel and job placements, the women are escorted to their destinations and delivered to the
employers. Upon reaching their destinations, some women learn that they've been deceived about the nature of the work that'll do; most have been lied to about the financial
arrangements and
conditions of their
employment; and all find themselves in coercive and abusive situations and kept in a financial situation that they're stuck in a form of
debt bondage from which escape is both difficult and dangerous.
A
US Government report published in 2003, estimates that 800,000-900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year, the majority to
Southeast Asia,
Japan,
Europe and
North America. The trafficking of women has also been recorded (in lower numbers) in
South Asia and the
Middle East and from
Latin America into the
United States. Since the mid 1990s, with the opening up of the former
Soviet Union, the end of the wars in the former
Yugoslavia, and the opening up of
East and Southeast Asia, there has been an increase in the trafficking of human beings. It is estimated that 2/3 of women trafficked for prostitution worldwide annually come from
Eastern Europe, three-quarters have never worked as prostitutes before. An estimated 500,000 women from Central and Eastern Europe are working in prostitution in the
European Union alone. Annually, thousands of
Russian women end up as prostitutes in
China,
Japan, or
South Korea.
See the main article on human trafficking.
A recent development should be noted that proponents of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (
TVPA) in the
United States, and
Sweden's Act On Prohibiting The Purchase Of Sexual Services seek to define all forms of
prostitution as
exploitive or
de facto slavery, and place
emphasis on suppressing the demand for sex services, by prosecuting profiteers and customers. While this effort is advanced as a means to protect trafficked
children and
women, that are variously estimated at 20,000-100,000 annually in the United States, who have issued numerous critiques of these laws as another form of prohibition and stigmatization, that serve mainly to marginalize
sex workers.
Prostitute rights organizations argue that
decriminalization and extension of
labor rights to
sex workers is more effective in ensuring their economic, mental and
medical health than any form of prohibition.
The term "
sex worker" itself is rejected by the advocates of anti-slavery laws, who argue that women can't choose sex as an economic activity, and claim it's the criminal networks and customer demand that are the driving forces, not economic necessity.
The United States
Reports of child sex slavery and on the business of working children in organized criminal businesses as well as in legitimate businesses and trading sexual favours for contracts and business in the
United States under inhumane conditions exist.
In 2002, the US
Department of State repeated an earlier
CIA estimate that each year, about 50,000 women and children are brought against their will to the United States for sexual exploitation. Former
Secretary of State Colin Powell said that "[h]ere and abroad, the victims of trafficking toil under inhuman conditions -- in brothels, sweatshops, fields and even in private homes."
China
Thousands of women are forced into prostitution in and from China every year. Chinese women are brought to countries like the US and European countries under the cover of massage therapists, and other specialized employees. These women are forced/contracted(illegally) into prostitution by their perpetrators.
Thousands of girls are also sold into prostitution in countries like Singapore, Thailand and other Asian Pacific countries. They are also trafficked into South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, where "Chinese teahouses", "massage parlors", and "restaurants" are commonly known as fronts for prostitution, as they're often are in other countries. Indeed, the term "Chinese" is virtually synonymous with "prostitute" amongst local law enforcement and other groups in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Africa
Sex slavery is a problem in some parts of
Africa. The
colonial powers abolished slavery in the nineteenth century, but in areas outside their jurisdiction, such as the
Mahdist empire in
Sudan, the practice continued to thrive.
Now, institutional slavery has been banned worldwide, but there are numerous reports of women sex slaves in areas without an effective government control, such as until recently, Sudan,
Liberia,
Sierra Leone, northern
Uganda,
Congo,
Niger and
Mauritania.
In
Ghana,
Togo, and
Benin, a form of
religious prostitution known as
trokosi ("
ritual servitude") forcibly keeps thousands of girls and women in traditional shrines as "wives of the gods", where priests perform the sexual function in place of the gods. This can be compared with the
devadasi system in
India.
The Middle East
In the contemporary
Middle East, sexual slavery exists, and transportation and trafficking occurs. In
Israel, officials report a significant problem in human trafficking for the sex trade industry,—much of it involving women from
Eastern Europe. Eastern European women also end up in
Turkey and
United Arab Emirates.
