As I read
this chapter I started to understand how a weak/poor government could be the
biggest problem in trying to combat the issue of sex trafficking of underage girls
and women who don’t want to do such a thing for a living. The example the Nick
gave about the officers in India not watching out for girls that are being trafficked
from Napal helped me to understand how big of a role the government plays. I also
noticed that one of the reasoning that the men need these girls is that they
can’t have sex with “good” Indian girls until they’re married, but they need
someone to satisfy their needs until then. I wanted to talk about this because it
also came up in chapter one as a reason for why this occurs often in societies
like India and Arab nations. I was born in that kind of culture (Palestine), by
that kind of culture I mean I lived in an Arab society were girls and guys are
not allowed to have sex before they’re married. If a girl has sex before she is
married she will be disowned by her family, but there’s no true way of finding
out if a man is a virgin so no one really cares if the men have sex before. I
hear so many stories about young men traveling out of the country just so they
can have sex, and I’ve hear many stories about them paying for it. I find this
to be ridiculous, and it doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever. I understand that some people believe it’s
very wrong to commit to someone in such a way before marriage, but I don’t understand
how it would be okay for a guy, but if the girl were to love her virginity she
is frowned down upon. Whenever I visit there I’m always terrified of getting
kidnapped and raped just because I know guys there are deprived of such things,
and it’s more likely to happen there than here in America. I think its
societies like that, and societies with that mindset are part of the cause of
forced prostitution. I believe that if those societies where to be free (like America)
there wouldn’t be that big “need” for guys to have to pay for sex. I believe
that if these societies didn’t care about when girls had sex, it should be something
that the girl can decide for herself. I don’t think it’s right to believe that
just because a girl had sex before she’s married she’s immediately a bad girl
who’s a slut (that’s what they think of any girl who has sex before marriage).I
think it’s better for guys to have sex with girls whom they are dating instead
of having to travel outside of the country just to have sex. I would also like
to point out, that Palestine does also have a very weak government system. A
lot of times with the stories I hear it is someone on the police force that did
the kidnapping/raping. This chapter has helped me to be able to see how
societies with that kind of mindset, and weak government can have higher rates
of sex trafficking. So I have to ask what you guys think about this kind of
thinking of societies that don’t allow guys and girls to have sex before marriage?
Do you guys think this contributes to the issue? If so, what do you think could
be the solution?
I completely agree with you. It is not just the laws that have to change it is the attitude. Passing laws is always a good start but that is where it stays. I find it pretty sad that we have to specifically write a law that tells people it is bad to sex traffic. You would think it would be commons sense. Creating a law that prohibits sex trafficking is like telling people there coffee is hot when they ordered hot coffee. It is supposed to be common sense. The laws are great and need to be thought of more as a guide line. What truly needs to change is the people’s morals. When I first learned we were going to study this topic my mind instantly went to the movie Taken. In this movie an ex-CIA agent lets his daughter go to Paris only to discover she is kidnapped by sex traffickers. This movie touches on a lot of the subjects we have discussed thus far and it touches on other points as well. The scariest part of the movie for me was the fact that these men who were selling these women had daughter themselves. Daughter they loved and would not want to see taken and trafficked like they are doing to other girls. I finally learned the reason behind this situation. These females are nothing more than profit. They are a business. Greed over shadows morals and decency. People all around us are susceptible to greed. How far will any of us go to get what we want or deserve?
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the both of you. I believe that passing a law is an important and crucial start to the change that we want to see take place, but that is not all that has to be done to change the way that things are carried out in societies that basically "allow" sex trafficking to take place. Once the law is made, it needs to be enforced and taken seriously. I feel that neither of these things are happening when it comes to the weakly governed countries that thrive from sex trafficking. When the local police aren't a help to the local citizens it creates a downward spiral effect for the entire society. The girls who are being trafficked can't escape and seek help from the police, the police make bribes to the brothels to allow them to stay open, and these two sides bounce back and forth allowing for no improvement. It makes me so sad to know the terrible, terrible things that are going on in the world, and that the government would be almost consenting the girls to be enslaved by these brothels. In my opinion, in order for change to even begin to take place the government needs to crack down and remove the police men that are associated with the brothels. To answer your questions, Niveen, I think that societies that place such a high importance on no sex before marriage do allow for the sex trafficking to happen more often. I believe that if society is going to tell girls that they are not allowed to have sex before marriage, the same kind of expectations should be in place for the young men in that society as well.
