Human Trafficking Watch

Today, the U.N. made another press release related to modern day slavery: Past injustices should spur battle against modern forms of slavery - Ban Ki-moon.”

Even as we mourn the atrocities committed against the countless victims, we take heart from the courage of slaves who rose up to overcome the system which oppressed them,” Mr. Ban said at a special ceremony at UN Headquarters marking the first International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.”These brave individuals, and the abolitionist movements they inspired, should serve as an example to us all as we continue to battle the contemporary forms of slavery that stain our world today,” the Secretary-General told those gathered at the event, which included performances by African drummers, dancers and poets and a steel pan troupe from the Caribbean.Mr. Ban noted that even today, millions around the world, including children, are suffering under the yoke of racism, forced labour, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.Not only is the world shamed by these horrible crimes but it is also challenged to respond, he said. “Let us honour the victims of the slave trade by remembering their struggle. Let us carry it forward until no person is deprived of liberty, dignity and human rights.”

 The reality is that slavery never stopped. It continued throughout other parts of the world, even after the Emancipation Proclamation. Notice that Ban-Ki Moon didn’t name any specific country. That’s because the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade involved the United States. For all of the talk about modern day slavery, the UN has a hard time naming names and passing resolutions against Islamic, Communist, and other oppressive governments. You can’t fight human trafficking (or any other crime for that matter) unless you deal in facts. 

Since the news of former NY governor Spitzer has hit the news, I’ve watched story after story appearing about the underground world of prostitution. Stories like this one, this one, and this one, try to explain why men pay for sex, as if it needs explaining. “The world’s oldest profession” is what it is.

However, one particular opinion piece stood out to me last week and I wanted to comment on it. It was posted on womensenews.org by Juhu Thukral: Sex Workers Need Safety, Not Prosecutors. Thurkal argues that there is a difference between prostitution and human trafficking:

For one thing, any new expansion of the Mann Act would again conflate trafficking and prostitution, bringing police more and more wrongly into the bedrooms of consenting adults.

The thrust of this argument is that to end trafficking, you have to end prostitution, which muddles the two issues. Again, trafficking and prostitution are separate issues.

When sex workers or children are abused, coerced or tricked, they need help, not jail.

Their human rights should be protected, not only from violence but also from the police who routinely abuse them.

There is no indication yet that any sex worker was abused in the Spitzer case, if indeed there is any case here at all. Shaming him is not going to stop prostitution and it will do nothing to halt trafficking into sex work.

His case in fact shows once again that arresting people just for having sex, whether they are sex workers or clients, only makes the situation worse.

I think Thukral’s issue is well argued to a degree. However, there are definitely moral issues involved that can’t be ignored. Prostitution is certainly supply for a demand. Should prostitution be accepted socially as something between consenting adults? To go there, you have to examine why prostitution is illegal. While the legality of prostitution in many places has been dictated by religious ethics, the practical reasons are not insubstantial.

First, I believe to view prostitution as socially acceptable is to be at odds with believing that everyone deserves a minimum amount of respect and equal treatment. It’s as if to say to the prostitute, “I just have a need and you are really not worth the time I’d give a real person. Here’s a few bucks.” Prostitution removes the ritual of relationship and eliminates mutual respect. While prostitution may be the world’s oldest profession, just as old are relationships and pairing.

Next, as feminists have argued from day one, objectification of women can lead to them being seen as less than human. The problem is that there is a difference between sexual attraction and objectification and the two are confused in modern culture. Part of this can be blamed on Hollywood and the stereotypical prostitute with a heart of gold, for example, Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Just like movies can glorify gang life, there are big screen misrepresentations of prostitution, showing little in the way of consequences and the day-to-day reality. And along comes Ashley Alexandra Dupre, cashing in on being a prostitute. Regardless of her future career of becoming a pop star, model, or author, she will have launched that career because she was a high-priced prostitute. This is not a respectable way to start a career of any kind, but the media is eating this story up and calling it the American dream. I don’t like the thought of young girls all over the country aspiring to follow in her footsteps. Also, pop culture does have an impact. Don’t forget that “pimp” used to be a negative term and women used to be insulted at being called “bitches” or “ho’s”.

Finally, prostitution encourages bad behavior from men and there are always victims in their wake. From destroying their own families to trafficking young girls, the perpetrators do hurt people. Nothing good comes from prostitution. To accept it legally and morally is to sanction abuse, neglect, and slavery. Media examples of consenting adults exchanging goods for services like car repairs or carpet cleaning are the exception, not the rule.

The problem with the world’s oldest profession is that it is the world’s oldest profession. Legalizing it will not stop trafficking; just research the problems with sex slaves in Amsterdam. But just because it’s been around since society doesn’t mean we have to accept it. We choose not to accept murder, and it’s been around just as long.

I agree with Thukral in that the demand must be cut for these women to be freed. Coming down hard on prostitutes will not stop the industry because the prostitutes are not the ones with the money, contrary to recent media reports.