I have toyed with the idea of not writing any more in this blog post and just letting the title question speak for itself.
But I can’t. I have too much to say about this subject.
I am not a studied expert on the subject of the sexual slave trade. But, I have observed the world’s reaction to it and prostitution for most of my fifty-two years of life. If you are friends with me on Facebook you have seen my posts about the wonderful book and PBS miniseries, Half the Sky. I think it should be mandatory reading for all adult humans. The authors, Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn do a comprehensive job reporting on the plight of young girls being sold into sexual slavery and the societal benefits of educating women as a means to conquer the problem. The world is better off because of the awareness their book brings to these subjects. I applaud their courage, action, and commitment to women.
There is another side of the sexual slavery issue. The men. Not all men. The men who visit the brothels, hire prostitutes, and yes, even acquaint gentlemen’s clubs. This side of the problem is the side I would like to tackle.
You will hear a lot about this topic on my blog in the future. It’s time to talk about the customers. It’s time to make a change. We are in the twenty-first century. As long as there is a demand for sexual slaves, as long as it is a profitable (and yes, I mean monetarily) business, girls will be bought and sold—and my hunch is that boys are sold, too.
I will not listen to the responses like, “boys will be boys.” I believe our species knows in our DNA that it is not right to have sex with a nine-year old. I won’t listen to cultural excuses about having sex with a child, teen or any women being held against her will. Our earth is overpopulated. The sex drive of the male species that kept them “at the ready” is no longer needed. It’s time for the male species to evolve.
We all know this problem is worldwide. Yet we don’t like to think of it being in our community. In an article titled “U.S. Midwest in crosshairs of child sex trafficking fight” on the CNN Freedom Project Blog, the authors Deborah Feyerick & Sheila Steffen write,
“When it comes to child and adolescent sex-trafficking in the United States, the FBI ranks Minneapolis-St. Paul among the top 13 places in the nation. With its tangle of highways known as Spaghetti Junction, its year-round sporting events and frequent conventions, millions pass through on any given day. ‘There’s the thought no one’s going to catch you in the Midwest,’ says Dan Pfarr who works with teens in crisis.”
They go on to talk about the current consequences for the men that hire girls,
“Lee Roper-Batker heads the $4 million public awareness campaign that will give grants to anti-trafficking groups. “We’ve got to have zero tolerance for the buying and selling of girls. No girl chooses prostitution,” she says.
Roper-Batker says most men buying sex from children “don’t think of it as a horrific act of violence … and because they’re paying for it, somehow that legitimizes it for them.”
Snyder agrees pointing out that prostitution is a felony but buying sex is a misdemeanor. “We need to treat the men that are clients of women and girls in the sex trafficking industry as part of the conspiracy to kidnap, imprison, enslave and to traffic these women.”
This seems incredibly logical and obvious to me. If it is true that because men PAY for sex with a child it is legitimized, we have failed as mothers and fathers to teach our sons a fundamental element of human compassion.
As a Sacred Feminist I won’t be intimidated by, nor will I tolerate, past traditional views on prostitution, the subtle or not so subtle victimization of women or the thought that change is impossible. We can demand change. What has occurred for millennium CAN stop today.
Powerful post, Ellen! Awesome blog…
This is a subject that is off my personal radar. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Very grim indeed. Who are these “customers” anyway? I wish there were a way of focusing public attention on the John’s out there.
I agree with your writing Ellen and since I work with people with disabilities, my eyes have been opened to the atrocities of sexual abuse that happens in many families and leaves life/personality changes and scars on the innocent victims that often don’t ever heal. In fact, those are left with
a script in their head and they then sometimes perpetuate the problem by abusing others…
This whole subject of sex slaves, abuse, and even pornography that some think is a personal choice are all integrated and part of the sordid problem.
ibmepz