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Norey Anne Arenas

Leah Kaminski
Writing 39C
April 29, 2014
The Womans Stalemate
Whilst slavery in the past played a profound role in history for its oppressive
system and how the slaves were able to earn the freedom, it has not been completely
stopped. Unfortunately, sex trafficking is a common system that is similar to slavery and
is active around the world that many people are not fully aware of. It is mostly common,
though, for women and children of third world countries to be the victims of such
inhuman activities that would force sex upon them. Although they are used for sexual
purposes, they are not limited from beatings and abuse from the sex slaveholder or any
customers if put into a brothel. The women who are victimized usually arent aware of
the situation they are put into when the traffickers take them and promise them a better
life in another country; they and their families are deceived and put into an extreme debt
that is usually unable to be paid off. These unsuspecting women find themselves working
usually in prostitution and hardly have a choice to leave and return to their own homes.
This horrifying situation leaves most wondering why anyone would support this type of
business despite the immorality in it.
The numbers of victims are extreme; there are approximately 4.5 million victims
forced into sexual exploitation in which most is derived from Asia, according to the
United Nations International Labor Organization (Keiner). Indias situation regarding sex
trafficking and some of the possibilities as to why the sex trafficking demand is so high is
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quite interesting and possesses various notions. The reason why the demand is so high
may be because womens reputations in the past have already been denoted as the
traditional women in the family who follows the orders of the pampered and dominant
male. The fact that these women from India are greatly sought and requested for when it
comes to sex workers depreciates their social structure even more. Beside the existing
social structure of women, this problematic situation continuously arises also due to
many men seeking for the great power that they once had over women but has since then
decreased as the first world women find higher end careers for themselves.
Women in India were rarely respected in the past, and this is a concern that
continues to exist today in the country. There are various statistics regarding the violence
given against these women by the men merely because of the gender difference. The
cultural and traditional ethics that exist in India are taught to the women while they are
young; unfortunately, this includes the implication that they are of a lower social status
than men as a woman. The mothers, on the other hand, bring up the men differently. The
men are taught to respect higher authorities such as elders and worship goddesses, yet
they are not restricted from disrespecting females in real life (Bagchi). This difference
between raising the two genders may have a significant impact as to why there are such
high numbers of female victims. Since the men arent taught to respect women they see,
there is a higher chance that they would commit violence against them and not feel guilty
about it. The leniency that they had as they grew up may remain when they become men,
and this gives them the belief that they could do anything they wish that will please them,
even if it requires violence or force. This contrast in nurture may be the reason why there
is so much violence against women reported in India.
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The reports in India regarding violent crimes can say quite a lot about the
treatment of women in the past and present. Since the year 1952 through 2011, the crime
rate of rape rose 873% in India; it was the fastest crime that increased compared to all
other crimes. Only 24 percent of 24,943 rapes reported in 2011 led to convictions; this
small number shows that the majority of the rapes are left unresolved and the victims can
no longer reach justice for themselves. This large number of reported rapes may not be
very accurate; in fact, there is a possibility that the number is even larger because of the
silence from the victims due to family or close friends performing the crime. The gender
difference in India is emphasized even more when it comes to these rape statistics and
laws; marital rape isnt considered a crime in the country, yet it is the common violence
that occurs against women (Bagchi). During one study that was conducted to measure the
frequency of domestic violence against women in India, the researchers found that the
participants reported mostly high numbers regarding the overall violence that occurred.
For sexual
violence, though,
the men reported
significantly lower
percentages than
the women did,
and this may be
due to the contrast
of definitions concerning what sexual violence is (see table 1). Marital rape, for instance,
may have been one of the determining factors that men didnt interpret as sexual
Table 1
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violence, unlike the women who did. The dissimilarity in gender views is once again
highlighted, especially when it comes to sex crimes, for they certainly had differing
viewpoints regarding sexual violence (Babu & Kar). Despite the great number of rape
crimes, the political establishment does not do much in support of the victims; rather,
there is bad treatment for them from the police station and hospitals. Along with this, the
investigation processes are not very reliable and effective; the harsh cases that exist are
not taken care of properly and the real offenders are usually able to walk freely.
Its not much of a surprise that violence and discrimination against women can
result into a larger scale problem, such as sex trafficking, after taking a look at these
figures. There seems to be a consistent pattern concerning men and the crime rates
against women; the reports are usually very large and continue increasing every year.
