Kaylee Hardman
11062938
Women’s Studies 200: Gender and Power
Margo Tamez, Instructor
Global Sex-Slave and Marriage
Trade and Child Sex-Trafficking
Women and girls in nations like Russia and especially in Southeast Asian countries are being sexually exploited for their looks. They continually get traded from one brothel to the next, sometimes even moving across dangerous borders. Not only this, but women are literally selling themselves as mail-order brides just to better their disposition in life. In Southeast Asia alone, over 300,000 women and girls are trafficked and sexually abused (LoBaido). Women are also sold to other men in foreign countries as wives; what makes this such a difficult problem to alleviate is that most of the processes involved in this transaction are legal. Many of these women are abused and sometimes murdered because they don’t know these men they have been sold to. Initiatives such as the International Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBD) are taking steps towards protecting the vulnerability of these women (McElroy). What should be done to protect these women? Are there programs that the U.S can enact so that these exploited women and children can have a safe shelter to escape to?
The fact that many of these women and girls are seen as sexual commodities is a theory apparent in films like “Dream Worlds 2” and also relate to various chapters in “Inequality and Violence in the U.S,” such as chapter 11. Differing cultural values as well as economic status comes into play regarding how these women are sometimes treated.
Selling women as wives is illegal; yet, the processes used with which these women are sold to other men are perfectly legal (McElroy). There are many reasons why women like this resort to selling their bodies in this way. Other women and girls that are sold as prostitutes are hidden in brothels and hovels, never allowed to leave except for sexual encounters. In places like Cambodia, little girls that still have their virginities can be sold at a rate of about $600 for three days (Children). This project will examine how women and children around the globe are exploited as prostitutes and mail-order brides, as well as what is being done to combat their dispositions and prevent the exploitation of their innocence.
References
"Children for sale - Dateline NBC- msnbc.com." Breaking News, Weather, Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Travel, Science, Technology, Local, US & World News- msnbc.com. 9 Jan. 2005. 28 Mar. 2009
Hughes, Donna M. "Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation on the Internet." Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. 1997. 28 Mar. 2009
LoBaido, Anthony C. "Sex-slave trade flourishes in Thailand." WorldNetDaily. 3 Feb. 2002. 28 Mar. 2009 <http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26296>.
McElroy, Wendy. "FOXNews.com - 'Mail-Order Bride' Law Brands All American Men Abusers - Opinion."Breaking News | Latest News | Current News - FOXNews.com. 10 Jan. 2006. 28 Mar. 2009
I think it is great that you are going to delve into the mail order bride phenomeno. In Dustin's facilitation yesterday I wondered if he would hit that topic. The Russian Mail Order Bride business is booming the eastern USA. I knew three women along the Ohio River Valley, on the KY/OH border who thought they were coming the America to work and possibly attend college, who in reality were married to older men who had paid for their 'passage' to America. One of the young women, who would now be about 27 years old, was able to escape her situation and now lives a happy single life teaching English in California, the other two women, I have not heard from in about 5 years. Prior to meeting these three Russian women, I had no idea these kinds of things were happening in America, let alone right next door to me! I was raised pretty naively I guess!
ReplyDeleteKudos on your topic!