SEX TRAFFICKING LECTURE CRITIQUE

June 5, 2017

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    Mr. Stanly and Mr. Parashuram are two extraordinary individuals the Global Health study abroad program had the opportunity to meet and learn about. These men started their young adult life as co-reporters in a local newspaper in Mysore, Karnataka, India. While covering a story assigned to them, they came across a 30 year-old prostitute named Radhamma. Radhamma challenged them to come back to the area and cover her life story, insisting her story will “ be on the cover page”. Mr. Stanly and Mr. Parashuram decided to search for Radhamma after their initial visit to the town. After a few more visits, they learned about her heinous past and slowly began to establish a lasting friendship. After she reached a certain age, Radhamma was forced to live in poverty after being kicked out from the brothel she was sold to by her husband. Stanly and Parashuram initially felt the best solution to her problem was money. They decided to provide her with an allowance to sustain her and her son. After a few months, they found her on the street, which made them realize how little money could help. Radhamma had become accustom to the lifestyle forced upon her. She only knew of a life filled with drugs and sex work.  She found it difficult to remove herself from this way of life, leading to her return to the streets. This was when Stanly and Parashuram realized Radhamma needed a long term comprehensive solution for her rehabilitation. She was in need of emotional support and psychological counseling.

    Radhamma’s experience drove Mr. Stanly and Parashuram to organize a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to the rescuing and rehabilitation of sex-trafficking victims around the Mysore area. Their dedication has allowed them to successfully run this NGO for 27 years in Karnataka, India. Due to their efforts, more than 6,000 sex trafficking victims have been successfully rescued. Odanani has been established in 6 countries: UK,  Belgium, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Even after receiving many awards for their hard work they consider themselves “students to this issue” (S. Parashu, personal communication, June 1, 2017).

    Sex trafficking is formally defined by the United Nations (UN) as recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (i.e. force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor and sexual exploitation (United Nations, 2000). This lucrative crime has become a rampant issue affecting millions of people. In 2013, the International Labor Organization estimated the worldwide prevalence of sex trafficking victims to be about 21 million (Lebaron, 2013). In Asia and the pacific, rates of sex trafficking reach 3.3 per 100,000 people ((Lebaron, 2013). One research study argues that the rate in India has increased from 24 percent to 50 percent of the country’s total population (George & Sabarwal, 2013).

    These numbers are important to consider in light of the profound direct and indirect impact on it’s victims and their surrounding community. Victims of this crime suffer from physical and emotional impairments due to their attackers and society as a whole suffers with them.

     Sex trafficking victims experience a negative impact on their psychological and physiological well-being. Research has shown a high prevalence of drug/alcohol abuse within the community of trafficked sex workers. Specifically, a quantitative study conducted in Mumbai, India, on alcohol use of female sex workers found 62.5 percent of women who were trafficked into sex work used alcohol very often in the first month of sex work, compared to 48.9 percent of women who were not trafficked into sex work (Silverman et. al., 2001). This same study found about 2 in 5 HIV infected trafficked sex workers revealed they were forced or coerced into the sex worker industry (Silverman et. al., 2001). This amounts to a estimated HIV risk of 32 percent among trafficked sex workers in India (Silverman et. al., 2001). The affect on mental and physical health can be observed in other areas as well. A study conducted in Europe (i.e. Moldova, Ukraine, Italy, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Belgium) analyzed the mental health of 192 rescued female sex trafficking victims and found 57 percent of these women were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and 39 percent of these women experienced thoughts of suicide within the past seven days (Zimmerman et. al., 2008). This study also asked these victims about 26 physical symptoms and found the majority of the victims suffer from headaches (82%), back pain (69%), and memory difficulty (62%) (Zimmerman et. al., 2008). Women experience violence while being trafficked which can in turn affect their psyche and physical well being. Specifically, one study found 5 in 10 women who were forcefully trafficked have been physically abused while working and 6 in 10 reported being raped or abused by their customers (Farley et al., 2003).

    Mr. Stanly ended the lecture by raising a critical question: “if there is one girl in the brothel but 20 men are visiting her: who’s issue is it?” (S. Parashu, personal communication, June 1, 2017). This question demonstrates the patriarchal influence driving this crisis. Social acceptance of objectifying women can allow people to justify the act of taking women for sex work or paying for sex with these victims. Demand is necessary for supply and with little demand there will be a lack of supply.  It is important to consider the reconstruction of masculine values and education in order to eradicate this issue globally.

    Mr. Stanly addressed four possible solutions: awareness, social/economical reconstruction, constitutional guarantees, and gender equality and equity promotion. Providing awareness of this issue to rural communities can not only supply manpower to create effective laws and policies against this issue, but can also bestow the community a chance to identify potential trafficking victims and allow vulnerable populations the opportunity to protect themselves from coercive predators. Reconstruction of social values and the economic system are two strong solutions that involve hard work and many resources. Social values are difficult to reconstruct and can only be changed with time. The weak economic system leading to a highly vulnerable population is also a difficult problem to address but necessary to consider. Constitutional guarantees are also important to address, but do not warranty the enforcement of these rights. Gender equality and equity promotion is fundamentally requisite for the eradication if this issue, but also requires a large amount of resource and time.

    As a student and fellow, my role in addressing this crisis is understanding the global implications of this issue and actively investigating the implications of this problem. As a citizen of the world, my role is to remain sensitive to this topic and spread awareness about this issue to ensure the diminishment of the current rates of human trafficking.

Works Cited

Parashu, S. (June 1, 2017) Personal interview.

Summary of the United Nations convention against transnational organized crime and protocols thereto. (2000). Trends in Organized Crime, 5(4), 11-21. doi:10.1007/s12117-000-1044-5

George A, Sabarwal S. Sex trafficking, physical and sexual violence, and HIV risk among young female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2013;120(2):119-23.

Silverman, J. G., Raj, A., Cheng, D. M., Decker, M. R., Coleman, S., Bridden, C., ... & Samet, J. H. (2011). Sex trafficking and initiation-related violence, alcohol use, and HIV risk among HIV-infected female sex workers in Mumbai, India. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 204(suppl 5), S1229-S1234.

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Zimmerman C, Hossain M, Yun K, Gajdadziev V, Guzun N, Tchomarova M, et al. The health of trafficked women: a survey of women entering posttrafficking services in Europe. Am J Public Health 2008; 98(1):55- 9.

Farley, M., Cotton, A., Lynne, J., Zumbeck, S., Spiwak, F., Reyes, M. E., & Sezgin, U. (2003). Prostitution and trafficking in nine countries: An update on violence and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2(3/4), 33-74.

McClain NM, Garrity SE. Sex trafficking and the exploitation of adolescents. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2011;40:243–252.

Unicef. (2014). “Infographic: A Global Look at Human Trafficking”

Lebaron, G. (2013). Slavery, Human Trafficking, and Forced Labour: Implications for International Development. The Palgrave Handbook of International Development, 381-398. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-42724-3_22