ReplyDeleteIt does indeed contribute to the issue of sex trafficking. What really boggles my mind is that often these countries have underlying religious reasons why women should not have sex before marriage, but yet they view men visiting brothels as a suitable alternative to sleeping with women of a higher class. I do not know of any religion that condones the kidnapping, rape, and abuse of anyone, especially women. It has been my experience that most religions hold women in high esteem, valuing them as mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters. I do agree with you that if the mindset on premarital sex changed, it would eliminate much of the need for brothels and purchased sex, but in places where religion is so heavily engrained in the society this would be a difficult thing to achieve. Perhaps, instead of changing the viewpoint in terms of premarital sex, these countries should begin to teach that ALL women should be valued, regardless of their supposed place in society. It may not be the belief of many in American society, but I feel that approaching the issue from a religious perspective may be the best way to get through these countries. Just a thought :)
ReplyDeleteI really like that you pointed out the religion perspective of it, and I guess I never thought about it that way. I know that in all Arab societies,religion plays a big role.Just a thought though, there are certain religions in Arab nations that don't really value woman. I'm not going to call any religion out, but not every religion gives woman the respect that they deserve, and I think that is also a big contributor to the issue, especially in those societies. It's sickening that these men think it's okay to treat woman outside their society as though they're worthless and use them for they're own pleasure, but yet they'd disown any woman within they're society if she ever decided to lose her virginity before she got married. If woman can't, than it shouldn't be okay for the men to do it either.It just doesn't make any sense to me.
ReplyDeleteIt is ridiculous how differently men and women are treated in other countries. For us it is hard to grasp the thought of these terrible acts. There are so many things we take for granted here, the little things. What's wrong with these countries is that they are close minded, they have been living this way for many years and know nothing else. It only takes one person to make a change. I agree with you on the topic about women having sex before marriage, its about women having that choice to decide on whether or not they want to do it. They shouldn't be judged or disowned for that decision, they are the only ones who have to deal and live with it. We find out that as we get older, the mistakes we make help shape us into the kind of person we are and to learn from that mistake, and hopefully come out a lot stronger on the other side. Women in these countries are not given the opportunity to live, to make their own decisions. I wonder what a male from say India would learn from coming over here to America and experiencing what life is like here. How he sees women roaming around freely and yet, the world is still spinning. Losing ones virginity is a special thing and should not be taken lightly, I feel the men are only thinking of themselves. they treat women as if they were only an object. I just hope one day that these women will know independence, I believe in change and know that one day this will happen. By becoming more aware of these issues we can help everyone see and try to make it known worldwide what needs to be done. I did not know things in other countries were this bad and im sure a lot of other people don't either.
ReplyDeleteIn my culture, people think that girls must be virgins before they get married. It is a thought from old people that girls need to control themselves on sex, so they have to keep virgin before they get married. I think it is not something that the government should get a hand wet, but it is kind of a moral issue. In my opinion, boys have their personal needs to have sex, but girls don't. For instance, a boy asks a girl to have sex with him, and the girl is a virgin. If the girl says yes, she may be considered as a "cheap" girl who accepts any requests from her boyfriend. The girls are considered bad girls if they are not virgin before they get married. When it is illegal for girls to have sex, their boyfriends won't ask them for sex, and then there's no concepts about "good" girls or "bad" girls. On the other hand, if a girl accept sex request from her boyfriend, she must be 100% sure that the boy is the one that she wants to marry with.
ReplyDeleteI think that it most definitely adds to the issue of prostitution. I also find it unfortunate that sex has taken such a front seat/priority role in these people’s lives. It’s strange to think that even though most of the upstanding men in such societies know about the sex/slave trade and yet continue to advocate it by utilizing its system. Having such a lack of respect for fellow humans is evil and shameful. It’s true the government helps and makes it easier to participate in this system; however, change must start at the bottom and work its way up. These men need to make it apparent that this is unacceptable. It’s a case of “Supply and Demand”. If there is no demand there will be no need for a supply. I realize that this is easier said than done, but it’s a hard truth.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of what Maggie said, I completely agree with what you said about it being hard to get across to these people because their religion is engrained in them. That is my thought exactly. Although it seems like these people should know better, and should know that what they're doing is wrong, this is what they have been brought up in. This is what they were taught to do. They are doing it for themselves because they have learned to do it this way. That is why it is so hard to just say that government should be doing this and that, because it's hard to regulate such illegal things because no matter how the government gets involved there is still ways around it and brothels may not survive but there will still be underground trafficking of girls, because they don't know any better. That is why a solution is so hard to come by. At least for me, when I sit and think about it I can't think of anything that really makes sense as a solution.. I think that the sanitary pads idea was good under the Blackboard link, "Unique Way to Help Trafficking Victims," but no solution can solve all problems. It all comes back to these "pimps" and their lack of morals and education about what they are doing to these girls, and how they were brought up and how their religion may seem like normal to them it is not normal and it is dehumanizing and very inhumane. The only way that I see this coming to an end is waiting around for people to come to their senses, and realize that what they're doing is wrong, but if we wait around that may never happen..
