Gabrielle McCarty
Professor Michael Benton
November 1st, 2017
Essay 2
Marketing Flesh
It is a sickening and painful truth that human beings are
one of the largest, most common commodities sold all over the world. Even more unthinkable
is the fact that most of those enslaved are children. In one way or another, every
country on Earth is affected by the trafficking of flesh, including the United
States, as confirmed by the U.S. State Department. While the enslavement and
sale of humans can be intended for multiple reasons, including agricultural
labor and factory work, a significant percentage includes women and children
forced into prostitution as sex slaves. While males also fall victim, an
estimated eighty percent of trafficked humans are female, according to the U.S.
State Department in a trafficking victims report. There is a demographic of
“sex workers” and prostitutes that are consenting adults, even promoting the
use of condoms to prevent the spread of disease. However, the vast majority of
these workers in the world are subjected to sexual battery and violence. Much
like animals on the food market, these people are forced to exist in harsh,
unlivable conditions with large disregard to their physical and mental health.
Most perform sex work all hours of the day with no personal monetary gain. The
slightest hint of insubordination, even the notion of escape, results in
maiming, beatings and often death. It is evident that women and children endure
the harshest of cruelties that humans can possibly inflict upon one another,
and in the highest volume, which is expressed by the ILO 2012 Global Estimate
of Forced Labor. By gaining a better understanding of human trafficking and
exposing its horrors, we can make it more easily combatable.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade, which involved several
countries in the transport of slaves from Africa, was abolished in 1807 when
President Jefferson signed the act when passed by congress, as stated by
Kathryn Cullen-DuPont in her book Human
Trafficking. However, more people live in slavery today than ever before. A
more common type of slavery that existed in early tradition was chattel
slavery, which refers to the enslaved individual as not so much human as they
are an object or piece of property owned by another individual (DuPont, pg. 6).
This form of slavery existed in nearly all ancient civilizations and countries.
DuPont further explains that approximately 13 million people from Africa were
transported to Europe and the Americas as slaves between the early 1500s to the
early 1800s. She refers to the Transatlantic Slave Trade as the largest
deportation in human history, as well as one of the “cruelest episodes” (pg.
6). Some consider that modern-day slaves have lesser monetary value than those
enslaved centuries ago. In her book, DuPont quotes Kevin Bale, a sociology
professor at Roehampton University:
[b]uying a slave is no longer a major investment, like buying a car or a house (as it was in the old slavery); it is more like buying an inexpensive bicycle or a cheap computer. Slaveholders get all the work they can out of their slaves, and then throw them away (Bales. Disposable People, pg. 4, cited in DuPont, pg. 8).
This shift in the human and monetary value of a slave
from traditional to modern times certainly ensures a much harsher reality for
people currently living in slavery, for they are more disposable and easier to
replace. For a forced sex-slave, once she is “used up”, or, say, ravaged by
sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, she is further worked, squeezing the
last bit of labor out of her in any way possible, with zero regard given
towards her health. She is eventually expelled from her brothel, presumably to
die (DuPont, pg. 8).
Of
the countless horrors that the trafficking of humans entails, a majority of the
pain inflicted goes on within the walls of brothels. As explained by Nicholas
Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in their book, Half
the Sky, is not uncommon to see these multi-story buildings lining the
streets of places like India and Cambodia, complete with eager, smiling
prostitutes welcoming and greeting potential customers. This alone helps
maintain the illusion to the public that the underaged sex workers living there
are engaging in this line of work on their own accord, even alluding towards
the idea that they enjoy it. However, swift and brutal punishment awaits for
any girl unwilling to help perpetuate this illusion, being that of an honest
business that employs compliant and content “employees” (Kristof, pg. 24).
The
young women and girls living in the brothel, often reluctant at first, are
subjected to routine beatings and various methods of dehumanization. Usually,
this includes accosting, threats of violence, even threats upon their lives. If
a girl refuses to please a client, or rejects work in any form, she is beaten
into complete submission. This is frequently practiced on younger, newly
arrived girls, as they tend to be more confused, afraid and not completely
aware of what sexual contact even consists of, none the less ready to accept
such aggressive advances from strange, older men. Often, a method of
“preparation” is typically practiced by pimps and brothel owners on newly arriving
girls. DuPont writes of this method pertaining to young girls put on display in
windows of sex shops in the Netherlands. She explains that these girls are put
on display after they turn 18, however, they were “prepared” for selling sex
beforehand via subjection to rapes (often by gangs or the pimp himself) and
forced sex with the pimp’s friends (pg. 72). Most brothel owners are hesitant to maim or
permanently disfigure one of their girls, as compromising her physical
attractiveness lowers her worth as a product, for the youngest, “prettiest”
girls generate higher earnings. However, if a girl that is extremely
non-compliant, attempts to escape several times or even physically acts out
causing harm, the owners will resort to the harshest punishment, resulting in
permanent mutilation. This includes such methods as cutting or throwing
corrosive acid upon the face of a perceived belligerent girl. From that point
on, her value as a sex object is dropped drastically, and the likelihood of
mortality increases far beyond that of a higher-earning girl. Many of these
disfigured girls, similar to the ones who have grown too old or have contracted
deadly illnesses like HIV, are kept as chore slaves to do the cooking, cleaning
and laundry with no pay.
