Say No To Sexual Slavery: How To Stop Sexual Slavery In Rural Areas?
If there is one thing that is damaging the condition of lives in your society even in the present day and age. It is the issue of sexual slavery. If that is something that you have been trying to stop, you have reached the right place.
Human trafficking is a crime that has been troubling the world for ages. This is where minors or even young adults are sold off to become sex slaves through coercion. Repeated abuse and torture are something that is common in their daily lives.
But does that mean that there is no end to it? Absolutely not!
While the path to achieving a society that is free from sexual slavery is not easy and very far from today. It is still something that we can do. And it is something that we need to start from the ground— from the rural areas!
Keep reading this article till the end to learn more…
What Is Sexual Slavery?
Before talking about the ways in which you can help stop sexual slavery. It is important that you learn a little about what it is in the first place.
According to studies, sexual slavery “is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities.” Forced labor, torture, abuse, and violence— are some of the things that the sex slaves face on a daily basis. It is the way of their lives.
But is it a healthy one?
NO!
Sexual slavery has been going on for ages. Even during the times of war, young minor girls and grown-up women were sold off as “comfort women.” However, this was nothing but the military sexual enslavement of women. They were the first modern-day sex slaves.
“From 1931 to 1945, between 50,000 and 200,000 girls and young women, euphemistically known as “comfort women,” were forced into sexual servitude in Japanese military brothels. Where they were systematically raped and abused by Japanese military personnel,” according to studies.
After being trafficked, these innocent and helpless girls and women are sold off at prices for child prostitution, sex tourism, pornography, and even cybersex. And this is just the beginning of their life of sexual slavery.
In case you think that sexual slavery is something that was of the past, you are wrong.
“Forty- to 50-year-old women were priced at $41, 30- to 40-year-old women at $62, 20- to 30-year-old women, $82 and 1- to 9-year-old children, $165,” an article titled Bureau of Sex Slavery published in The Nation states.
In case you are curious about what these rates are about, let me help you out. It is a part of the price list that leaked from the Sex Slave Market of ISIS. On this list, the women and cattle were treated alike.
At a time and age like this, where individuals have access to technology and the internet. When we have the means to stay aware and spread awareness. We have the means to stay protected, sexual slavery plagues the world.
Say No To Sexual Slavery: How To Stop Sexual Slavery In Rural Areas?
If you happen to be someone who wants to take smaller steps towards meeting the bigger goals like that of putting an end to sexual slavery, you have reached the right place. While it is true that human and sex trafficking is present in all parts of the world. The rural areas face a traumatic number of sex enslavements every year.
Women are married off to cities in dreams that they will be taken care of by their husbands. However, soon after arriving here, they are sold as sex slaves and laborers. Most young women and minor girls who keep living in their rural homelands also face the same tragedy.
In case you have been trying to look for the ways in which you can stop sexual slavery in rural areas, here are the ways that you can try:
1. Increase Awareness
The first thing that you should be doing in order to stop sexual slavery and sex trafficking at the rural level is to make people more aware of their surroundings. It is important that people, both men, and women, are able to understand the gravity of the crime. It is important that they understand how cruel it is to force someone to become a sex slave.
You can conduct workshops and make the people aware of the actions that can be taken against them if they indulge in any such activities. Ask them to speak up anytime they doubt some form of criminal activity is taking place in their surrounding areas and neighborhood.
2. Digital Safety
The next thing that you can do is make people aware of the uses and the misuse of digital apps and items. They should be made aware that no matter how important the internet is in the present day and age. It is an equally dangerous area. Tell your children not to trust anyone that they meet or talk to on the internet and social media platforms.
Not all the people who appear helpful have good intentions. Studies show that a large percentage of women were promised better standards of living by the people they met on the internet. However, their dreams were rather crushed when they figured out that they are being sold for sex trafficking and sexual slavery.
3. Encourage Healthy Relationships
One of the most important things that you should be doing when you try to put an end to sexual slavery in rural areas is to promote and encourage healthy behaviors in relationships. It is important that they learn to break away from a situation or position where they are facing violence and abuse.
Most of the time, women are too young to understand what harm is happening to them. Only when they grow older and become an adult do they start realizing that they have been doomed to lifelong sexual enslavement.
However, it is your duty to make them understand. That they do not have to keep doing the things they do. It is your responsibility to make them realize that they will be safe and taken care of if they decide to leave their abusers.
4. Educate
The next thing that you can do in order to stop sexual slavery is to educate the victims and the people in the rural areas about what sexual slavery is. You can talk to school students or college students and teach them about the heinous crime and the consequences that they can face.
Teach them about how they can recognize the recruitment tactics of the traffickers. Teach them about the ways in which they can navigate skillfully and safely out of an uncomfortable situation. Tell them that they can easily reach out for support and safety if they think that they are in any dangerous situation.
5. Build Communities
Last but not the least, one of the best things that you can do in order to stop sexual slavery is to build up communities. In order to raise awareness against sexual slavery and trafficking. According to the Department of States (U.S.), there are a few things that you can do.
One great way to go about this is by organizing an “awareness-raising event to watch and discuss films about human trafficking. For example, learn how modern slavery exists today; watch an investigative documentary about sex trafficking; or discover how forced labor can affect global food supply chains.”
Indicators Of Human Trafficking And Sexual Slavery: How Can You Identify Them?
There are a number of watts in which you can identify and discover a potential human trafficking situation. Most of the time, the victims are right in front of our eyes and yet we fail to realize that they might be victims of human trafficking and sexual slavery.
That is the reason why you should know some indicators that can help you recognize and stop crime. Call them red flags, or whatever you want to— once you notice them, start taking immediate steps. Here are some of the indicators of such crimes according to the U.S. Government that you should be aware of and alert about:
- Living with employer
- Poor living conditions
- Signs of physical abuse
- Inability to speak to individual alone
- Under 18 and in prostitution
- Submissive or fearful
- The employer is holding identity documents
- Unpaid or paid very little
- Answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed
- Multiple people in a cramped space.
Health Issues Seen In Victims Of Sexual Slavery And Human Trafficking
There are a number of ways in which the victims face the consequences of the crime. That they have not even committed but were forced to be a part of.
“Trafficking victims may suffer from an array of physical and psychological health issues stemming from inhumane living conditions, poor sanitation, inadequate nutrition, poor personal hygiene, brutal physical and emotional attacks at the hands of their traffickers, dangerous workplace conditions, occupational hazards and general lack of quality health care,” studies state.
Here are some of the health issues that the victims face:
- Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), pelvic pain, HIV/AIDS, rectal trauma as well as urinary issues from working in the sex industry.
- Mutilations or infections caused by dangerous and unsanitary medical procedures performed by the trafficker’s so-called “doctor.”
- Pregnancy, resulting from rape or prostitution.
- Weak eyes and other eye problems from working in dimly lit sweatshops.
- Infectious diseases like tuberculosis.
- Scars, bruises, and several other signs of physical torture and abuse. The victims of the sex industry are beaten in areas of their bodies that will not have any impact or damage on their outward appearance.
Apart from these, there can also be several other health conditions such as chronic backache, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, and hearing issues.
In most cases, it has been noticed that children who were forced into the world of sexual slavery suffer from “malnourishment and serious dental problems.” This is because of the retarded growth as a result of not getting enough nutrients in food.
Wrapping It Up!
In case you were searching for ways to stop sexual slavery. I hope that this article has been of help to you. If there are any other queries related to the same, feel free to let me know.
All you gotta do is scroll down till you reach the bottom of the page. And then leave your suggestions and doubts in the comment box below. I will try to come up with satisfactory answers for each and every one of you as soon as possible!
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