Trafficking in Women
Georgia Supreme Court: Let Teen Strippers Take It Off
Published September 29, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
Yesterday was a good day for Atlanta area men who like to see young women take their clothes off -- they're about to get to see a lot more of it. The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled that young women ages 18, 19, and 20 have a right to work in strip clubs that serve alcohol, overturning an Atlanta city ordinance raising the age to 21.
Legislators claim the law was created to discourage underage drinking, not to target adult entertainers. However, workers ages 18 to 20 in a number of other industries like convenience stores, concert venues, and stadiums would have been exempt from the law. Adult entertainment clubs where alcohol sales are a major source of revenue, were not. In the end, the court decided the case based on the argument that 18 to 20-year-olds have a right to handle alcohol in their jobs; their right to strip in public was never officially questioned.
This case may have an impact on a growing suggestion within the anti-trafficking movement: move the age of consent for commercial sex from 18 to 21. Some advocates have suggested this change should only apply to prostitution, but others have petitioned for the age increase to apply to young women in pornography, stripping, escort agencies, and other adult services as well. The argument for an age of consent increase is that it gives young women more time to mature enough to make an active decision to enter the potentially dangerous field of commercial sex. As a society, we feel young people are not mature enough to make responsible choices about alcohol until they are 21, how could we expect them to make responsible choices about commercial sex, which can be arguably more dangerous for women, before then? The argument against the age increase is that it unfairly limits 18 to 20-year-olds, who are legally adults, from choosing commercial sex. Young people are considered mature enough to consent to sexual activity at ages ranging from 15 to 18, depending on the state, why should they have to wait until they are 21 to consent to commercial sex? Young women can choose to join the army and put their bodies in front of bullets at age 18, why should they not be able to handle the dangers of commercial sex until 21?
I have no doubt that raising the age of consent for commercial sex to 21 might help some women who are stuck in prostitution get out, and might prevent other women from being tricked or coerced into the industry in the first place. But I also have no doubt it would take away the livelihood of some women who are in legal adult industries, like the Atlanta women who fought for their right to strip. It's a tough issue, but one we don't even need to tackle right now.
The fact is there are plenty of truly underage girls -- 11-17 years old -- in prostitution and other commercial sex industries. Before we even consider raising the age of consent for commercial sex to include a broader number of young women, let's focus on helping the children who are in commercial sex right now get help to get out. We don't have enough shelters, enough social workers, enough counselors, and enough lawyers for all the child trafficking victims in the U.S. as it is. Let's focus on increasing services for child victims, not the age of consent.
I hope Atlanta realizes that 18 is still the low-end cut-off age for teens to be allowed to dance nude or strip in clubs, because I've seen 15 and 16 year old girls who have been exploited in strip clubs in the city. Maybe they will use the resources they would have applied to 18-20 year olds to find and help the younger children who need it the most get out of the industry and on with their futures.
Photo credit: Thomas Hawk
Oppotunities to Fight Slavery for Muslims and Christians
Published September 24, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT
Are you a Muslim or a Christian? If so, there are some exciting opportunities to fight slavery by engaging your faith. Human trafficking violates the principles of all major world religions, as well as the common human ethical values we share. Slavery is commonly prohibited by religious texts of all the major world religions. There are many way to engage your faith community in anti-trafficking efforts, whether it's spending time in prayer and/or meditation, giving money, or working in service.
For Muslims
American Muslims are coming together to answer President Obama's call to service by focusing on a number of key issues, one of which is human trafficking. The American-Muslim Interactive Network (AMIN) has partnered with human trafficking organization Bridge to Freedom Foundation to help engage Muslim Americans in service for survivors of human trafficking. Specifically, the partnership is focused on teaching at-risk communities how to identify traffickers and the trafficked. For more opportunities to serve human trafficking survivors and others in need with the Muslim American community, you can check out muslimserve.org.
