Human Trafficking

I have just finished this module. It was amazing. In a matter of minutes so many of my notions were altered. So many ways are used to break a victim’s self esteem. Tattooing seems to be one way. The strip club testimonies were powerful and I especially was interested in the depiction of these clubs as ‘gendered spaces’. How do we ensure the safety of women in such spaces? Is it a matter of awareness or is it about enforcement? The Testimony of Irma raises questions of the competency of the court. Why wasn’t a translator called in? I have a question on the Swedish law that prohibits the purchase of sexual services. In case a woman does sell sexual services and is hurt in the process will the Swedish government take responsibility for helping her? While the law claims to be gender neutral is there any law that prevents the prostitution of boys and men as well? We mustn’t forget that men too are also open to forms of violence that are different from what women undergo but its violence nonetheless. While there are statistics presented about the number of women prostituted what about the number of boys? Also there are various deterrents to the law that prevents prostitution within the country. Does it prevent trafficking as well?
The idea about the broad-based awareness-raising campaign about human trafficking to educate private citizens mentioned in the Hidden Slaves document should be an important part of trafficking advocacy.