Issue date: 6/25/02 Section: Opinion

Irina came to Italy in order to fill an ad for a waitress, but upon arrival, was instead forced into slavery. Olga was kidnapped by a human-goods smuggler, and brought to a tiny town called Valesta, where her saga of dehumanization and degradation began. Their destination: a life of forced promiscuity, obligatory participation in sexual acts, and physical abuse from their "owners" and clients - a life of sexual slavery. The tales told by Irina and Olga are the testimonies of two women who were brave enough to relay their accounts to MSNBC, but they are not alone. It is estimated that more than 800,000 girls and women are trafficked worldwide each year. Due to the appalling violation of multitudes of innocent girls, the United Nations (U.N.) must help ease the burden of these young women and demand stricter enforcement of existing legislation.

Many of the young girls tell a strikingly similar story. Economic deprivation and lack of education left them desperate for work, making them extremely vulnerable to believing the hollow promises of a "new beginning," told by smooth talking traders of women. The country of Moldova became suddenly destitute after the fall of the Soviet Union, and MSNBC cites that approximately 10 percent of the women forced into prostitution come from this country. Some of the women were kidnapped through the use of physical force and smuggled into bondage against their will.

The individuals involved in the sex trade developed highly successful tactics to keep these woman caged. Human traffickers pay for the voyage of the women who leave their homes by choice. Once these women reach their destination and there are no jobs waiting or available, they have no way to pay back their debt and are forced to become an "indentured servant" via the sex market. Other owners of sex slaves either threaten or use grotesque physical violence to intimidate the defenseless women.

Ultimately, the most widespread, successful tactic and by-product of long-term sexual slavery is dehumanization. Olga related her owner's methods of dehumanization to MSNBC. Her owner, Meti, raped and beat 19-year old Olga regularly until she completely submitted herself to him, and further degraded her by making her clean the inside of a toilet with her tongue, and perform obscene sexual acts with other women for his entertainment.

MSNBC's report focuses on the flourishing sex trade in Eastern Europe and specifically, the city of Velesta in Macedonia and its neighboring country, Albania. The enormous demand for sex slaves generates massive revenue, leaving the owners and operators of the sex trade with resources that underpaid local police simply cannot match. While the smugglers have state-of-the-art electronics and equipment, police lack even the basics, such as flashlights and handcuffs. And since they cannot beat them, many officers and politicians join them. On April 18, Albania admitted that due to their immense powers, criminal organizations are able to establish links with even top government officials, according to MSNBC. The U.S. State Department also acknowledged the occurrence of bribery in several countries' political systems in its 2001 article on human rights, and conceded that "instances of corruption and involvement of police in trafficking in persons occurred at the local level."

But contrary to the assumptions of many, the incidence of human trafficking and sexual enslavement is not limited to Eastern Europe, or restricted solely to impoverished countries. MSNBC reports that approximately half of the women taken from countries like Moldova eventually work as prostitutes in Western Europe, and one quarter of the slaves are eventually sent to the United States. In addition to the fact that indigent countries do not have the resources to deal with this underground operation, the involvement of developed countries like those of Western Europe and the United States make it clear that it is the role of the U.N. to help deal with this problem.

The U.N. has taken some action against the trafficking of women, such as its 1949 convention to deal with this problem. Recently, the U.N. created Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (OHCHR) on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, a document which vaguely outlines a plan for dealing with this problem. This document is obviously well-intentioned and sets an excellent precedent for U.N. involvement in this problem; in the OHCHR, the U.N. lists among the reasons for its creation being "gravely concerned at the significant and increasing international traffic in children for the purpose of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography."

However, the U.N. and the OHCHR fall short of the measures necessary to eradicate this problem, as the document does not have any enforcement powers. In addition to this, the U.N. should consider the sex trade an international -- not isolated -- occurrence, and should therefore delineate specific protocol for dealing with sex traffickers as international offenders. The practice of forcing young women to have sex against their will is the most severe kind of violation and must be dealt with immediately. The countries that are founded upon freedom and personal liberties and are blessed with ample resources must be the ones to take a stand to put an end to this grotesque and dehumanizing practice.

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