Tackling London's sex slave shame
CNN Website:- http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/19/slavery.vanmarsh/index.html
Although it may come to many as no surprise that slavery, particularly sexual slavery, still exists in a great democratic country such Britain, it still shocks and saddens me to see young children and women leave their families and home in search of a better future and life only to be coerced in doing things that they did not expect to do such as child labour and sexual slavery.
In today's world, great democracies such as the UK and the United States barge into countries with all guns-blazing preaching the greatness of democracy and freedom only to find the very same thing they're fighting for missing in their very own backyard. They claim that the fight is going on overseas so that it would not have to happen at home. But to those oppressed by slavery in these nations, there is no one fighting for them at all.
The most prominent form of slavery is prostitution, a form of sexual slavery. It is reputedly the oldest trade in the world. It is found in every country even thought it is not legalized in some. It is more commonly found in effluent societies where people can actually afford to pay for sexual favours and this is where the problem begins. Young, dignified women come to these developed countries in search of a decent job with a good pay only to realise that they'd have to sleep their way to a salary. However, many effluent countries, although they did not legalize prostitution, refuse to clamp down hard on it either because the trade itself does help to boost some of the other businesses in the country such as the alcohol and hospitality industry, for some even the tourism industry.
Although many argue that prostitution and other forms of slavery offer poor people with no real skills a source of income, it is still undeniable that it is both inethical and repulsive. Governments all across the world should step up their efforts in stamping out slavery, particularly the kinds that affect women and children. If people like you and I, as well as those in power, desensitize ourselves and say, "It's a business, hence it's ok." then we are not only failing the generations after us but also those before us who fought hard to abolish slavery and for the rights and dignity of humanity.
In today's world, great democracies such as the UK and the United States barge into countries with all guns-blazing preaching the greatness of democracy and freedom only to find the very same thing they're fighting for missing in their very own backyard. They claim that the fight is going on overseas so that it would not have to happen at home. But to those oppressed by slavery in these nations, there is no one fighting for them at all.
The most prominent form of slavery is prostitution, a form of sexual slavery. It is reputedly the oldest trade in the world. It is found in every country even thought it is not legalized in some. It is more commonly found in effluent societies where people can actually afford to pay for sexual favours and this is where the problem begins. Young, dignified women come to these developed countries in search of a decent job with a good pay only to realise that they'd have to sleep their way to a salary. However, many effluent countries, although they did not legalize prostitution, refuse to clamp down hard on it either because the trade itself does help to boost some of the other businesses in the country such as the alcohol and hospitality industry, for some even the tourism industry.
Although many argue that prostitution and other forms of slavery offer poor people with no real skills a source of income, it is still undeniable that it is both inethical and repulsive. Governments all across the world should step up their efforts in stamping out slavery, particularly the kinds that affect women and children. If people like you and I, as well as those in power, desensitize ourselves and say, "It's a business, hence it's ok." then we are not only failing the generations after us but also those before us who fought hard to abolish slavery and for the rights and dignity of humanity.
posted by Clarence Tan @ 1:56 PM
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