When people think of sex trafficking, they often think of commercial sexual exploitation—where traffickers and pimps profit monetarily from the exploitation of human beings. However, under the Palermo Protocol, the internationally agreed upon definition of trafficking in persons doesn’t necessarily require an exchange of money to have taken place.
Ayesha
INDIA
“WHEN PEOPLE TELL ME THAT WOMEN CHOOSE THIS LIFE, I CAN’T HELP BUT LAUGH. DO THEY KNOW HOW MANY WOMEN LIKE ME HAVE TRIED TO ESCAPE, BUT HAVE BEEN BEATEN BLACK AND BLUE WHEN THEY ARE CAUGHT? TO THE MEN WHO BUY US, WE ARE LIKE MEAT. TO EVERYBODY ELSE IN SOCIETY, WE SIMPLY DO NOT EXIST.”
“TO BREAK ME IN,' I WAS RAPED SEVERAL TIMES A NIGHT FOR NEARLY A MONTH BEFORE THE MADAM STARTED SELLING ME TO MEN FOR MONEY. IT WAS TYPICAL FOR ME TO HAVE TEN TO TWELVE BUYERS EVERY NIGHT.”
“TO BREAK ME IN,' I WAS RAPED SEVERAL TIMES A NIGHT FOR NEARLY A MONTH BEFORE THE MADAM STARTED SELLING ME TO MEN FOR MONEY. IT WAS TYPICAL FOR ME TO HAVE TEN TO TWELVE BUYERS EVERY NIGHT.”
GRACE
NIGERIA/GERMANY
“I WORKED FOR SEVEN MONTHS AND WAS TOLD BY MY VARIOUS EMPLOYERS THAT I HAD TO HAVE SEX WITHOUT CONDOMS WHEN ASKED. MEN DEMANDED SEX WITHOUT CONDOMS.”
Gracewas educated until the 10th grade in Nigeria after which she was sent to work to help support her family, who lived in poverty. She worked for three years at various jobs, during which time she was raped and gave birth to a son. Her father told her that as a woman, she was “predestined by God to save her family from poverty by going to Europe to earn money.” He introduced her to a woman whose sister lived in Germany. Grace was told that she would have to repay the travel costs by working for the woman’s sister, after which she could work as a babysitter or in a restaurant to send money back home. As she was unfamiliar with German currency, Grace didn’t have an understanding of the amount she would have to repay, but she decided to take the chance because she didn’t have better prospects for her life in her country and her family was pressuring her. As is typical in her community, she underwent a Juju (Voodoo) ritual where she swore never to betray the contact in Germany and that she would pay all the debts.
Loreta
LITHUANIA
“When I turned 17, the madam told us that a pimp was selling us abroad. One girl was sold in Poland, two in Budapest, and the rest of us were taken to Ravenna, Italy.”
"THAT’S WHEN DANA EXPLAINED SHE’D INVITED US OVER TO SELL OUR BODIES. SHE TOLD US THAT WE WOULD BE PROSTITUTES FROM NOW ON. MY FRIENDS AND I WERE SHOCKED AND REFUSED, BUT MY SISTER’S FRIEND THREATENED TO CALL 'THE GANG' IF WE CONTINUED TO REFUSE...”
Concy
UGANDA
“When I was 10 years old, I was married against my will to a Brigade Commander. The first time he forced me to have sex; I bled and cried a lot.”