Study of the Practice of Trafficking Women
Study of the Practice of Trafficking Women
"Trafficking is the recruitment and or the transportation of persons by others using violence or the threat of violence, abuse of authority or dominant position…for the purpose of exploiting them sexually or economically for the profit or advantage of others, such as recruiters, traffickers, brothel owners and customers." (unknown author, "What is Trafficking?") Trafficking in women and girls has become one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world. An estimate of one to two million women and girls are trafficked around the world, annually, 10,000 to 100,000 of which are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. (International Women’s Issues, "Trafficking in Women and Girls-An International Human Rights Violation") Women migrate to cities or across international borders to support families, and they usually migrate alone. Traffickers in women lure victims with advertisements and false promises of jobs as waitresses, sales clerks, nannies and models. In Thailand and South Africa, women and girls, especially those who are poor, are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, and often times it is the only option open for them.
The following is an experience of a Burmese girl caught in the trafficking of women and girls into Thailand.
When "Lin Lin" was thirteen years old, shortly after her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage, she was taken by her father from their village of Chom Dtong to Mae Sai. At the job placement agency in Mae Sai, her father was given 12,000 baht ($480) from an agent who assured him he could find a job for Lin Lin in Thailand.
Lin Lin was sent on a bus to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The agent from Mae Sai met her at a hotel in Bangkok and took Lin Lin to Kanchanaburi, a city west of Bangkok. She was brought to the Ran Dee Prom brothel and on the third day was told to work.
Lin Lin was completey unaware of what kind of work was in store for her. She did not know what was going on until the man started touching her body. He took her to a room, told her to take off her clothes, then forced her to have sex.
Lin Lin was kept in Kanchanaburi to work for one month, then sent to Korat, a city northeast of Bangkok, to a brothel...