Mar. 30, 2007
WORLD & NATION
WWW.guilfordian.com
Page 5
Greensboro. N.C.
Sex-slave trade in United Kingdom
Landry Haarmann | Staff Writer
Two hundred years ago, the
British Parliament decided to
abolish slavery and the trade.
Despite the illegal status of
slavery, a recent investigation by
British police has shown that it is
still present in 21st-century Eng
land, albeit in a form different
from forced physical labor.
The present victims are often
women from overseas, who are
sexually exploited and forced
into prostitution.
Sophomore Kat Siladi, who
recently participated in "The Va
gina Monologues" and played a
"comfort woman," women who
were forced to work as sex slaves
for Japanese soldiers during
World War II, was very struck
by the reports of forced prostitu
tion.
"It's a microcosm of the treat
ment of women in Western so
ciety," Siladi said. "There are
many overlying problems and,
to stop human trafficking, we
must also address the issue of
verbal abuse at home, because
they are both ways to dominate
women."
The young women, nearly
half of whom are between the
ages 18 and 25, are tricked into
coming to England, often by a
boyfriend under the guise of
finding work. The women may
also be kidnapped or forced to
go to England.
According to BBC News, in
2003, as many as 4,000 women
were trafficked into the U.K. for
sexual exploitation.
Sophomore Jen Banich was
most surprised by the fact that
human trafficking, or sexual
slavery, was happening in Brit
ain.
"I've only ever heard of sexual
slavery in Asian countries, so Tm
a shocked that this is going on in
England. But, no one deserves
that kind of life," she said.
According to BBC News, most
of the girls come to England from
Eastern Europe, West Africa and
South Asia under the belief that
they will find better lives. Oth
ers arrive in England thinking
they are on a vacation.
That is what happened in the
case of Jiera, a 19-year-old from
Lithuania.
Jiera said to BBC News that
she and a friend thought they
were headed to England for a
vacation only to discover when
they arrived that they were be
ing sold into sexual slavery.
"When I was with clients I
tried to pretend I was doing
something else, but I couldn't.
It made me so angry that I was
often violent towards the cli
ents." Jiera's "owner" beat her
and eventually had to sell her
because she caused trouble.
Auctions to purchase sex
slaves often occur at the airports,
especially Gatwick Airport in
Sussex, according to BBC News,
According to BBC
News, in 2003,
as many^s 4,000
women were
trafficked into the
U.K. for sexual
exploitation.
and reports show that many
prosecuted cases of sexual ex
ploitation began at Gatwick.
One woman, a Romanian
named Nicoleta, was tricked into
going to England by a friend of
her stepfather.
"When I was 18, I was traf
ficked into prostitution in the
U.K. where I worked 11 hours a
day, seven days a week, for over
three years," Nicoleta said to
BBC News. "I was made to work
during my period, was often not
fed so I did not become 'fat', and
had to have sex without a con
dom."
Many of the stories mirror
other reports of forced prostitu
tion, which come from all over
the world. Women are raped
and beaten, denied food and
condoms. Many contract STDs
and are left both physically and
psychologically scarred.
Nicoleta's story left an im
pression on Kat Siladi. Siladi
was most appalled by how de
sensitized the men at the broth
els must have been.
"The men who were having
sex with these women must have
known they were not enjoying
it," Siladi said. "And the men
who sell these women and force
them into slavery, they must
have had mothers, grown up in
homes with women, and yet they
so willingly sexually oppress
women."
Both the police and private
agencies have been working to
help women who find them
selves the victims of sexual ex
ploitation.
One group is the Poppy Proj
ect, a London-based program,
which offers support and accom
modations for victims of human
trafficking. Since its inception in
2003, 581 victims have been re
ferred to the group.
Another agency is Citylight,
which offers service in Brigh
ton and Hove. Citylight was set
up by Naomi Cohen and other
church volunteers in the city.
Cohen got involved because
of her desire to help and support
these victims.
"It horrifies me that this is
happening in this day and age
when most of us have our free
dom," Cohen said to BBC News.
"I just wanted to be a part of
something that changes that and
can help women to rebuild their
lives."
While the efforts of such proj
ects have helped remove women
from their situations and are at
tempting to help them through
what they've experienced, many
are still haunted by the abuse
they endured while forced to
work as sex workers.
