Sex trafficking is much more prevalent in the United States
than many believe and it is extremely prevalent in other areas of the world
such as Southeast Asia. Although people disagree about whether or not prostitution
should be legal, it is appalling that the people sex trafficked are forced to
into that profession. Most don’t receive any pay or have any say in the safety
procedures. As shown in Half the Sun, many times they are treated terribly,
shamed, and become addicted to drugs. There is no doubt that this is wrong, but
how do we even begin to combat this issue?
Some people
believe that legalizing prostitution would lessen the amount of forced
prostitution. I have a hard time seeing how the two would correlate. Today,
people who would like to be prostitutes could still do so by breaking the law.
The women who want to be prostitutes but don’t because it’s against the law
could become prostitutes once it is legal, but that is the only change I see
occurring. I do not imagine that the people enslaving others and forcing them
into prostitution really care about the law. The people who are being forced
into the profession do no want it and likely would not chose that life if it
were legal. It may make conditions better for them, but either way it is not
the life they chose if it is forced prostitution. Legalizing prostitution would
have a small impact on forced prostitution, which is the outcome of sex
trafficking.
In some
parts of the world, forced prostitutions and sex trafficking can become so
prevalent because of the corruption. For example, in Cambodia when there is a
van full of people trying to cross the border without documentation, often the
border control will let them in if they pay a bribe. The police officers there
do nothing to try and stop forced prostitution, instead they use the brothel’s
services. They do nothing to help women who try to escape from that life. In countries
like this, the government could work towards having less corruption. Paying
government workers higher salaries if they do not accept bribes could possibly
be an incentive. Although it is hard to manage, it could be a step in the right
direction.
Another
issue in some areas of the world is the culture. In some countries, men are not
allowed to have sex with their girlfriends until they are married. However it
is acceptable for them to pay other women for sex. This creates a huge demand
for prostitutes. Many people in those countries say that they sacrifice some
women so that the other women can remain pure until marriage. If there is a way
to change culture norms so that there was less emphasis on marriage and more on
the protection of women’s rights, this may also help reduce the forced
prostitution. When there is less demand for prostitutes and each citizen is
considered equal, there will be less forced prostitution.
Although
there is no way to completely prevent forced prostitution everywhere in the
world, there is a reason why it is so prevalent in Southeast Asia. Legalizing
prostitution will do nothing to prevent forced prostitution. The amount
corruption is so high and the culture causes a huge demand for prostitutes. It
also does not value the lives of all women. Changing the culture and corruption
may lead to less forced prostitution and sex trafficking.
I agree with your statements and I wrote a similar post about the fact that it is incredibly difficult, even seemingly impossible, to combat human trafficking. Do you think it is possible to change the culture in these southeast Asian nations and eastern European nations so much that prostitution would actually subside?
ReplyDeleteMaybe but it would take many many years. I think that some of the problems are culture norms but those can't be changed within one or two generations. Allowing more women to go to school and receive a high level education could mean more job opportunities. That could lead to less accepting jobs from men offering them work in other countries which often leads to their trafficking. Equality would also mean that there are more jobs in the market that women could fill. They could create policies that take steps in the right direction within the next few years but changing mindsets will take generations. I doubt that this industry will ever completely go away.
ReplyDeleteDo you think making women rights a priority would help prevent human trafficking? If so, how? In what ways can governments prioritize it?
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you discuss cultural roles of women and what effects this has on prostitution in foreign nations. I think its important to emphasize women's rights instead of promoting misogyny through shaming prostitutes. The long term is very important and will surely allow cultures to make a real change, but how feasible do you think the long term is, and is there a good way to promote women's rights without being accused of "Westernizing" other cultures?
ReplyDeleteBrittany- I thought about that as I was writing the blog post. Normally I don't like the idea of "Westernizing" the world, but in some cases it may be a step in the right direction. There was a time when the west had similar views, women weren't allowed to attend schools, vote, or work in politics and now that has changed. I think it should be presented as pushing human rights instead of pushing Westernization. The United States is not completely equal but women's rights have greatly progressed to the point where women have much more opportunities than in the past. That is what I would hope for in the long term. And since it has occurred in other countries, it is possible to occur there. It would take a long time, but i don't think it's impossible.
ReplyDeleteAdeline- I think that it would lessen it since there would be more opportunities for women. Governments could initiate programs that educate women, help them into more high powered jobs, and promote equal rights. I'm not sure if divorce is against the law or against religion but removing rules like that would also be beneficial. Overall once the government and culture begin to treat men and women equally, it would not longer be important that women are "pure" before marriage since it isn't important for men to be. This could greatly reduce the demand for sex slavery/sex trafficking.