Many of the Iraqi women fleeing the
Iraq War are turning to prostitution, while others are trafficked abroad, to countries like Syria, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran. In
Syria alone, an estimated 50,000
Iraqi refugee girls and women, many of them widows, have become prostitutes. Cheap Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular destination for sex tourists. The clients come from wealthier countries in the
Middle East - where many are
Saudi men. High prices are offered for virgins.
India
As many as 200,000
Nepali girls, many under the age of 14, have been sold into sex slavery in
India. Nepalese women and girls, especially virgins, are favored in
India because of their fair skin and young looks.
Pakistan
Hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are forced to work to pay off debts incurred from relocating to Pakistan, which involves becoming servants and sex slaves for the wealthy. In lawless tribal areas of Pakistan where many Afghan families fleeing from war, only to be cut off from familiar contacts and have no way to pay for food thus, leaving them vulnerable to the predations of slavers and prostitution. Many sex slaves are also bought by 'agents' in
Afghanistan who trick young virgin girls into coming to Pakistan for well-paying jobs. Once in Pakistan they're taken to brothels (called
Kharabat) and forced into sexual slavery for many years.
Watta satta (
Urdu:
وٹہ سٹہ), which is a prevalent tribal practice of trading brides, is also considered a form of sexual slavery by certain women’s groups in Pakistan.
Southeast Asia
In
Asia,
Japan is the major destination country for trafficked women, especially from the
Philippines and
Thailand. The US State Department has rated Japan as either a ‘Tier 2’ or a ‘Tier 2 Watchlist’ country every year since 2001, in its annual
Trafficking in Persons reports. Both these ratings implied that Japan was (to a greater or lesser extent) not fully compliant with minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking trade.
Currently an estimated 300,000 women and children are involved in the sex trade throughout
Southeast Asia. It is common that
Thai women are lured to Japan and sold to
Yakuza-controlled brothels where they're forced to work off their price. In Cambodia at least a quarter of the 20,000 people working as prostitutes are children with some being as young as 5 (somaly.org)
Sex Trafficking in Cambodia
Problem Facts in Cambodia
Cambodia has the highest proportion of its population trapped in prostitution and sex slavery in the South East Asia region. It is estimated that there are between 80,000 to 100,000 prostitutes and sex slaves in Cambodia. With a population of just 10-12 million, Cambodia's sex slave and prostitution problem is enormous where more than 1 in 150 people in Cambodia involved in sex trade. Most of those involved are women and children who have been trafficked from impoverished rural areas or brought to and from neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand.
Human Security approach as a solution to the problem
Human Security Goals
To have a more comprehensive concept of security under the Human Security agenda. Combating Sex Slavery and Trafficking as Government Security Priority The Human Security agenda enabled the Cambodia government to have a more comprehensive understanding of national security and make the issue of sex trafficking as a national security priority. Traditional state-centered security was defined narrowly as security of territory from external aggression, and hence under this approach, Cambodia might be regarded as a secure state. On the other hand, human security is a people-centered approach which recognizes a broader scope of the concept of security and that lasting stability can't be achieved until people are protected from violent threats to their rights, safety or lives. While the women and children who sought security in their daily lives were being neglected under the traditional security paradigm, the human security agenda suggested the government to focus efforts on those who are particularly vulnerable to the threat of sex trafficking.
To supplement the inherent incapable Government with the portfolio diversification strategy. While traditionalists regard the state as the primary actor in providing for security, the human security agenda encourages diverse portfolio of actors in providing security, which helped in alleviating the problem of sex trafficking in Cambodia. A state-centered approach would be insufficient and incapable in enhancing personal security of vulnerable children and women in Cambodia due to the following reasons:
- Corruption and Lax law enforcement of Cambodia's anti-trafficking efforts remained hampered by systemic corruption and an ineffectual judicial system. Although Cambodia is the first country in the world to create a special police task force to fight human trafficking, this Police Anti-trafficking Department has conducted only a limited numbers of proactive investigations. Corruption, lack of training and funding for law enforcement, and a weak judiciary remain the most serious impediments to the effective prosecution of traffickers. There are reports that corrupt police officials continue to leak information to brothel/karaoke operators about upcoming police raids. Moreover, the government provides limited assistance to victim and made modest efforts to promote awareness of sex slavery and trafficking due to limited human and financial resources.
