FYS- Half the Sky: Intro/Chapter 1

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 For many Americans the question: 'what is human trafficking' may bring up thoughts of a far away issue or an issue that only exists over-seas. However, human trafficking is an issue that not only exists over-seas, but right here in the United States of America.

 

The effects of Human Trafficking have been so negative that people have gone so far as to call it the modern form of slavery. 

 

In class we discussed issues surrounding gender inequality; more specifically we discussed issues of human trafficking. There were many different topics and opinions on the issue of human trafficking, one of them being the corruption of authoritative figures.

In the book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, there were many incidences in which victims of human trafficking would finally escape their imprisonment and seek refuge only to return to the place they started. Rather than help the trafficked women, authorities would mock them and sell them back to brothel owners.


During a group discussion this question was asked: What does one do when the government is so corrupt there are no authorities to turn to for protection? One answer given by a student was to "rely on [oneself] and trust no one". The other answer was to "use other brothel girls that have similar feelings towards the brothel".  

In a place were police tolerate forced prostitution, relying on oneself and other victims seems to be the only option.

Here is part of a documentary on human trafficking in Cambodia which shows a prime example of the lack of protection authorities provide to trafficked women and young girls.         
 

 

Another topic that was brought up during the group discussion was the lack of news media coverage on developing world problems. One student brought up an interesting fact that "the news media reports daily news, but not news that happens on a daily". Another student in response to that stated, "most reported events happen on a certain day at a certain time, while developing world problems are on-going". As a result news media may not want to cover issues that are on-going, because there is no immediate solution and it will not make money.

Next, the class discussed two similar issues in which the actions of prostitutes and women brothel owners were questioned. The idea of a woman brothel owner seemed very ubsurd and ironic, until someone suggested that maybe "that was just how they were raised". As seen by stories in the book and other sources, it is evident that male brothel owners manipulate their workers. So, it would not be surprising if they turned women against each other within the brothels.

The other topic discussed was whether prostitution was voluntary or involuntary on behalf of the women. One student mentioned that "for some women prostitution is all they know, so they may not even be aware that they have a choice". Another point made was that "some may not want to do it, but feel they need to do it in order to supoort their family, health, etc.".  

Lastly, the suggestion of legalizing prostitution came up in the class discussion. One point was made that "some countries legalized prostitution and have health regulations, financial regulations, etc. So it doesn't have to be a dirty or grimy profession". In the article Should Prostitution Be Legal it is debated whether or not prostituiton should be legalized. In this particular debate the pros outweight the cons.

All the previously discussed issues apply to our everyday lives here in the United States of America, because they are all happening right now. Gender inequality still exists. Not only does it exist in developing world countries, but it exists right here in the U.S.

The World Economic Forum published a recent report that placed American women number 23 out of 136 countries when it came to gender equality. American women then began to question what was working for the countries with gender equality, so that they could learn from them. Using the successes of other countries was a step towards achieving gender equality. However, the solution to these problems is not to focus on attaining gender equality, but rather focus on what is to happen after gender equality is achieved.