tougher
anti-harassment
and
discrimination policies by the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial 49
Police and numerous metropolitan police forces is a first step towards a more tolerant environment. But this first step must be conveyed to officers of the law and enforced when needed.
Another case in point is that of Corporal Catherine
Galliford who was a spokesperson for the British Columbia RCMP.
Galliford claimed to have endured numerous acts of sexual harassment and unwarranted advances beginning right after she graduated from the RCMP academy in 1991.
Gulliford plans to file a lawsuit against her former
employer.
The aforementioned wasn’t an attack against the entire
RCMP. Many agents of the RCMP work very hard and risk their lives to make their country a safer and better place. But wrong is wrong, and regardless of how much good any organization does, it’s only right to try to correct the wrong therein.
A devious method of killing a woman but trying to justify or excuse it is the concept of honour killing. Although men are sometimes also killed for honour, almost all of the victims are females. In addition, this book is particularly about female abuse.
Honour killing is the deliberate and calculated killing (of
a woman or a man) as a retaliation vengeance or cleansing of family, group or societal integrity. Usually, when a woman is the victim the perpetrator is a close family member. Male relatives are usually the ones who carry out the attack the female relatives usually support them in their belief, sometimes they go even further by holding down the victim.
Women can be honour killed for the following reason/s:
-Engaging in pre-marital sex or believed to be engaged in it.
-Conceiving an out of wedlock child.
-Dating before marriage or socializing beyond the norm with
non-related adult members of the opposite sex.
-Dressing provocatively, usually more than once a pattern.
-Defying and rejecting a forced marriage.
-Attempting to divorce a husband.
-Behaving inappropriately (depends on the culture and
family dynamics and beliefs) However, this could mean attending higher education without permission, working, leaving the home unattended to on a regular basis or travelling abroad without a male escort.
-Defying
misogynistic
beliefs
and
behaviours
of
the
respective culture; becoming a vocal activist.
-Defiantly refusing to undergo female genital mutilation.
-Otherwise bringing ‘shame’ or ‘dishonour’ to the family or
social group.
50
-But most shocking of all, there have been cases of rape victims being honour killed for bringing shame to the family.
Two cases in point; Aisha Duhulowa, a 13 year-old girl who was gang-raped and later sentenced to death because of her rape.
The second case involves a 15 year-old retarded girl living
in a remote Pakistani village who was raped. The tribal elder ruled that she be killed.
Islamic Sharia (Islamic Law calls for the killing of the rapist/s: under no circumstances can the rape victim be
punished. Furthermore, in concerning the latter case, by Islamic Sharia retarded persons are incapable of sinning. They don’t know right from wrong. Non-retarded persons have no right to perform any sexual act with this category of people.
These preposterous rulings are based on nothing but
ignorance.
Two important facts pertaining to honour killings include:
-The accused, in most cases has little or no defence. For instance, if a woman is accused of having sex with an individual out of marriage it may be enough ‘proof’ to see them together un-escorted.
-If the honour killing is tribal, cultural or familial
based, men aren’t punished for the same offence. On the contrary, oftentimes men are totally or predominately exempt from any sort of punishment. However, if there is a punishment it pales in comparison.
Example: Three decades ago (from the writing of this eBook)
a friend of mine was coerced by his family into marrying his cousin. The apparent reason, he’d gone off to school to the U.S., and was spotted with a girlfriend by one of his female relatives. As soon as word got around his parents and extended family ‘presented’ him with a wife.
He had two choices; marry her or your family will
disinherit you.
The idea of women’s rights in the Arab World, in general is
a touchy subject.
Although women in the Arab World have made some advances in
the past several decades, honour killings still do occur in some areas. These killings are not based on Islam or Christianity; there are Muslims and Christians in the Arab World.
Honour killing in a technical sense, is behaviour from the days of Jahiliyah (Arabic word meaning ignorance; the phrase translated is the days of ignorance).
Honour killing is a painful pricking needle for women and their basic rights in the affected areas. Although honour killing is an act of murder and is technically a sin (In Islam 51
and Christianity in the Arab World) it is uncommon to see justice if committed.
If a woman is perceived to be committing adultery,
committing premarital sex or ‘behaving in a dishonourable way’, she’s generally assumed to be guilty and as a general rule absolutely nothing happens to the man that she supposedly had her affair with. A more appropriate term for this killing is
‘dishonour killing’.
