I've been active in women's issues for a long time, and saw Kristof's article from a few days ago, If This Isn't Slavery, What Is? and was reminded of how bad prostitution really is, especially in Asia. I'm half Filipino, and many Americans go to the Philippines for sex tourism, and so many Filipinas are brought to this country as prostitutes. Think sex trafficking doesn't happen here? Read about Sex Slaves in San Francisco, or the story on MSNBC: Lucky, Susu, CEO Health Club -- we pass by these places on the way to work, or going to the movies, and behind those walls women are being raped, imprisoned and abused. It's appalling that we're not doing anything to help them. And certainly not by criminalizing them, but criminalizing the people exploiting them.

Here is some info from a non-profit addressing this cause, Coalition Against Trafficking of Women. The articles are about the U.S. and Canada, and mostly from about 10 years ago, but the info I've seen recently doesn't tell any different of a story, just that a lot of the solicitation activity has gone online: 92% of women engaged in prostitution said they wanted to leave prostitution, but couldn't because they lack basic things such as a home, job, health care, or treatment for addiction. Girls involved in prostitution are increasingly getting younger, dropping from 14, to 13 and 12 years of age. The average age when a girl enters prostitution has decreased from 16 to 14. 95% of all prostitutes were sexually abused as children. In Canada, girls and women in prostitution have a mortality rate 40 times higher than the national average. And so on. Reading these statistics, it's just unconscionable.

It's not like it is portrayed in the movies, or Eliot Spitzer's $4,000 service. It's dark and terrible slavery. For more info, read The Natashas, Prostitution and the Law, watch Lilya 4-ever and Sacrifice, and contribute to CATW and the The Somaly Mam Foundation. Thank you.

Whenever I post about women's issues, I am subjected to attacks and general abuse, so comments are closed. I steel myself when posting about things like this, but it's important to do it anyway, because those attacks are meant to keep us all silent.

LINK | 10:30 AM | TB

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