by Mary Anne Zammit
Gender violence is a challenging problem affecting all societies, and the trafficking of women by international crime organizations is one form of violence that has been kept in the dark. It is quickly becoming one of the biggest challenges in the western world, yet the international community is largely unaware of this violent crime against women – violence that violates Human Rights and destroys victims’ lives.
Economic globalization has increased the trafficking of women from poorer countries to wealthier countries. The trafficking is done legally or illegally, and in most cases the women find themselves in forced work and into prostitution. The United Nations estimates that around 4 million people are being trafficked each year globally, amounting to large profits to criminal groups. About 700,000 to 2 million of those are women according to one rough estimate by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. In the United States it is estimated that as many as 50,000 women and children arrive each year, forced to work as prostitutes, servants, and laborers, most likely under the threat of violence carried out by crime rings. The trafficking of women especially for prostitution is becoming a serious problem for many developing countries.
The lack of opportunities and poor conditions in the women’s respective countries caused by increased corporate globalization and privatization compel them to leave their homes with hopes of finding better jobs. The poverty of women has increased since the collapse of the Soviet Union, with the economic transition in Central Europe and Eastern Europe prompting many women to migrate for work in Western Europe. These women turn to all resources, including adverts in the newspapers, and accept positions as maids, factory workers, and dancers – which all promise a better life. But promises are not kept. What appears to be a proper job application and contract with a legitimate employer turns out to be an introduction to the sex industry, in which women find themselves sold for prostitution. Such is the case of Olga, a twenty-five-year old woman from Ukraine.
One day in search Olga read an advertisement for a job in Greece as a shop assistant. This adventurous prospect appealed to her so she applied for the position. All was arranged and Olga s’ hopes for a better life were heightened until she started her adventure. A perilous adventure was what awaited her. That day she was supposed to travel there were other women who met the organizers who transported them across a river. Instead of Greece, Olga found herself in Bosnia and with the other women. The women were transported from one car to the other crossing unknown territories until they arrived at a club. Soon after the women were sold and forced into prostitution and if they did not cooperate they would be sold again to more dangerous owners. They were not only being kept in filthy rooms with inadequate facilities, but were exposed to sexually transmitted diseases and grave injuries. The IOM (International Organization of Migration) have reported about 420,000 women trafficked from Ukraine in recent years, so Olga’s story of abuse by human traffickers is one that is becoming too common in her country.
In this sisterhood of forced sex workers from Ukraine, violence and deplorable conditions have dimmed hopes for economic prosperity. Unknowingly, women like Olga ended up as victims of trafficking and going unwillingly into the sex industry because of the threat – and execution – of violence. And there are other stories, of women who knew from the start they were going to work in the sex industry as dancers in nightclubs or as prostitutes. Yet, since these women may have entered illegally in the countries, they were enslaved to their traffickers, afraid of turning to local authorities or INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization. Women sex workers have also been exposed to violence and substandard living conditions against their will – human rights violations.
Prostitution and trafficking in women violates women’s rights and should be stopped. With the help of and international development organizations like UNFPA, and NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) like the Global Fund for Women, the women most likely to become victims of human trafficking are achieving more autonomy and empowerment. INTERPOL is also working very hard to combat this criminal activity following the guidelines for law enforcement. These actions include:
a) The exchange of information between states in order to establish whether individuals crossing or attempting to cross an international border with travel documents belonging to other persons.
b) The type of travel document that individuals have used.
c) The terms and methods used by organized criminal camps for the purpose of trafficking.
d) The transportation of victims, routes and links.
We cannot tolerate any form of gender violence. Human trafficking of our sisters is another abuse that must come to light, and those who create the darkness should be penalized.
i had no idea the numbers were so high even today.
these crimes are horrible but how could just one
person take action and prevent these things from happening?