Half the Sky

Today, the number of enslaved women trafficked into brothels every year is greater than the number of African slaves who were sent to plantations in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many die from AIDS when they’re only in their twenties. How is this possible?

It’s important to understand the difference between prostitution and sex slavery. The former is mostly voluntary: women may be economically pressured into it, but they’re not physically forced to do it. China has the highest number of prostitutes of any country.

Sex slaves, on the other hand, are often locked in a room and forced to work around fifteen hours a day, seven days a week. They’re often unpaid, and frequently beaten and humiliated. India has the highest number of sex slaves.

Humiliation is key to keeping women trapped in these situations. Once you break someone’s spirit, you can coerce them into almost anything. Some women are even manipulated into going out into the street with a smile on their faces and bring men back to the brothel.

One 15-year-old Thai girl reported that she was forced to eat dog feces just to break her will.

The sex slave trade operates on an implicit contract: men satisfy themselves with lower-class girls so upper-class girls can maintain their virtuousness.

In fact, in India, border officers often allow traffickers and their slaves to get in. They’re tougher on terrorists, weapons and smuggled or pirated goods like copied DVDs. That’s because, like many, they believe that prostitution is inevitable: it’s the only outlet for men who don’t get married until they’re around 30. They also believe that it keeps good, middle-class Indian girls safe by sacrificing peasant girls (who are often Nepalese) instead.

People get away with this in the modern world for the same reasons people got away with enslaving Africans centuries ago: slaves are perceived as discounted humans.