The Muslim American community has been traditionally less involved in the anti-human trafficking movement than Christian and Jewish communities. Perhaps this is because Muslim-Americans have spent so long fighting negative cultural stereotypes about their faith, and they may be reluctant to draw attention to issues like trafficking, domestic violence, and abuse in their communities. As I've mentioned previously, the Quran condemns slavery like other major religious texts, so a call to fight human trafficking is natural for Muslims. I'm excited to see an increased focus on human trafficking by Muslims, since they have a great capacity to engage the Islamic faith in protecting victims and preventing trafficking in both Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
For Christians
The Salvation Army is hosting their 4th Annual Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for Victims of Sexual Trafficking. If you are interested in participating, you can get more information and resources to participate here. The Salvation Army has a number of great resources available on their website, including information for pastors, suggestions for prayers, and fasting guidelines.
Many denominations of the Christian community have been active in the anti-trafficking movement for a long time. Catholic organizations like the U.S. Conference for Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities were primary recipients of anti-trafficking funding under the Bush administration. The World Evangelical Association just created an anti-human trafficking task force. Christians have a number of opportunities to engage their faith in anti-trafficking efforts, which also means they have no excuses not to.
It's great that these opportunities exist for Christians and Muslims, but I would love to see an opportunity that exists for all people of faith to work together. We all share in our condemnation of slavery and struggle for a freer, fairer world. Do you know of a movement against human trafficking in your faith? If so, I'd love to hear about it!
Photo credit: mufan96
Denmark Considers Prostitution Ban
Published September 22, 2009 @ 02:00PM PT
Denmark may be soon joining European neighbor the Netherlands in the growing club of countries who once thought laissez-faire legalized prostitution was a good idea, but are now changing their minds. The Social Democrat party has proposed instituting a full to partial ban on prostitution to prevent the country from becoming "a haven for the sex trade."
Prostitution has been legal in Denmark since 1999 and was actually legalized by the same party which is now trying to ban it. I know here in the U.S. the concept of a political party objectively evaluating the effectiveness of a policy and then changing that policy when they see a better alternative is incredibly foreign, but here is proof it can happen. The change has come after some Danish leaders noticed that they were the only country in their part of Europe with such free-for-all open prostitution allowed. Hmmm, they wondered, could this be drawing criminals, pimps, and traffickers to Denmark to take advantage of the lax laws? If the Netherlands is any sort of predictor, it sure could. Pimping and brothel ownership have never been legal in Denmark, but where there are legal commercial sex markets there are often illegal ones that follow. And like all countries with legalized prostitution, Denmark has had its share of trafficking victims.
The proposed legislation is "in line with legislation in Norway and Sweden," which I understand to mean it focuses on criminalizing the act of buying prostitution and pimping, as opposed to the act of selling sex. The goal of this style of legislation is to remove the onus of prostitution from women, where it usually falls, and place it on men, who have the social and economic power in prostitution transactions. The effectiveness of this sort of law is still a little up in the air since it's so new, but proponents claim the law reduces the exploitative parts of the commercial sex industry without throwing women in jail.
Despite increased popular support for the bill, the Danish people are not buying it just yet; only about 26% support the measure. The Social Democrat party has an uphill battle to convince the rest of Denmark that the prostitution ban could prevent their country from becoming a major destination for women in the sex trade, both forced and voluntarily, from all over the world. Of course, the pro-legalization contingent has pulled out the same arguments as usual, claiming that banning prostitution (even the Swedish model which doesn't criminalize the act for women) will drive the trade underground and into the hands of criminals. That would be a more compelling argument if such large portions of the commercial sex industry were not already controlled by criminals, even in places where prostitution is legal.
As countries like South Africa consider legalizing prostitution for the first time, we should note that the Netherlands and now Denmark who have both had legalized prostitution for over a decade are seriously rethinking their policies. There is a valuable lesson to learn from the Dutch and the Danes: a prostitution free-for-all may sound like a good idea, but it's not.
Photo credit: Ange Soleil
The Internet's Role in Human Trafficking
Published September 20, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
Here's a pop quiz for you. Is the Internet a.) A series of tubes invented by Al Gore b.) an evil system of perversions with no redeeming qualities c.) one of the greatest facilitators of human trafficking in commercial sex markets or d.) all of the above? If you chose c.), you're right! If you chose d.), perhaps you might want to do a little background reading. The Internet is a tool, and like all tools it can be used for good or bad. And right now, the Internet is one of the largest facilitators of sex trafficking in the world.
