The Price of Sex

A coworker showed me this great photodocumentary called The Price of Sex. It includes the stories of four survivors of sex trafficking in both first and third person as well as a segment on risk factors and one on why sex trafficking is such a huge problem. The effect is very powerful. The music is haunting and so are the looks that this women give the camera. It focuses on women in Eastern Europe, especially Moldova.

It brings up a lot of important issues: what do you do when you have nothing? The economies of Eastern Europe are weak and as an NGO worker points out, there are literally no jobs for people in the villages. So women and girls are lured by jobs in other countries: Russia, Turkey, etc. Except they are trafficked instead. Their passports are stolen, they are raped, and forced to work in brothels. I have heard many times that these girls know what they are getting themselves into. The risks are known, but who ever thinks something like that will actually happen to them? Young people especially think themselves invincible. This is also about survival. What do you do when there is nothing--no jobs, no food, no opportunity--for you at home?

One of the segments makes a very important point. Abolition isn't about stopping trafficking. It is impossible. I personally believe that nothing short of the collapse of capitalism and the world economy would stop the global trade in people. As we become more globalized trafficking will only continue to get worse and worse. The fight is about prevention--stopping traffickers from getting their hands on these girls. Part of this is about education, part of this is about changing norms.

A huge problem is corruption. One girl's story tells how her pimp was pulled over for drunk driving. He got out of it by prostituting her and another girl in the car out to the policeman. He should have been their hero but instead he became another part of the nightmare. Corrupt government and organizations are one of the biggest impediments to rescuing these abused girls.

I spend a lot of time thinking about these problems and the best angles to address them from. I've been thinking a lot about education lately and what can be done in that regard, but economics, other types of development, community and family ties, and corruption must also be addressed.

Take a look at this documentary. It's well worth it.
http://www.priceofsex.org/content/price-sex-women-speak