| WHAT is going on? |
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| Saturday, 10 May 2008 | |
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The US Department of State believes that globally around 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked within and across borders every year, of whom 80% and women and girls and 50% are minors. 80% of persons are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Think about that. 640,000 people – over half a million and mainly women and young girls – being kidnapped, held against their wills, beaten, drugged, sexually abused, raped and sodomised repeatedly by ‘clients’ sometimes as often as 40 times per day. And meanwhile their traffickers are becoming very wealthy, laundering their money, no doubt investing it, becoming wealthier still, and gaining for themselves an economic status way beyond the rest of us. “Physical and sexual violence is often used to control and ‘break-in’ victims, with children gang-raped, beaten and burned with cigarettes,” their publication reads. What can you say? For the half-second that I could bear it, I imagined this being my daughter or sister. Certainly this is someone’s daughter or sister. Just one victim would be too many. But 800,000? Start counting and try to imagine a face for every number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14…it’s going to take a long time to get to 800,000. And that’s just one year. So in the last 5 years of your life, you’re looking at 4 million. What is going on? Is this really 2008? Medaille works to provide safe house and opportunities for physical and psychological healing and rehab. They also raise awareness of the plight of those who are enslaved and exploited. However, spend a few moments considering the situation in all its terrible actuality, and I think it quickly becomes clear that there is a need – an immense need – to focus simultaneously on the roots of these problems, not merely the “symptoms,” and to engage those roots pro-actively and constructively. The main root here, like it or not, is sexual culture – nationally and globally (it’s certainly not the only part of the equation but it’s a decisive element). The sex industry would simply not exist if sexual culture revolved around and celebrated love and responsibility rather than lust and irresponsibility. As far as 640,000 individuals trafficked every year goes, there would be no demand and so there would be no supply. Medaille is focused on dealing with the “fall-out” of a distorted and inadequate sexual culture: the sex industry and the horrible damage it does. Their work is essential. But equally essential is the effort to transform though education, information and inspiration that very sexual culture which fuels and sustains the sex industry. Whether you consider things from a short, medium or long-term perspective, focusing on “symptoms” alone is not enough. Working alongside Medaille we need education and information initiatives such as Family Choices (and many others) that engage the problems at their deepest level: the way in which as a culture and as a society we think about, live and enjoy our sexuality. Our spring request for financial investment is well under way now. If you’d like information on what we intend to spend the money on, please write to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will be very happy to provide you with the details. Donations under £500 can be made via our website – just click here. Also, to learn more about The Medaille Trust and to support them financially, please visit their website at www.medaille.co.uk.
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I came across a publication from | WHAT is going on? |
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| Saturday, 10 May 2008 | |
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The US Department of State believes that globally around 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked within and across borders every year, of whom 80% and women and girls and 50% are minors. 80% of persons are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Think about that. 640,000 people – over half a million and mainly women and young girls – being kidnapped, held against their wills, beaten, drugged, sexually abused, raped and sodomised repeatedly by ‘clients’ sometimes as often as 40 times per day. And meanwhile their traffickers are becoming very wealthy, laundering their money, no doubt investing it, becoming wealthier still, and gaining for themselves an economic status way beyond the rest of us. “Physical and sexual violence is often used to control and ‘break-in’ victims, with children gang-raped, beaten and burned with cigarettes,” their publication reads. What can you say? For the half-second that I could bear it, I imagined this being my daughter or sister. Certainly this is someone’s daughter or sister. Just one victim would be too many. But 800,000? Start counting and try to imagine a face for every number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14…it’s going to take a long time to get to 800,000. And that’s just one year. So in the last 5 years of your life, you’re looking at 4 million. What is going on? Is this really 2008? Medaille works to provide safe house and opportunities for physical and psychological healing and rehab. They also raise awareness of the plight of those who are enslaved and exploited. However, spend a few moments considering the situation in all its terrible actuality, and I think it quickly becomes clear that there is a need – an immense need – to focus simultaneously on the roots of these problems, not merely the “symptoms,” and to engage those roots pro-actively and constructively. The main root here, like it or not, is sexual culture – nationally and globally (it’s certainly not the only part of the equation but it’s a decisive element). The sex industry would simply not exist if sexual culture revolved around and celebrated love and responsibility rather than lust and irresponsibility. As far as 640,000 individuals trafficked every year goes, there would be no demand and so there would be no supply. Medaille is focused on dealing with the “fall-out” of a distorted and inadequate sexual culture: the sex industry and the horrible damage it does. Their work is essential. But equally essential is the effort to transform though education, information and inspiration that very sexual culture which fuels and sustains the sex industry. Whether you consider things from a short, medium or long-term perspective, focusing on “symptoms” alone is not enough. Working alongside Medaille we need education and information initiatives such as Family Choices (and many others) that engage the problems at their deepest level: the way in which as a culture and as a society we think about, live and enjoy our sexuality. Our spring request for financial investment is well under way now. If you’d like information on what we intend to spend the money on, please write to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will be very happy to provide you with the details. Donations under £500 can be made via our website – just click here. Also, to learn more about The Medaille Trust and to support them financially, please visit their website at www.medaille.co.uk.
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