Whether as a result of desperate economic conditions or in the hope of acquiring better ones, women and children are deceived into believing that offers of work in another country are legitimate. The lure of a relatively well paying job in a foreign country which does not require language or other skills, such as domestic help, is enough to lead many unsuspecting women and children into the hands of recruiters and traffickers.
No matter how these women and children are recruited, they
find themselves transported across borders into unfamiliar countries,
where they have no support or contacts, and whose language they do
not speak. They are then forced into sexual servitude in places such as
brothels, bars and massage parlors, from which most of them cannot
leave.
Their exploiters beat them, mistreat them, and decide what type
of sexual services they are to perform and the manner they are to
perform them. They determine their dress, food, working hours, and
everything else that touches their lives. Brothel or bar owners decide
if, when, and what type of medical treatment the women will receive in
case of illness, venereal disease, and pregnancy.
All associated costs
usually are charged to the trafficked woman or child, further increasing
the debt to exploiters. Owners also sell them to other sexual exploiters.
In most cases, these women and children can never break out of their
bondage. A common practice of traffickers is to addict these victims to
drugs as a way of subduing them and as a means of control. In short,
the hope and promise of a legitimate job turns into an abhorrent form of
modern slavery.
Sometimes, these women and children rebel, either before
entering into the cycle of bondage or during its course. If they do, they
may be subjected by their captors to severe beatings and terrorizing acts
such as rapes involving additional physical torture. If resistance
continues and the victim is killed, no one questions it; they are
considered to be disposable human beings.
Exploiters benefit from almost total impunity. Victims have
no one to turn to for help. Law enforcement officials frequently act in
collusion with traffickers and exploiters. Even if a victim succeeds in
escaping, the agents from which she seeks protection often return her to
her captors. The resulting despondency and despair is beyond
description.
The absence of empirical data has allowed governments to
deny this criminal phenomenon and systematic human rights violation.
The United States is among the few countries to have taken ambitious
steps toward eradicating trafficking of all forms within its borders.
After a Central Intelligence Agency report estimated that 50,000
women were illegally trafficked into the United States for sexual
exploitation, Congress reacted with new legislation designed to
penalize traffickers, protect victims and prevent future trafficking
activity.
The resulting Trafficking Victims Protection Act was signed
into law in 2000. As a result, the U.S. Department of State has
established a new office staffed by experts to monitor this activity
abroad and develop means to combat it. In June 2002, the State
Department issued its second annual report on trafficking in persons
around the world. These and similar efforts should be fully supported
through proper funding and staffing and encouraged as models for
other nations.