Rights as Humans: The Violation of Women’s Rights in Sex Trafficking
In the article “Human Trafficking: Monitoring and Evaluation of International Projects are Limited, but Experts Suggest Improvements,” published in GAO reports 2007, the author notes that sex trafficking is a crime that forces women to perform sexual acts for the financial gain of other individuals; this is a violation of the basic rights of humans. Victims are kidnapped, runaways and are enticed to leave their homes for profiteering purposes. Organized crimes and gangs are supported by sex trafficking and inevitably will raise social, and public health cost (Human Trafficking). Researchers have shown that woman and children rights are violated in sex trafficking because they are used for prostitution, they are physically abused and it has an effect on their physical and mental health.
In her article “Legalization of Prostitution is a Violation of Human Rights,” Dianne Post claims that “sexual exploitation of women and children is a deliberate issue that society faces today in human rights” (Post 65). Post quotes the renowned trafficking expert and activist, Gunilla Eckberg states that, “trafficking and prostitution of women and girls for profit is one of the fastest growing global enterprises.” Post, however, agrees, she claims that sex trafficking is categorize as second in international crime, leading with smuggling drugs, and brought with unlawful arms sales (65). She notes that women and children are defenseless when exposed to prostitution which amounts into modish labor (65). Viewers tend to connect with both Post and Gunilla, because estimates shows that 600,000 to 800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors (65). She explains that prostitution is the act of one’s inequity, and is the act of exposure or misuse by a male, but it’s a mirror of inequality among man and woman. When destructiveness is brought towards woman it violates the rights of humans (66). Researchers have come to a thought that sexual exploiting of women is a flourishing issue across the world and it needs to be addressed (65).
Post presents a five country study, done by Dr. Melissa Farley and colleagues in 1998; researchers have found that woman in children involved used for prostitution in sex trafficking come into contact with brutal violence (67). Observes tend to agree with Post, pointing out to the study that women are unwilling to undergo the following: hair pulled, faces are ejaculated on, chest squeezed; pinched, verbally abused, beaten, cut with knives, burned with cigarettes, and gang raped (67). Post argues this situation is illustrated by a accusation made in Canada, in a situation where the victim stated that her pimp had control over everything, he took her money, he told her that he bought her, he made her take her clothes of, scorched her with cigarettes, intimidated her by telling her he will kill her mother and brother, threatened to cut her arms and legs, and he also forced her to perform sexual act to his anus (67). She explains a Greek case in 2005 of August was developed and it illustrated the same violence (67). She notes that the police caught one man and gave warrants to four other men that forced Nigerian women to be prostitutes (67). She argues that these women were burned, tortured with an iron and boiling water (67).
Another study was done on trafficked women in Indonesia, Venezuela, and the United States, this study was done by Janice Raymond and colleagues, in this study researchers found similar torture (Post 68). The countries listed abuse against women was defined as endemic in trafficking women, with amounts of 80 percent physical harm, over 60 percent sexual assault, over 70 percent verbally threatened and almost 70 percent were controlled by drugs or alcohol (68). She explains in Indonesia, abuse against sex trafficking women amounted to the use of belts, wooden sticks, and fists; females were segregated, raped, and overtaxed; and this was all operated by law administration to protect the brothels (68). In Venezuela, she claims that women were pushed, abused with objects, dented, deserted, victimized with guns and knives; ever movement that was made it was controlled by the pimps, and the women were compelled to perform sexual activity with law administration and migration directors (68). Last, but not least she points out that in the United States, a report was made that 84 to 100 percent of females surveyed the abuse of the same violence; trafficking women reported trauma such as bruises, mouth and teeth swelling, bleeding of the body parts, internal pain, head damage and fragmented bones (68). However, survival remains determine, as noted attorney Dianne Post has pointed out that
Homicide is a frequent cause of death among sex trafficking women, according to the study. The average life span for a woman after entering prostitution is four years. No population of women has a higher death rate due to murder, which accounts for fifty percent of their death. (67)
With that being said, it’s no guarantee that victims of sex trafficking will come out alive and if they do survive many of these women may retrieve mental health issues.
In the authors article, “Trauma and its Aftermath for Commercially Sexually Exploited Women as Told by Front-Line Service Providers,” published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Kristin A. Hom, MPH, BA., Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health and The University of Akron, Ohio, USA., and Stephanie J. Woods, PhD, RN., of the University of Akron, school of Nursing, Akron, Ohio, USA, argues that sex trafficking women are at high risk of amounted physical and mental health problems. In which these health issues may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use, anxiety disorders, self-harming behavior, sexually transmitted diseases, server physical injuries, and somatic symptoms (75). As noted Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Government and Politics Andrea Maria Bertone points out that,
Women that face sexual abuse, with all the dangers of injury and server health risks entails. The women may be deprived of their documents and forced into a situation of server dependences, comparable to being a hostage. Sex trafficked women are often subjected to violence by traffickers and clients alike, deprived of basic human rights of abuse and exploitation by traffickers. The mental and emotional health of victims can be as server as and longer lasting than physical scars.(11)
This matter is subjected to anyone; it could be your mother, sister, aunt, or niece. This crime is an issue, where individuals obtain sociological dilemmas that can last for a life time. For example, in Post article she argues that sex trafficked women suffer from desolation, craziness, fatal thoughts, grumpy disorders, apprehension disorders, disconnect disorders and chemical dependence (68). She explains that in order for the women to face the mental oppression of being used for prostitution, they have to come into contact with dividing off a part of themselves, which means leaving the inner state of the body or going into another state of mentally (68). She notes a further study that was done by Melissa Farley, she introduce a number of sever health effects that sexual exploited women can endure, which involves tuberculosis, STI’s, HIV/AIDS, numerous growing illness, vaginal infections, backaches, pelvic pains, substance abuse, sleeplessness, desperation, eating disorders, cervical cancer, hepatitis, infertility and early mortality(69). Lisa and Mary points out that sex trafficking has been known as a factor in the heterosexual transmission of HIV/AIDS everywhere, which targets the males has the dominate carriers of the diseases (Muftic and Finn 1863). With that being said, observers connect with the both Lisa and Mary, because research shows that a large percent of women reported no use of birth control, and if birth control was used, the dominate type would be contraceptive, but most pimps didn’t use that method(1864).
Women that are sex trafficked are forced to endure in sexual activates that they don’t want to engage in and that violates their rights of decision making. Traffickers have complete control over the women, and that violates women’s rights over action making. The reason why this is important, because sex slavery has been around for many years now, but it changes every year. Anybody can get caught into sex trafficking; it doesn’t discriminate between an individual’s color and gender. Traffickers target victims based off vulnerability. Not too many women survive from sex trafficking, because of the physical abuse women attain from their pimps or customers. A lot of sex trafficking happens in a lot of global areas and many women like to travel places and not knowing their surroundings. Women who survive from sex trafficking come into contact with a lot of side effects, mental issues and physical issues that cannot be treated. Sex trafficking is a serious matter and a life threatening issue that’s not isolated from a social status. In order to gain rights for women who are violated in sex trafficking, society needs to take control and speak up.
Read it and Weep 