The next assignment deals with the issue of sex exploitation against women. Here are some links for you to get an idea of what's going on:
Cheated out of childhood in Russia.
Rape in Japan.
Sex slaves in Italy.
Child sex workers in Nepal.
Child prostitution in South Africa.
You don't have to go overseas. Sex exploitation happens in our own backyard.
Although the evidence is overwhelming, but why do we still struggle with these horrible issues in the Twenty-First Century?
Here is the wikipedia entry on prostitution, which brings the bigger issue of human trafficking.
Prostitution in the United States. (see that there are different kinds, from brothel, to escort to child prostitution).
_____________
Following the guidelines of the previous assignment, I'd like you to comment on the ethical issues involving the sexual exploitation of women.
Some interesting facts you should know:
1- "About 80% of women in prostitution have been the victim of a rape. It's hard to talk about this because..the experience of prostitution is just like rape. Prostitutes are raped, on the average, eight to ten times per year. They are the most raped class of women in the history of our planet. " (Susan Kay Hunter and K.C. Reed, July, 1990 "Taking the side of bought and sold rape," speech at National Coalition against Sexual Assault, Washington, D.C. ). Other studies report 68% to 70% of women in prostitution being raped (M Silbert, "Compounding factors in the rape of street prostitutes," in A.W. Burgess, ed., Rape and Sexual Assault II, Garland Publishing, 1988; Melissa Farley and Howard Barkan, "Prostitution, Violence, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder," 1998, Women & Health.
2- Prostitution is an act of violence against women which is intrinsically traumatizing. In a study of 475 people in prostitution (including women, men, and the transgendered) from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia):
62% reported having been raped in prostitution.
73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution.
72% were currently or formerly homeless.
92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.
(Melissa Farley, Isin Baral, Merab Kiremire, Ufuk Sezgin, "Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder" (1998) Feminism & Psychology 8 (4): 405-426.
3- Many of the health problems of women in prostitution are a direct result of violence. For example, several women had their ribs broken by the police in Istanbul, a woman in San Francisco broke her hips jumping out of a car when a john was attempting to kidnap her. Many women had their teeth knocked out by pimps and johns. (Melissa Farley, unpublished manuscript, 2000). One woman (in another study) said about her health: "I’ve had three broken arms, nose broken twice, [and] I’m partially deaf in one ear….I have a small
fragment of a bone floating in my head that gives me migraines. I’ve had a fractured skull. My legs ain’t worth shit no more; my toes have been broken. My feet, bottom of my feet, have been burned; they've been whopped with a hot iron and clothes hanger… the hair on my pussy had been burned off at one time…I have scars. I’ve been cut with a knife, beat with guns, two by fours. There hasn’t been a place on my body that hasn’t been bruised somehow, some way, some big, some small." (Giobbe, E. (1992) Juvenile Prostitution: Profile of Recruitment in Ann W. Burgess (ed.) Child Trauma: Issues & Research.Garland Publishing Inc, New York, page 126).
4- The commercial sex industry includes street prostitution, massage brothels, escort services, out-call services, strip clubs, lap-dancing, phone sex, adult and child pornography, video and internet pornography, and prostitution tourism. Most women who are in prostitution for longer than a few months drift among these various permutations of the commercial sex industry. All prostitution causes harm to women. Whether it is being sold by one’s family to a brothel, or whether it is being sexually abused in one’s family, running away from home, and then being pimped by one’s boyfriend, or whether one is in college and needs to pay for next semester’s tuition and one works at a strip club behind glass where men never actually touch you – all these forms of prostitution hurt the women in it. (Melissa Farley, paper presented at the 11th International Congress on Women’s Health Issues, University of California College of Nursing, San Francisco. 1-28-2000)
If you have any questions, post them here.
I believe that women nowadays have the choice to become a prostitute or not. Therefore, regardless of the rules and laws that govern prostitution it’s never going to stop because the women that choose this life style see it as easy money. That’s why I believe that the United States should start taking control and really govern prostitution instead of just sending them to jail over night so that they can come back out the very next morning. If the United States decided to make it legal but with stipulations, it would be profitable for everyone. They can make it so that it could be done specifically on sex stores or houses just for that and they could monitor it just like they do the food market, by putting regulations. For example, in order to be a prostitute they would have to apply and go thru the process as a regular job with physical exams to prevent or try to control IAD’s. I believe that this action alone would diminish the street prostitution by more than half.