This is also consistent along with the cultural values placed in the country the values
that the men are being taught are hardly changing, and this results in more men
discriminating against women. This type of discrimination and violence, especially
sexual violence, may eventually lead to horrific situations that involve victimizing
women into sex trafficking. Many of the women who end up being victims of trafficking
end up having to endure various hardships and tribulations once they start their work for
the exploitative employer. Since the women expected to find a better life through moving
to a different and seemingly more bountiful country, they are caught off guard when they
realize what they actually need to do. These women are usually victims to [abuse] and
exploitation [that] follow such uncannily predictable patterns that many in the social
service would almost wonder if theres an Abusers Manual being circulated (Global
Woman). Along with such terrible treatment physically, the women are usually denied to
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have any benefits or outside social interactions during the times they work. They are also
subject to having been underpaid or not paid at all in some cases during their
employment. Many of these examples highlight the horrible treatment that is given to
these victims of trafficking, so people should all the more try to find solutions that might
decrease the numbers of human trafficking and help more of these victims to attain
freedom. Trafficking and slavery are both highly
immoral, yet is continuously practiced throughout
India by various people. This is a current situation
that should be resolved, rather than allowing it to be
hidden to most peoples knowledge. There are
actually many various institutions and small groups
that make efforts to raise the awareness of such an
atrocious problem, which allows for a resolution to
be seemingly possible.
According to some sex trafficking victims in
Mumbai, India, approximately half of the women
and girls reported that their vulnerability to being
trafficked was due to familial disruption. The most
common form, which involved 38 percent of
logistics of sex trafficking, included physical or
sexual violence between the families was along
with having 15.2 percent the perpetrators being their
husbands and 27.8 percent being other family
Table 2
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members (see table 2). 13.6 percent of married victims were also involved in situations
where their spouse was the trafficker (Silverman). This ties back into the idea that the
mens upbringing has a negative impact to crime reports; the lack of respect they have for
women may eventually result in trafficking, since they dont hold a high value for them.
There are currently various activists doing their best to do what they can to
prevent as much as they could when it comes to sex trafficking, and this mostly includes
changing the way women are thought as. If more men in India started to be taught to
respect women, there would
be a high possibility that the
data regarding violence
would decrease. Nurture as a
young child is very
important, as it has a great impact on how one lives their life and how one treats the
surrounding people; simple solutions that involve a different upbringing might be able to
create a huge impact on the society. An organization called the Equal Community
Foundation has started a campaign to focus especially on this; they seek to inform,
inspire and mobilise each one of us to become a part of the solution by raising men to end
violence and discrimination against women (Man Up India). In Mexico, there are also
many prevention programs that focus on young boys and girls and teach them of equality
between the genders in order to decrease the demand for human trafficking (Fighting
Against Human Trafficking). If there were programs similar to this in India, this can also
be helpful as a solution to decreasing the rates for violence against women. These kinds
of solutions emphasize the importance of social structure; because the traditional woman
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was considered to be of a lower stature than men, some men find it acceptable to use
them as slaves of some sort. As long as the men are taught differently that women should
be respected and not treated with violence, there is hope that they will not be as
susceptible to such horrible treatment to the opposite sex. The solution to fix the social
structures that women in India have mainly deals with the reformation of male nurturing;
otherwise, the women will be stuck in the same, unfortunate position a stalemate.

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Works Cited
"About Us." Man Up India. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Babu, Bontha V., and Shantanu K. Kar. "Domestic Violence Against Women In Eastern
India: A Population-Based Study On Prevalence And Related Issues." BMC
Public Health 9.(2009): 1-15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Bagchi, Indrani. "The Struggle For Women's Empowerment In India." Current
History 113.762 (2014): 144-149.Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr.
2014.
Ehrenreich, Barbara, and Arlie Russell Hochschild. Global Woman: Nannies, Maids,
and Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Metropolitan, 2003. Print.
Kiener, Robert. "Human Trafficking and Slavery." CQ Global Researcher 16 Oct. 2012:
473-96. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
The author, an award-winning writer, explores various topics regarding human
trafficking and slavery with great detail; various notions are brought up and discussed
with viable support and research. Most of the background situations are explained
thoroughly with great detail and statistics as well as the past and present predicaments.
Argumentative voices are also included as well as visual images for the readers to
understand the drastic problem. It allowed for a better insight to trafficking and all of the
smaller situations surrounding it; applying it to my paper was helpful, especially with the
statistics that were included.
Silverman, J.G., et al. "Experiences Of Sex Trafficking Victims In Mumbai,
India." International Journal Of Gynecology & Obstetrics 97.3 (2007): 221-
226. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
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Truman, Mark, and Jorge Mazal. "Fighting Against Human Trafficking And The Sex
Trade: An Interview With Teresa Ulloa Ziurriz." Harvard Journal Of Hispanic
Policy 24.(2012): 69-74. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.