Sex Slavery

                I found the articles by Nicholas Kristoff to be really thought provoking. Usually when someone thinks of sex slavery, they usually imagine a terrible conditions and horrible people that abuse and beat the girls that are unfortunate enough to be there. When someone is presented with the opportunity to leave, they run far away. But in the case of Srey Mom, one of the girls the author freed from her brothel, she returned almost immediately. When she was freed again, the same thing happened. This is because the living conditions were not terrible. She speaks of how her close bond with the brothel owner or the “Mother” and how she is a good person, but I personally think that the way she treats the girls is unbelievably manipulative. By being nice to them and not abusing them and not forcing them to have sex when they are ill, she is essentially ensuring that they stay, or return. Many of the girls that are used as sex slaves are also addicted to drugs, mostly provided by the owners of the brothels. This also keeps them coming back even after they leave. I also found it interesting that when asked why they never went to the police, the girls said that if they would, they would be unlikely to do anything about it because they are usually getting some sort of favor from the brothel owners. This just goes to show how little regard the government tends to pay to the wellbeing of the women who are forced into sex slavery. While I think that what Kristoff did was noble by freeing the girls, that doesn’t help the issue, it only helps individuals. He touches on this idea at the end of this article as well. I agree with the ideas Kristoff puts forth in an attempt to stop the use of brothels with underage girls and those being held against their will, but I think that it will require a lot more than that. It requires a global outrage at the injustice being forced upon these girls.