3071-The political economy of new slavery

104 Responses to Sexual Slavery
on UN/NATO missions. Moreover, the existence of repressive policies
towards the encouragement of sexual slavery seems to be left to the
personnel’s own countries. In the case of American IPTF monitors
implicated in trafficking, whether through the ‘ownership’ or the use of
trafficked women, the fact that they enjoy immunity under the terms
of the Dayton Peace Accords means that they cannot be prosecuted
upon their return to the US, as a result of a lack of jurisdiction. In the
light of these statements, one can safely assume that the issue of sexual
slavery is not recognized by the United Nations, or the troops it
sends, as relevant to peacekeeping. At the EU level, the incorporation of
a policy addressing the issue of sexual slavery might only be possible
through the Common Foreign Security Policy, however, as the repression
of trafficking and the issue of border control is already part of
the EU Justice and Home Affairs Treaty, this former solution seems
unlikely. 22 Indeed, the ethos surrounding sexual slavery appears to be
one of repression of the victims themselves, as opposed to the fostering
of their protection.
Prevention
Considering the complexity of the issue as well as the multifaceted
nature of trafficking, effective strategies against trafficking should
never be restricted to post-trafficking prosecutions and deportations.
An anthropologist working in Albania emphasized the need for awareness
in the countries of origin. 23 She was faced with a dilemma when
introduced by locals to newspapers recruiting women for ‘marriage’.
While the locals did not seem to know what these entailed and either
joked or considered seriously these publications as genuine offers for
marriage, she was faced with a difficult choice, either to warn her interlocutors
as to the purpose of the exercise, or not to. Where does the
balance of ethics lie in such a case? Are the locals aware and do they not
make their positions known, for concern over their own reputations as
brothers or fathers of effectively enslaved women? Are they genuinely
unaware of slavery? Some leaving to get married never contact their
families again for fear of the shame that their conditions would bring,
others return and willingly answer another advertisement, hoping that
they will be more lucky and work in a better place – they would correspond
to the aforementioned third category of women eligible to be
qualified as trafficked.
The painful process of raising awareness involves many target groups,
ranging from international workers to women victims of violence.