Nicoleta said to BBC News, "I
can't eat, I can't concentrate and
I can't sleep, although I am very
tired. I have nightmares in the
day as well as in the night."
Mexico City grants gay couples civil unions
SiHON Kelly \ Staff Writer
With the passing of a civil
union law in Mexico City,
Mexico may he
liberated from a history rich
in Catholic conservatism
and homophobia.
On March 16, after nearly
seven years of litigation, legisla
tors in Mexico City passed a new
law permitting same sex couples
the right to civil union. This law,
which grants gay couples pension
and inheritance rights, is general
ly believed to mark the beginning
of a new age of plurality in Mex
ico, despite mounting opposition
from both President Calderon's
conservative party and the Roman
Catholic Church.
However, because most dties
in Mexico, the capital included,
are governed by left-wing parties
more than the national govern
ment, Calderon and the church
may have difficulty suppressing
the impact of this case as it ripples
outward from Mexico City.
"With this law, a history of ex
clusion comes to an end. Today,
the love that before did not speak
its name has now entered into the
public spotlight," said journalist
Antonio Medina to BBC News.
Medina and his partner, Jorge Cer-
pa, were one of the first couples to
take advantage of the new law.
To the relief of conservatives,
however, the law distinguishes
civil union from marriage by not
granting gay couples the right to
adopt. Claiming that traditional
family values will now be jeop
ardized, numerous conservative
Catholic objectors are flooding the
streets of Islexico's major cities to
voice their complaints.
"It is simply not the will of God
to have acts of homosexuality,"
said Armando Martinez Gomez,
president of the Association of
Catholic Lawyers, to BBC News.
"We are not against gay people,
but we believe a union between a
man and a woman is for the cre
ation of children."
Meanwhile, other states across
Mexico are starting to follow the
capital's example. The deeply re
ligious state of Puebla, whose
capital is known for its 365 Catho
lic churches, is even beginning to
mull over gay rights legislation.
The northern border state of Coa-
huila has already passed its own
civil union law, which was mod
eled after the one framed in the
capital but put into effect nearly
two weeks before it.
Also, couples who have reg
istered under Coahuila's law en
joy the state's protection of their
rights wherever they choose to
live in Mexico — a stipulation that
the capital's law does not include.
"There is going to be a domino
effect across the country," said
David Sanchez, a federal con
gressman with the Democratic
Revolution Party, who is openly
gay, to The San Diego Union-Tri
bune. "This movement cannot be
stopped."
However, members of the con
servative National Action Party,
or PAN, an organization keen
on preserving family values, are
among the many who still believe
otherwise.
"We are dealing with a death
blow to the family," said PAN
President Esther Quintana to The
San Diego Tribune. "What comes
next? Permitting homosexuals to
adopt children?"
Of course, gay adoption rights
are among what many activists
and legislators hope will ultimate
ly succeed the passing of the civil
union law. What is frustrating to
many civil union advocates is the
tendency of conservatives to at
tack the law on moral, rather than
legal premises. When dealing
with legislative matters, this often
makes for a tenuous argument.
"I think the only argument
that one could legitimately make
(against gay adoption rights),"
said Theatre Studies Chair Jack
Zerbe, "is that given the nature of
what it means to develop from an
infant to an adult, children should
have a close relationship with
both sexes."
With this said, opponents of
gay civil liberties might demon
strate more prudence if they ap
proached the subject from more
of a psychological than biblical
standpoint. Given Mexico's deep
Roman Catholic roots, however,
such a shift in perspective could
prove to be a challenge.
"If they're going to say that
children shouldn't be allowed to
grow up in a single-sex family,
then are they going to take chil
dren away from single-parent
dwellings too?" said Zerbe. "It's
the same logic."
There is going to be a domino
effect across the country...This
movement cannot be stopped.
David Sanchez
Democratic Revolution Party
It is simply not the will of God to have acts
of homosexuality. We are not against gay
people, but we believe a union between
a man and a woman is for the creation of
children.
Armando Martinez Gomez
President of the Association of Catholic Lawyers
With this law, a history of
exclusion comes to an end. Today,
the love that before did not speak
its name has now entered into the
public spotlight
Antonio Medina