Here are some common Internet technologies and how they are used to facilitate human trafficking in commercial sex:
- Craigslist.org: Used to sell child and adult trafficking victims for commercial sex. You may have noticed I've got about as much love for the adult services section of Craigslist as Taylor Swift's mom has for Kanye right now, but that's because they are a huge facilitator of illegal prostitution and the sale of children for sex all over the word.
- Online photo sharing: Allows for mass dissemination of child pornography without having to worry about being caught by the nosy developer or mail carrier. Online picture catalogues help buyers choose a girl as an "escort" or sometimes even as a wife. Online ordering of women has revolutionized how some traffickers do business.
- Mobile upload technology: Like photo sharing technology, mobile upload technology allows pimps and traffickers to conduct business on the road, sharing pictures and videos with perspective clients and making sure the girls they exploit are available 24/7.
- Social networking sites: Allow people interested in exploiting women and children to connect with each other and with potential victims. Traffickers use social media to connect with both buyers and victims, and in some cases to connect them directly to each other.
- Vast availability of porn websites: Pimps who sell children often use legal, adult pornography as a grooming technique. And I'm sure it's a huge surprise that they have no problem finding plenty of it all over the Internet.
- E-Commerce tools: Used to conduct the financial transactions of child pornography and of victims of human trafficking. Think someone would never charge sex with a child to their credit card via a website? Think again.
- Encryption technology: Enables transactions, information trails, and conversations to be difficult to impossible to detect by law enforcement.
Fortunately, law enforcement agents have access to these same technologies and are using them in sting operations and to identify and prosecute pimps and traffickers. However, too often the criminals are several technological steps ahead. They see the exploitative potential of emerging technolgies before we do, a dynamic that must change. Because, while these tools revolutionized the business of exploitation once, it won't be long until something new comes out and does it again. And this time, we want to good guys to be the tech-saavy ones.
Photo credit: dalbera
Government Funded Feminist Porn
Published September 14, 2009 @ 03:39PM PT
Sweden has famously taken a unique stand on how to end the exploitation of women in the commercial sex industry -- promote gender equality in prostitution. Now, they're expanding that philosophy to the porn industry by using government cash to pay for "feminist porn." But will by-women, for-women skin flicks free the porn industry from exploitation and misogyny?
The idea behind the feminist porn initiative is that porn can be wonderful and empowering for women both watching and acting in the films when it's not driven by a profit motive based in male sexual desires and couched in a culture which views women as sex objects. In other words, give the cameras to feminist filmmakers, fund the project with tax revenue, and you'll have "empowering erotica," not just male-centric porn. The project also aims to end exploitation in the industry, including ensuring everyone who takes it off on screen is at least 18, and no one is there as a result of force, coercion, or desperation. In theory, state-funded feminist porn avoids the degradation and exploitation the mainstream, commercial porn industry propagates.
Sweden poses (as usual) a creative solution to the problem of human trafficking and exploitation of women and children in the porn industry, but one with flaws as transparent as the costumes in these films. First of all, what exactly is "feminist porn?" Just like men in the mainstream porn market demand different things from their porn, so would women as porn consumers. Who gets to decide what makes a feminist hot? Secondly, the success of this initiative is based on the assumption that all women in the porn industry will act ethically and respect other women by not exploiting them. I got news for you Sweden -- women traffic other women and girls into prostitution and porn, too. I wish ending exploitation in pornography were as easy as funding feminists to make their own porn, but the fact is women can commit crimes of exploitation just like men. And finally, isn't there a better use for this money? Out of all the ways we can end exploitation and improve equality for women, is making more porn really the answer? I'm not sure it is.
Regardless of whether or not the porn initiative is effective, or whether Swedes decide that it's a good use of their tax dollars, Sweden's idea poses some interesting philosophical questions. If you could somehow make society gender-equal, would porn cease to be exploitative? Is using tax dollars to fund pornography ethical if the goal of that pornography is to represent a traditionally marginalized group? Pornography, like art, has always been a subjective category. But does that reduce its value in achieving social equality?