Many of the underaged girls brought to work in brothels
were kidnapped from their families, or led there under the impression that
they’d be performing a retail-oriented job like shop assistant, or a cleaning
service like a hotel maid. It is also not uncommon for the girls to have been
sold into slavery by their families either directly to the brothel owner or the
trafficker, who in turn sold them into sexual slavery. One or both of her
parents may have been unaware of their child’s impending fate, thinking their
decision would result in her leading a better life. This is often a problem
among families living in poverty, explaining why most slaves came from poor
backgrounds. Then again, one or both parents may be fully aware of what awaits
their daughter, having sold her out of necessity. This element of desperation
also raises the threat of sexual slavery, for girls from impoverished families
and backgrounds are more easily manipulated by fraudulent employers. As Kristof
explains in Half the Sky, a girl looking
for a better paying job, may contact or be contacted by a trafficker posing as
a representative of an employment agency, and subsequently be sold to a pimp or
a brothel under the pretense of working somewhere like a shop or restaurant.
The fact that gender inequality exists in many of the continents highly
involved in human trafficking (much of Asia/South Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe)
also puts many women at a higher risk for enslavement. DuPont writes that many women
in trafficking origin countries lack the same resources as men. They have a
lower education rate and less rights as individuals in general, making them
highly susceptible for kidnapping, being trafficked or even defending herself
from a pimp or trafficker under the guise of someone offering harmless and fair
employment (pg. 24).
While
many people are enslaved out of poverty, there are several other reasons and
causes for human trafficking. One of the most prominent reasons for sex work
today, whether consensual or not, is the extremely high demand for consumer
sex. As explained by DuPont in Human Trafficking,
purchased sex is often preferred because it is usually guaranteed, and the
purchaser may customize their options (requesting a person who fits a certain
appearance, age range, etc.) as long as they can afford it. A military base may
purchase a trafficked child to satisfy the pedophilic tendencies of its
soldiers, in conjunction to purchasing prostitutes for general sexual enjoyment
(pg. 25). Prostitution and sex work is considered the oldest profession in
human history, largely fueling the trafficking of humans, mainly women and
children, for sex. In addition to an individual being enslaved for sex, men
prefer to purchase their brides, commonly as children. Citizens of several
countries, especially the United States, participate in the purchasing of mail
order brides, typically being women from other countries that originate from
poor backgrounds. She may be trafficked as a slave or agree out of necessity to
ensure marrying a wealthy man and escaping poverty or forced prostitution
(DuPont, pg. 101). This high demand branches out into a number of other issues
resulting from and causing sex trafficking.
A
likely scenario for a person forced into the sex industry is a slave working to
pay off debt bondage, referring to what it cost the pimp or brothel to traffic
her, as well as the cost of her food, clothes and housing. A forced prostitute
paying off her debt bondage may service more than 40 clients a day, and
accumulatively between 500 and 700 clients total to pay off her owner. In
countries like India, it is possible for children to be born into slavery and
live as one permanently to pay off a debt bondage that originated several
generations ago (DuPont, pg. 11).
In
her memoir Girls Like Us: Fighting for a
World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, anti-trafficking advocate Rachel Lloyd
speaks of her escape from a life of child prostitution and sexual exploitation,
which included the development of abusing various drugs like pain pills,
alcohol and crack. Many of the sexually trafficked girls living in brothels or
with pimps are fed drugs and alcohol to subdue, comfort and ensure their sexual
compliance. The girls who are lucky enough to manage escape from their brothels
often return, solely to feed their addiction to a substance given to them over
the years. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn write of a young Cambodian
prostitute named Srey Momm in their book Half
the Sky. Momm is like numerous young women that developed an addiction to
methamphetamines while working in a brothel. When circumstances lead to her
eventually returning home to be with her family and pursuing her dream of
owning her own business, she found herself unable to stay away from her meth
supply at the brothel, and continuously fled back to continue enough sex work
to get her fix (Kristof, pg. 39).
A
considerable amount of efforts have been made to counteract the widespread
occurrence of human trafficking, including multiple documents signed and
enforced by United Nations and leaders of countries throughout the world. One
of the best-known examples of government involvement to combat human
trafficking is the UN TIP Protocol, or Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, whose main goal is to
inform the public about human trafficking, defending human rights
internationally and carrying out the punishment of those involved in
trafficking (DuPont, pg. 181). Many former victims, such as Rachel Lloyd, are
largely active in spreading awareness and providing comfort and refuge for the
countless amounts of other people suffering in the industry today. Lloyd
herself founded GEMS (Girls Education and Mentoring Services), a non-profit
organization that specifically helps young girls sold in the sex industry, as
explained in her memoir, Girls Like Us.
In
conclusion, one of the best ways to help combat and put an end to human sex
trafficking is to spread awareness and understand the massive scale on which
this epidemic is occurring. Though the battle against slavery, sex trafficking
and the oppression of individuals is a battle that has been waged for centuries,
continuing the fight to help even one or one hundred victims is a step forward
in the right direction. It is a step towards the goal of making the world a
better place for trafficked victims, and rescuing those still in need.
Works Cited:
Bales, Kevin. Disposable
People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Berkley and Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1999.
Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn. Human Trafficking. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009.
ILO. "ILO 2012 Global estimate of forced labour Executive summary." Accessed March 4, 2015
Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into
Opportunity for Women Worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
Lloyd, Rachel. Girls
Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale. New York:
Harper Collins, 2011.
"TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT." United States Department. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/34158.pdf.
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