http://www.wilramsey.com/fight-slavery/
Growing up, I constantly wondered why most of the domestic workers in my community were young girls. Girls who were mostly older than me but still too young to be out of school. I always thought that most of these girls chose to work as opposed to going to school. The reading on poverty and child trafficking in
http://ki-media.blogspot.ca/
Nigeria was definitely an eye opener. It had never occurred to me that some of these girls could have been trafficked or had to leave home against their will. This article shades light on an issue that is very common in many African homes yet one that is not talked about as often as it should.
Adesina, in Modern day slavery: Poverty and child trafficking in Nigeria is challenging the Nigerian government to take more stringent steps in the fight against human trafficking. While the government has placed much emphasis on curbing external trafficking of persons, little has been done to address internal trafficking, an issue that is constantly on the rise.
https://racheldawn.me/2014/03/21/human-trafficking-modern-day-slavery
Poverty is identified as being the root cause of child trafficking. Some children are forced into it by luring, family obligations and the desire to experience a better life in the city. Most of these children come from very humble backgrounds where basic survival is a struggle. They usually do not go to school and hardly ever have enough food to eat. In Nigeria, most of the children who fall victims of child trafficking end up working as domestic servants in homes or businesses of their clients. Few are forced into prostitution, a topic that was widely dissected in Women in street Prostitution: The Result of Poverty and the Brunt of Inequity by Jacquelyn Monroe.
Prostitution is an act that is bashed and frown upon in many societies both developed and developing countries alike. The biggest misconception about prostitution is that the women sex workers get into it by choice for financial gains. Monroe clearly articulates that mounting financial burden often influenced by single parent headed homes and poverty are the key motivators for most female sex workers. All feminists do agree that Institutional forms of oppression such as structural racism, classism and sexism do play a critical role in forcing women of colour and minorities into prostitution, of not just any kind, but the least favoured one which is street prostitution that exposes them to various forms of violent acts.
Both articles do raise an issue of bias and structural inequities that exists in our legal systems. Most of the Child traffickers in Nigeria often go unpunished or are given very lenient penalties which do not match the crimes that they commit. As for prostitution, the women are always the main targets of law enforcement agencies yet the pimps, the clients and the Johns are often not penalized.
http://dailytrojan.com/2016/02/03/in-light-of-structural-inequity-ban-greek-life/
To address these key issues in our society, structural inequities do need to be addressed. Equal opportunities for both genders in terms of education and job accessibility and living wages will go a long way towards improving living standards of low income earners. Institutions like NGO`s and governments need to join hands in the fight against human trafficking and unfair victimization of female sex workers. We need to have impartial laws when it comes to penalizing human traffickers and pimps that that continue to exploit women through their predatory activities.
One key issue that both articles did not address in details was the role that we as society play. Such acts of violence against women are still rampant in society today because we tolerate them. Governments and NGO`s can not work in isolation, we need to raise awareness on human trafficking and shaming of pimps and the male clients who are often not mentioned when we think of prostitution. Thinking of human trafficking of children for domestic work, there can only be supply as long as there is demand. If we cut short the demand for young female domestic workers who are often mistreated, then the supply will ultimately dwindle. Taking on a personal initiative to educate those around us on these issues and to report the perpetrators of such acts will in the end be beneficial to us all.