This initiative might have a prayer in Sweden, but I can safely predict it won't take in the U.S. Unless, of course, we manage to sneak a provision for feminist porn into the new health care reform bill that everyone's already skimming and arguing about. And that would bring a whole new meaning to Republican complaints of getting screwed by the government on health care reform.
Photo credit: pnoeric
Arranged Marriage vs. Forced Marriage
Published September 08, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
Arranged marriage and forced marriage are both significant issues for many women around the world. However, while these two forms of marriage may sometimes overlap and blur boundaries, it's important to understand the basic differences between them. Here is a quick guide to arranged marriage vs. forced marriage.
Arranged Marriage
An arranged marriage is one set up by some party other than the couple getting married. This could be a parent or relative, a community leader, a website, or a professional matchmaker. Arranged marriages were the norm until the last couple hundred years, and they are still practiced in some cultures. Proponents of arranged marriage claim it reduces divorce rates, prevents promiscuity, and creates a strong social order. They key factor present in an arranged marriage is the consent of both people getting married to be matched and married through a third party arrangement.
Forced Marriage
Forced marriages are arranged, but without the consent of both parties --specifically, usually without the woman's consent. In a forced marriage, a woman can be matched by the means described above, or she can be sold or traded to her new husband for something of value. Forced marriage sometimes takes place between a child or young girl and an adult man. Victims of forced marriage may experience domestic violence, rape, abuse, neglect, and forced domestic servitude. Many countries consider forced marriage in which something of value is exchanged for the woman ( a dowry, fee, gift, etc.) a form of human trafficking.
When Arranged Marriage Become Forced
While arranged and forced marriage are different issues, sometimes the distinction between them can blur. For example, a woman might enter into an arranged marriage willingly, but want to leave because of domestic violence or other issues in the relationship. If her community, family, or legal system prevents her from leaving the marriage, that marriage can be considered forced. The issue of consent is also tricky here. Is a woman consenting to a marriage if she fears being socially ostracized for refusing it? Is she consenting if that marriage is the only way her family can survive financially? Marrying under those terms might meet a legal definition of consent, but it's certainly not an active choice on her part.
It's important to understand both the distinctions between arranged and forced marriage and the fact that they sometimes overlap. While arranged marriages have brought happiness and stability to both couples and communities, forced marriages are by nature exploitative and unequal. Marriage with children too young to consent to marry cannnot be considered arranged and should be considered forced. As with most significant human rights issues, a good understanding of arranged and forced marriage is the first tool of advocacy.
Photo credit: Scenes from an Indian Wedding by Madaboutasia
From Budapest to Toronto: Timea Eva's True Story of Slavery
Published September 06, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
This story was collected from KMBC. Timea Eva's experiences as a trafficking victim are common. They're so common that situations like her's -- a young, Eastern European woman tricked into the commercial sex industry -- have become the norm for mainstream coverage and examples of human trafficking. But this situation was real for Timea Eva and thousands of other women from Eastern Europe from the 1990s to today.
The summer Timea Eva Nagy was 20, she decided to take a summer job in Canada. It was far away from her home in Budapest, Hungary, but she would earn money and have an interesting international experience. Shortly arriving in Toronto, however, she was kidnapped and forced to strip and sell her body for sex.
During her captivity, Nagy desperately wanted to leave, but her traffickers threatened to harm her family back in Hungary if she tried to escape. They starved her to keep her weak and thin. She tried to find help. She eventually even tried suicide. But it seemed nothing would release her from this nightmare. But despite it all, Nagy suppressed the urge to panic and break down. She stayed calm and went into "survival mode", determined to finally find a way to break free.
Finally she found a way out. Nagy managed to use a Hungarian-English dictionary to explain to a DJ and a security guard that she was being abused, and that she wanted to leave. They helped her escape her captors and find safety.
Nagy's story has as happy an ending as such a story can have. She now tours the U.S. talking about her experience and educating people on the reality of human trafficking. She has even written a book called "Walk with Me: A Memoir of a Sex Slave Worker."
Photo credit: Mysi anne