ReplyDeleteI feel like men and women have always been treated and looked at so differently when it comes to a lot of things in our society and in other countries. I hate that this is the case! With your example, I do not think it is right that girls are so highly frowned upon if they lose their virginity before marriage, yet it doesn't necessarily matter if the men lose their virginity before or not. I do think that the issue of men and women not being allowed to have sex before marriage contributes to the issue of sex trafficking. Like you said, if it wasn't such a big deal if women lost their virginity before marriage, I don't think men would go so crazy about trying to find sex to fulfill their "needs." Because there are no women around in their society to have sex with, these men are seeking other ways. One of these ways is sex trafficking. It is so hard to say what a solution to this issue is because it is already such a big issue. I think it might help if the men and women in these societies were allowed to have sex whenever they want. Whether it's before or after marriage. I don't think this would completely solve the issue but it might help in some ways. I really like how Katie DeFrain ended her comment above mine. This solution will never really end unless everyone comes to their senses and realizes that sex trafficking is wrong! I really wish that we could just snap our fingers and this issue wouldn't be an issue anymore, but I feel like it is an issue that will always be around until a huge change takes place.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you, Niveen. I don't think it's right that girls are looked down upon if they lose their virginity before marriage, but guys are freely to do so. If they put a law out that people should be waiting to have sex before marriage, then it should be equal to both genders. It's about self-control. I also agree where you said that men can freely have sex with women outside of their society and treat women as if they are just an object for pleasure, but girls within their society are frowned upon when they are going through what the same men treat other women like. If those men truly thought that the women in the society should be disowned because of their sexual life, then they shouldn't be ruining other women's sexual lives in different societies. I believe that because these men are open to having sex and paying for it, that it's become an addiction. I have known men in my own life who have been addicted to pornography and have been addicting to paying different websites to view other women. As sick and awful as that is to me, although it's not the same physically, I think it's the same mentally to these men. They both find pleasure in other women and have accepted the fact to find that satisfaction, it cost money, and they would pay for it. To break that addiction and cycle, seems almost in possible. I personally don't know what could be the solution to this. But I'd like to still have hope that one day, these girls will know true freedom and joy.
ReplyDeleteReading this chapter, it was easy to notice how little the law enforcement and government cared about trafficked girls and that it was part of the cultural norm to accept that trafficking happens. Women are not equal to men and they have stricter rules to follow, unless they are low-class women and then they are considered “discounted humans” and aren’t considered valuable at all so they can be used as sex slaves. Until these mindsets are changed, I believe sex trafficking will continue. I for one could never marry a man who spent time paying for sex with women imprisoned in brothels and its mind-boggling that is considered a radical belief for a woman to have. It is interesting that in America, sleeping with your boyfriend can be shameful in certain circles but overall its not that big of a deal and in certain foreign countries that could cause your death or lead your family to disown you. The men in those societies need to be taught to value all women and to not go to brothels, which would end the demand for sex slaves and help end the problem. As long as the culture gives it the okay and has men willing to pay then it will continue.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is an extreme assumption to think that the idea of sexual repression (such as no sex before marriage) can be the blame for prostitution/sex trafficking. I think that blaming religion (which is the reason that these cultures are insisting that you wait until marriage for sex), on the sex trafficking is a co-pout. People still know what is right and wrong when it comes to forcing people into being prostitutes or using the prostitutes. In America there are still many people who believe that sex before marriage is wrong and we do not have the same epidemic problem. I think that the reason that prostitution happens is because it has always happened, and different sub cultures make it seem acceptable, although morally speaking it is still wrong. People are in the business to make money and they are able to make money because there are men who are willing to pay for sex. Regardless if they are having it or not and regardless of the religion or not. Its not like the men who are going and having sex with the prostitutes are going to their parents and telling them what they did or their religious leaders. It is still seen as a "sin" and is still hidden.
ReplyDeleteI think its a good thing to not allow guys and girls to not have sexy before marriage, but I don't think its fair to disown a child of yours because they've done that (normally girls, I've never heard of guys being disowned). My non had a friend that lost her virginity before marriage and before she was married she went through a surgery where she got a really thin layer of skin removed from her thigh and placed inside her vagina so when she had sex with her soon to be husband she will bleed and he will think she was pure. It's mean and a huge double standard for a father to disown their daughter, but not their son if they lose their virginity before marriage. I don't think its fair and is a major issue with them allowing young boys to do such a thing with women in the brothels. It's a major issue and it's sad to say I really can't think of a solution.
ReplyDeleteI do think this cultural issue plays a role in the trafficking of women. However, these cultural views were established thousands of years ago and there is no way of changing them. The biggest issue is getting the government of these nations accountable for such awful behaviors. Job creation and education is a way to help poor nations with high amounts of trafficking. Sad to say, but as long as there is a market (money) for women trafficking it will continue to occur.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately prostitution will never stop…but what needs to really be concentrated on is the young girls who are sold into the trade and forced to have sex or risk getting beaten or killed. When you look at the culture you find that it plays a key role in trafficking young women who they feel are not worth anything (Peasants) to protect the middle and upper class girls. The money is also a reason it is going to be hard to stop this injustice. I don’t have a solution to this problem but I think that getting the word out there to more people is the first step, hopefully this blog can be that first step and spread the word to more that this is going on all around the world.
ReplyDeleteDeprivation equals desperation
ReplyDeleteI've heard plenty of stories of people that were poor and without that did crimes to survive. Whether people realize it or not we all have a price to support and take care of our families. Some people have more privileges than others but their is still a scale that weighs right and wrong, or good and bad. We all carry some weight, so I feel its best that we support and educate each other with a positive energy of solutions for negative energy problems