Asia

Asia has several types of slavery, ranging from sexual to labor exploitation. Many people are trafficked across borders, others within the same country, but all face extreme hardships in situations of slavery.

Debt Bondage: Perhaps the greatest percentage of the world's slaves are held in debt bondage, mainly in India. Poor families, often the dalit or "untouchables," are unable to obtain fair-paying jobs. They are forced to borrow from money-lenders or work in exchange for basic necessities and are rarely ever able to leave this situation. Bringing their families into the same situation only compounds the effects, forcing children to work in industries such as carpet-weaving, cigarette-rolling, stone-breaking and sari sewing. The children are automatically placed in the same situation and incur the debt left by their parents, continuing the cycle of poverty and slavery.

Labor Slavery: Another form of slavery is for labor exploitation, which frequently happens to ethnic minorities. For example, the ethnic Burmese population living in northern Thailand are at high-risk for exploitation in the Thai fishing industry. When asked why there are only Burmese workers in the fishing boats, the Thai manager of the dock replied, "Thais are lazy and expect more money. These Burmese work like dogs and you don't have to pay them much."

Sex Slavery: In South and Southeat Asia, traffickers will pay $150 to purchase a child for exploitation. Brothel owners can purchase the same child from the trafficker for about $1000. For traffickers, sex slavery is a lucrative business, generating billions of dollars each year. Trafficking is controlled by organized crime syndicates, smaller gangs, and "mom & pop" operations.
Victims of slavery and trafficking in Asia are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members.

In the case of traffficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple gang rape to break down their resistance. Since the bodies of young girls are not ready for sexual intercourse, this often results in abrasions, making the girls susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Roughly 80% of women in brothels in India, for example, are HIV-positive.
TEN's partner staff in India explains that prostitution is the only "business" where a person's earnings will decrease with experience. Younger women and girls (ages 8-12) can be sold for much higher prices since they are viewed as pure, clean, virgins, and disease-free. Older women (ages 20-30) are forced to perform more degrading and dangerous sexual acts in order to attract clients; many of these women have children to care for and thus are desperate for the money.

Governments in Asia are only just beginning to address this issue, under pressure from anti-slavery organizations and the international community. Some governments are taking the lead in this movement, such as the Thai government. Other governments are plagued with corruption, such as Indian policemen, who frequent the brothels as buyers of sex.

Click Here to visit our online store and shop for our beautiful jewlery made in Asia. The purchases from our online store directly aid the sustainability and development of the lives of survivors of slavery.