Cause [ Sex Slavery ]
Imagine your life as a conscripted rape victim. You will be penetrated by a dozen men tonight. Last night some police got to rape you as payment for protecting your owner's business. Once, when you tried to escape, they beat you, tied you to the bed, and taped a ping-pong ball in your mouth to keep you from screaming. Every night is more of the same. Feeling hollow, you wonder how to die.
According to International Justice Mission, more than 2 million children are trapped in forced prostitution worldwide. While this figure may be a good estimate for child prostitution, the untold number of adults who are also trapped in this evil industry may triple the number. Victims are recruited by threats, coercion, fraud, deception, and outright abduction. Frequently, girls from needy families are lured across national boarders with false promises of a job. Some parents sell their own children into this life of death.
While sex slavery is a problem the world round - even in the United States - hotspots include South East Asia, Central America, and parts of Europe. (David Batstone, Not For Sale). With the rising popularity of sex tourism, rapists have found that they can ravage with impunity. And though police should protect the victims, they frequently serve their own interests by protecting the criminals. Many victims refuse to give testimony in investigations for fear of retribution from their traffickers or mistrust of police.
In addition to devastating the lives of their victims, sex tourism and sex slavery wreak further destruction as some of the most efficient propagators of the AIDS pandemic.
It’s tempting (and sadly convenient) to believe that we are powerless against these seemingly immortal monsters of injustice. And yet, if you’re reading this, your life is probably proof that injustice need not reign. The goodness in our lives is a result of others having sacrificed on our behalves. It’s our turn to do the same. It’s time to act worthy of ourselves.
One of the best resources for information on human trafficking and sex slavery is the annual Trafficking in Persons Report from the U.S. State Department.