- Complexity and transnational nature of the problem Unlike some human rights abuses which are primarily regional, sex trafficking is complex and transnational in nature. Victims come from virtually all developing countries and are trafficked into or through virtually all developing and developed countries where demands from wealthy countries keep this criminal industry extremely profitable for traffickers.
Consistency with the portfolio diversification strategy in Cambodia
Practical with normative appeal With the above reasons, a portfolio diversification strategy would be needed to deal with this complex and transnational security threat to Cambodia and to supplement the state’s insufficiencies and incapability. This strategy has been practical since to protect vulnerable children and women is normatively appealing and hence attracts help from non-state actors and attention from mass media. The onus of moral responsibility to intervene to protect individual lives was deemed highly acceptable in the eyes of most supporters and hence effectively persuaded publics around the world to provide assistance to these vulnerable children and women in Cambodia.
Efforts by diverse portfolio of actors Portfolio diversification strategy has been used in implementing human-focused security policies which would enhance Cambodia’s security through combating the problem of sex trafficking. States like United States and Canada, international organizations (IOs) like the Asia Foundation, United Nations International Children’s Fund, Red Cross, International Labor Organization and International Organization for Migration (“IOM”), and local non-governmental organization, like Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (“CCPCR”) and Cambodian Women’s Development Association, have been exerting pressure and cooperating with the Government of Cambodia in combating sex trafficking.
- To exert pressure on Government of Cambodia in combating sex slavery and trafficking Cambodia was placed on Tier 3 in the 2005 United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report for its lack of progress in combating severe forms of trafficking. Subjected to the international pressure together with supervision from global mass media, the Cambodian Government stepped up efforts to arrest, prosecute, and convict traffickers. Police actions increased over 2006 and the Cambodian Government also made efforts to address trafficking-related official corruption. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) also developed a National Action Plan to eradicate trafficking in persons. In addition, the Cambodian Government made clear progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts by approving a comprehensive anti-trafficking bill that provides law enforcement and judicial officials with enhanced powers to arrest and prosecute traffickers in 2006.
- To provide human and financial resources and supplement insufficient Government’s effort Cambodia has a very active domestic and international NGO community working to combat trafficking. Regarding to the lack of human resources and rampant corruption problems, IOs and NGOs cooperated with the Government to conduct training for police officers on investigation techniques, surveillance, and case preparation and management of trafficking cases. Victims are mainly referred to NGOs and IOs and relied primarily on foreign and domestic NGOs to provide protective services to victims. For example, the IOM provides trafficked women and children with long term recovery and reintegration assistance and CCPCR, which provides rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration services to child victims of trafficking. NGOs and IOs also worked with the Government to implemented campaigns in most parts of the country to raise public awareness regarding the dangers of trafficking. For example, the Ministry of Women's Affairs collaborated with the IOM to expand a nationwide anti-trafficking information and advocacy campaign that included district-level meetings with government officials and the distribution of educational materials and videos.
- International Cooperation Efforts: International treaties Cambodia has made progress in engaging in regional and international cooperation by signing and ratifying important instruments concerning the protection of children from sexual exploitation. In October 2004, Cambodia participated in the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) which is a regional agreement at the government level committing governments to prepare country-specific plans of action. Cambodia also acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1992, and ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Optional Protocol) in 2002 and ratified ILO Convention No. 182 in 2006.
Effectiveness and Sustainability of the efforts In 2005, the Cambodian police reported conducting 67 operations, resulted in the arrest of 111 perpetrators and the rescue of 164 victims. The Ministry of Justice reported the prosecution and conviction of at least 45 traffickers during 2005, double the number in 2004. However, these cases were mostly generated by the efforts of NGOs.
By Nazi Germany in WWII
At least 34,000 women from Europe were forced into prostitution. Usually organized in hotels confiscated from their rightful places, they also served travelling soldiers or those withdrawn from the front. Usually they also included a bar, a restaurant and a brothel. In most cases, especially in the East, the women were forced to serve as prostitutes after being caught at random on the streets in Łapankas, kidnapping raids by Nazi German military of civilians in Poland.
The Middle East
Slave trade, including trade of sex slaves, fluctuated in certain regions in the Middle East up until the twentieth century. These slaves came largely from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caucasus, and often from parts of Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Saudi Arabia was the last modern country to legally abolish slavery in 1962.
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