Modern-day slavery and sex trade tradition
Around the world millions of men, women and children are being bought and sold. The estimated number of slaves in the world today is between 10 to 30 million. Human trafficking, primarily for prostituting women and children into sex industries, is the fastest growing criminal industry and is predicted to eventually outgrow drug trafficking. It is believed to generate profits of an estimated $32 billion, according to a 2005 report from the International Labour Organisation. Of that number, $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries.
This year CNN has joined the fight to end modern-day slavery worldwide. With the help of famous Hollywood actors like Demi Moore and Anil Kapoor, the CNN Freedom Project is doing more than just drawing attention and highlighting the horrors of modern-day slavery, it is driving to find solutions and eventually abolish it.
The facts and figures are beyond shocking but to many they are just meaningless numbers on a page. It is the CNN Freedom Project’s mission to gave a voice to these statistics and tell their stories to a greater audience.
“Trapped by Tradition,” one of the CNN Freedom Project documentaries, looks at what the Indian charity, Plan India is doing to tackle and stop a very disturbing tradition. In the program “Slumdog Millionaire” star Anil Kapoor visits some of the Indian villages where girls are sent into prostitution by their families, a tradition that began as a religious obligation but is now continued for money.
As a patron of Plan Indian, Anil Kapoor said: “A lot of the rehabilitated women are ensuring that the girls from their families don’t get thrown into the practice. It’s a small step, but one in the right direction. Changing the mindset of the people in the village is key. Now that the women themselves are taking a stand against prostitution, I am hopeful, optimistic, we can end this tradition.”
This disturbing tradition is often enforced on the young girls by their fathers and brothers who see nothing wrong with it. It is a tradition that has been passed down through generations and began with the devdasi culture (devdasi means servant of God). Under the devdasi system, girls were dedicated to a life of sex work in the name of religion. Initially, they would serve upper class men in the local community and provide entertain through song and dance.
Over the centuries this tradition has given way to a life of prostitution with many women being forced to leave the villages and work in the red light districts of India’s major cities.
The main reason for the continuation of this tradition is money. There is little work, other than farming, in these poor villages where poverty is extreme. Often women are left to support a family on their own and as prostitution is not frowned upon in these villages it is an easy way for them to make enough money to survive. A former prostitute told CNN she would earn as much as $20 a day working in New Delhi’s red light district which is a lot of money for families in this area, many of whom live on less than a dollar a day.
Plan India and its local partner, Gram Niyojan Kendra, are bringing change to many of these villages and officials at the charities say that the practice of sending girls into prostitution is gradually declining.
‘Trapped by Tradition” airs Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2000BST; Sunday, Sept.25 at 12.00 BST; and Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 10.30 and 18.30 on CNN International.
