Abstract
Sexual Enslavement of Girls and Women Worldwide is a modest, yet powerful endeavor to expose the very complex and complicated underpinnings of sexual slavery. Parrot and Cummings, who are educators, researchers, and advocates of sexual health education, identify the unwanted, coerced, forced sexual enslavement of women and girls worldwide and the conditions that create this servitude.
The authors anchored the book in the belief that the sexual enslavement of women is a result of ongoing patriarchal systems that institutionalize women's diminished worth in the world, suggesting that the root cause of the abuse of women is the inequitable power relations between men and women. The sexual exploitation of women is further promoted by mistrust and hatred of women, who are viewed as less worthy than men. The authors argue that many women are forced to seek a better life or escape from a torturous one due to lack of economic resources, illiteracy, cultural expectations, family obligations, war and civil strife, and domestic abuse. All these elements make women more vulnerable to exploitation. Although the authors note that there are many forms of violence and abuse against women worldwide, they focus exclusively on the sexual slavery of girls and women. The premise that women's sexual enslavement is a result of ongoing patriarchal systems that institutionalize women's diminished worth in the world is the most compelling and salient focal point of the book; however, given this powerful position, the authors missed opportunities to highlight and emphasize this theme. For example, the book acknowledges that women who are freed from enslavement often face stigma and discrimination, which frequently devastates their families and communities. However, the authors do not emphasize how women's status as less valued humans leads to women being blamed and shamed for dishonoring their families and communities. In contrast, male counterparts who return after experiencing torture during war are likely to be hailed as heroes instead of being rejected and ostracized.
Sexual Enslavement of Girls and Women Worldwide is organized in three parts. The first part outlines the scope of the problem and the conditions supporting sexual slavery. The second section carefully delineates types of sexual slavery, providing powerful vignettes in the voices of the girls and women who have been held in the diverse types of sexual slavery. The last part outlines attempts to reduce or eliminate sexual slavery.
The book emphasizes the challenges in obtaining accurate figures of those involved in sexual slavery due to the very secretive nature of the enslavement. Regardless of this challenge, estimates are staggering, suggesting the global nature of trafficking and the millions of girls and women who are affected each year. A reality, which is becoming more publicly known, is that the United States has been largely responsible for much of the growth of women's exploitation worldwide. The authors outline how sexual slavery in its varying manifestations is driven by social, cultural, political, and economic factors. Education, cultural values, religion, socioeconomic status, family structure, traditional beliefs, myths, geography, economics, discrimination, employment status, patriarchal government policies, political unrest, criminal status, and natural disasters have an impact on the sexual slavery and trafficking of girls and women. Heart-wrenching personal accounts highlight how these various aspects influence and foster slavery.
A salient point made in the book is that women do not traffic themselves. The demand for sexual slaves drives trafficking, and the most vulnerable girls and women are most at risk for trafficking and sexual slavery. The book makes a compelling argument that sexual slavery involving girls and women is growing and will continue to increase unless there is a universal paradigm shift that addresses the gender inequities that justify sexual slavery. In addition, as long as there are pedophiles, men who objectify women and prefer to buy sex, and individuals who can gain financially from the practice, women and girls will continue to be kidnapped and enslaved.
Five identifiable forms of sexual enslavement are detailed in the book: trafficking, war-induced sexual slavery, ritual sexual slavery, forced marriage, and sexual servitude. The effects on sexually enslaved girls and women are tremendous. The devastating consequences include lifelong physical and psychological trauma; exposure to diseases including HIV, malnutrition, and unsanitary and inhumane living conditions; and rejection and alienation from their families, country, and culture.
Lastly, the book highlights the initiatives that have been implemented to combat sexual slavery on international, national, and legislative levels. The authors accept the positive intentions of the initiatives but also outline the shortcomings and challenges of these initiatives for successfully fighting this growing lucrative and secretive business. They describe many of the factors that prevent the elimination of sexual slavery, and they articulate how conditions that make women vulnerable are constantly being created and how cultural assumptions continue to minimize women's worth.
The horrific impact of enslavement on the human spirit of these girls and women is, at best, painful to read. Nonetheless, this book should be required reading for all, professionals as well as lay people. After reading this book, one cannot ignore the appalling fact that sexual slavery still exists and thrives in the modern-day world.
The Editor and Associate Editors would like to express our appreciation to all of the Ad Hoc reviewers who contributed to the review process during the preparation of PWQ, Volume 33, 2009.
Abbey, Antonia
Basow, Susan
Blakemore, Elaine
Brown, Amy
Byers, Sandra
Calogero, Rachel
Campbell, Rebecca
Caplan, Paula
Carli, Linda
Chrisler, Joan
Cole, Ellen
Cole, Jennifer
Conley, Terri
Cortina, Lilia
Cozzarelli, Cathy
Davis, Kelly Cue
Diamond, Lisa
Dilalla, Elizabeth
Estrada, Armando
Etaugh, Claire
Foster, Mindi
Frazier, Patricia
Glick, Peter
Greeson, Megan
Gurevich, Maria
Hessler, Donna
Hill, Melanie
Hyde, Janet
Hyers, Lauri
Impett, Emily
Johnson, Dawn
Kashubeck-West, Susan
Kaysen, Deborah
Kerpelman, Jennifer
Klonsky, Bruce
Kottke, Jan
Krakauer, Ilana
Krogh, Holly
Kubiak, Sheryl Pimlott
Lefkowitz, Eva
Lincoln, Anne
Linley, Alex
Lips, Hilary
Littleton, Heather
Livingston, Beth
Long, Bonita
Lonsway, Kim
Magley, Vicki
Mallett, Robyn
Matlin, Margaret
McKinley, Nita
Menard, Kim
Merrill, Jennifer
Morris, Jessica
Ormerod, Mimi
Paludi, Michelle
Pelton-Cooper, Mary
Prentice, Deb
Quinn, Diane
Read, Jen
Roesch, Scott
Rudman, Laurie
Russell, Glenda
Sekaquaptewa, Denise
Settles, Isis
Stephens, Kari
Sullivan, Tami
Swim, Janet
Tiggemann, Marika
Wray, Sharon
Ziegert, Jonathan