3071-The political economy of new slavery

5
Responses to Sexual Slavery: From
the Balkans to Afghanistan
Victoria Firmo-Fontan
Introduction
A year after the onset of ‘Operation Infinite Justice’ in Afghanistan,
girls and women within and around the country are subjected to an
exponential increase in trafficking, resulting itself in a resurgence of
sexual and physical violence. 1 In this lawless territory women are more
victimized than ever, after years of drought and armed conflict, human
trafficking, mainly but not exclusively of women and girls, has reached
a climax whereby a girl can be sold for as little as 100 kg of wheat. 2
While the pretext for such transactions between a parent and a buyer
might be that of marriage, girls may be sold several times before
reaching a place where they are physically and/or emotionally coerced
into performing sexual acts with clients. While the series of transactions
involving the movement of the individual will be referred to in this
chapter as trafficking, the coercion dynamic behind the acts of the prostitute
will be identified as forced prostitution, itself very distinct from
the profession of other sex workers who engage in prostitution of their
own free will. Moreover, the remuneration given for the act will not be
regarded as a key dynamic, as some girls may be given sporadic payment
by their owner, while still being forced to work as prostitutes, either
through debt-bondage, as a way to repay pimps for a freedom that will
rarely be achieved, or through physical violence. As this chapter will
illustrate, the former is rarely exclusive of the latter, which is why the
term of sexual slavery is used.
The recent UK court ruling in favour of the former United Nations
Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNMiBH) worker, Kathryn Bolkovac –
wrongfully dismissed by her employer for disclosing information on the
involvement of UN workers in the sex trade of Bosnia-Herzegovina – has
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