ReplyDeleteCarla Paguaga
I would first like to say it is unethical for anyone to exploit any person against their will. With that said I believe that prostitutes do choose to put themselves in this "career". If this is the case and the woman or girl has chosen this life it is not unethical. Most of the time though there are people who prey on the fact that some of these women are weak and they need the money to survive or even to supply a drug habit. The pimps such as this gonzalez from one of the articles above used this weakness and even some of their innocence to get what he wanted. Gonzalez supplied his prostitutes with a luxurious life but they were never in control He brainwashed them, took all of their earnings and used them. Some would call him a good business man but he is no better than a street pimp he abuses his girls. This is very unethical these pimps are using these women as a "means to an end". We may not agree with prostitution but it is not unethical. We should how every notice the threat they pose to people if they have an STD, HIV, or AIDS. At the same time the "johns" know this risk when they choose protitution has a means for sexual favors. So even though prostitution is illegal and immoral to most people it is not illegal.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Cottingham
I would first like to say it is unethical for anyone to exploit any person against their will. With that said I believe that prostitutes do choose to put themselves in this "career". If this is the case and the woman or girl has chosen this life it is not unethical. Most of the time though there are people who prey on the fact that some of these women are weak and they need the money to survive or even to supply a drug habit. The pimps such as this gonzalez from one of the articles above used this weakness and even some of their innocence to get what he wanted. Gonzalez supplied his prostitutes with a luxurious life but they were never in control He brainwashed them, took all of their earnings and used them. Some would call him a good business man but he is no better than a street pimp he abuses his girls. This is very unethical these pimps are using these women as a "means to an end". We may not agree with prostitution but it is not unethical. We should how every notice the threat they pose to people if they have an STD, HIV, or AIDS. At the same time the "johns" know this risk when they choose protitution has a means for sexual favors. So even though prostitution is illegal and immoral to most people it is not illegal.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Cottingham
sorry about the double posting. Also I will not be needing to take the final early thanks! See you Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Cottingham
There are some to whom prostitutes are near heroes. There are others to whom prostitutes represent “fallen women”. To the vast majority of people they are an unknown quantity apart from stereotypical received media images. To some feminists and psychologists they are victims. Of course, the truth is that they are none of these things. In the main they are a non-homogeneous group of people doing a job. The same job. And that is about the only common characteristic many prostitutes share.
ReplyDeleteTo me, prostitution is morally neutral, as is sex itself. It is how one uses prostitution that gives it moral value. The act of paying for sex for me confers no moral value on it one way or another. It is neither good nor bad, it is simply an act. This also applies for me in the separation of sex from love and marriage (or a committed relationship, etc.). If one uses prostitution, or sex itself, to try to harm another human being it is morally bad. If one uses either to help or give pleasure to another human being it is mo- rally good. It is as simple as that. Of course, in the real world it is never as simple as that, but that is my bottom line.
Denise Cavicchioni
Many places around the world sex exploitation against women. I think that in many cases women have no choice to get out from sex exploitation. In developed country prostitution sound as choice, but it still a social issue. Even if women have the opportunity to take the live that they want, the prostitution is an easy way for women in developed country to have a better economic live. The following argument uses the example of prostitution or ‘sexual exploitation’ as an instance of ‘violence against women’, but the approach can apply to any attempt to deal with not only definitions of gender and sexual violence but with proposals to deal with them. When applied to adult prostitution, the term ‘sexual exploitation’ attempts to change language to make ‘voluntary’ prostitution impossible. For those who wish to ‘abolish’ prostitution, therefore, this change in terms represents progress, for now language itself will not be complicit with the violence involved. For those who may or may not want to ‘abolish’ prostitution but who in the present put the priority on improving the everyday lot of prostitutes, this language change totalizes a variety of situations involving different levels of personal will and makes it more difficult to propose practical solutions. When applied to the prostitution of children, the term ‘sexual exploitation’ represents a project to change perceptions about childhood. For those who believe that the current western model of childhood as a time of innocence should become the right of all children in the world, this term is very important.
ReplyDeleteDavid Tengi
How serious is sexual exploitation on women to our society? Exploitation to women may start
ReplyDeleteAs early as childhood and may continue into their adult lives. From all over the world women are victims
Of rape or physical abuse or held as sex slaves. The negative effects are obvious as millions of children
Are homeless and the increasing breakdowns in families have increased alcoholism among adults.
Limited family income has forced 250,000 girls into sexual explicit jobs. In conclusion, I believe the
Exploitation of Women is wrong, because of all the negative effects it creates in our society. We must
work along government agencies to implement regulation to protect our women. Our ability to view
woman as priceless pieces of humanity is crucial for our existence.
Sergio.D
Jessenia Cardoso said...
ReplyDeleteSexual exploitation is flat unethical. It's immoral behavior that is greatly manifested at prostitution or human trafficking. People argue that when it comes to sexual trading the woman, in some cases is free to take on the task. But in other countries they are to do as told, no questions asked. I believe whether woman do it freely or forced they need to be stopped and eduacted on what they are ingaging themselves into. It sad to say most women abroad can't defend their moral standing because no matter how women and girls get into prostitution, it is difficult to get out. Pimps and brothel owners use violence, threats, and addictions to drugs and alcohol to control the woman, sometimes keeping them in slavery-like conditions. Often women can leave prostitution only after they are used-up, become ill, and no longer make money for the pimps. Women in prostitution are further burdened with a stigmatized identity that is impossible to escape, unless their pasts are kept a secret. It's also sad to say most people including the government won't make any moves because that industry is worth billions of dollars. To the government it simply means men created demand and women are the supply. Hopefully,Successful prosecutions of individuals and criminal networks that traffic and pimp women will eliminate a signification portion of transnational organized crime and corruption that are destabilizing governments all over the world.
Jessenia Cardoso
Sexual exploitation is flat unethical. It's immoral behavior that is greatly manifested at prostitution or human trafficking. People argue that when it comes to sexual trading the woman, in some cases is free to take on the task. But in other countries they are to do as told, no questions asked. I believe whether woman do it freely or forced they need to be stopped and eduacted on what they are ingaging themselves into. It sad to say most women abroad can't defend their moral standing because no matter how women and girls get into prostitution, it is difficult to get out. Pimps and brothel owners use violence, threats, and addictions to drugs and alcohol to control the woman, sometimes keeping them in slavery-like conditions. Often women can leave prostitution only after they are used-up, become ill, and no longer make money for the pimps. Women in prostitution are further burdened with a stigmatized identity that is impossible to escape, unless their pasts are kept a secret. It's also sad to say most people including the government won't make any moves because that industry is worth billions of dollars. To the government it simply means men created demand and women are the supply. Hopefully,Successful prosecutions of individuals and criminal networks that traffic and pimp women will eliminate a signification portion of transnational organized crime and corruption that are destabilizing governments all over the world.
ReplyDeleteJessenia Cardoso
Sexual Violence is pervasive throughout the world. Nearly one in four women experiences sexual violence by an intimate partner during her life, and as many as one third of all girls are forced into their first sexual experience as per World Report Violence and Health. this horrible practice is the second illegal business more profitable after the traffic of guns and drugs. 98% of those trafficked into sexual exploitation are women and girls coming from around the country, especially from South America where daily hundreds of girls are reporting missed.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cancer of the society where the basic rights of freedom, dignity and autonomy are lost. Women are rape, torture, and even murder by the hands of their abusers. The victims of this tragical traffic have physical and physiological consequences include injury, unwanted pregnancy, infertility, chronic and life-threatening diseases, as well as a host of emotional and mental health issues like depression, and anxiety.
It is time to STOP. It is time for the state take obligation to protect w omen's human rights. It is need to take action a bring this problem to the high public attention in order to stop the monster who take advantage of girls and women. Women must be fairly represented by the government around the world and have protection.
Angela Castiblanco