Until and only until the killer/s are apprehended, tried, convicted and then punished many more incidents will likely occur.
Regarding governments, justice and rule, the Arab World is in shambles. It’s ruled by horrible dictators; in a general sense they’re kings and emperors even if they have titles like
‘President’ or ‘Prime Minister’. There’s hardly a decent one amongst them.
Dictators love to put their populations in place. Take care
of the women and you’ve already put 50 percent of them in their place.
But overall, women in the Arab World don’t have to worry about honour killing. Although some cases receive spectacular coverage, it’s not that common. But, even one unjust killing is a grave injustice.
Honour Killings are the modern counterpart to Witch Hunts but are statistically smaller in number. I shall speak about the latter later in this book. Witch hunts though, were more brutal and were responsible for the annihilation of many women.
Honour killings occur in segments of the Arab World
especially in but not limited to small villages, also in Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Italy; Sweden and Great Britain (within immigrant or newcomer populations).
In an extraordinary case occurring in Montreal, three
members of a family were sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering four {female} family members.
In late January of 2011, three members of the Shafia family
(Mohammad Shafia, 58; his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed) were each found guilty of four counts of first degree murder after a three month trial.
Judge Meranger imposed the mandatory sentence, life in
prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The overarching reason for the killings of Zainab Shafia, 19; Sahar Shafia, 17; Geeti Shafia 13; Rona Amir Mohammad was because they were dressing immodestly, were sexually immodest and were disobedient according to Shafia’s cultural norms.
Sex trafficking, also called human trafficking is a worldwide problem. The focus of this section shall be on females, however, young boys (for sex and/or work) and men (usually for 52
non-sexual purposes) are also trafficked around the world, through international borders.
It’s estimated that 300,000 females are trafficked in the U.S. at any given year. One hundred thousand are young girls (9
to 19 years of age).
A typical case is that of a girl aliased Debbie. She was a brilliant 15 year-old resident of Phoenix, a straight A student, and occupying the notch of middle child in a loving Air Force family.
This case like many others is sad and shocking. A person’s life can suddenly turn for the worse in a moment. In these case scenarios lures and false promises are often made.
In the past the vast majority of these girls consisted of runaways, however, things have changed somewhat in a relatively short period of time. Pimps and other low-life characters have adjusted their behaviour to lure more unsuspecting young girls.
They’ll go to young girls’ hangouts, be it a mall, swimming pool, beach or elsewhere. But other common long-frequented places for pimps are bus depots, train stations and even airports. In particular bus depots and train stations where security isn’t as tight as airports. Therein are young girls who are travelling or running away from home; often-times unaware of the horrible dangers out there.
Predators use their street smarts to zoom in on a
particular child. They’re predators in the literal sense. Some children are more easily approachable than others and are more talkative, open and trustworthy. They’re not stupid perhaps they’re surrounded by loving family and adults in their world.
Or maybe they’re unaware of the dangers out there. Each case is unique but also shares similarities with others.
Sometimes females can become co-pimps or helpers for
pimps.
In the case of Debbie, she received a phone call from a casual friend named Bianca.
Bianca requested to stop by Debbie’s house, nothing out of the ordinary thus far.
When Bianca arrived (in a Cadillac with a couple of older men) Debbie, still wearing her pyjamas approached her.
As soon as Debbie attempted to hug Bianca, she (Bianca) pushed her into the Cadillac.
The driver sped off, Debbie was tied up and gagged and told
to behave herself or else she’d be shot.
As is often the case several hours later Debbie was taken to a designated location (an apartment), drugged and then raped and then gang-raped. This is done to demoralize and to break-in the
victim.
It’s
also
a
practice
lesson
for
future
‘performances’.
53
Another case which is more typical involves a girl named Miya who was approached by a couple while at work in the mall, told that she could make extra money as a model and doing photo shoots. A later meeting with this couple resulted in a
devastating outcome.
Many of these young girls end up becoming battle-hardened victims, lose their innocence, can develop mental and physical problems, become chain smokers, alcohol abusers, drug abusers, criminals or acquire STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases). The luckier ones escape and return home or somehow get out of the business later on in life and begin a long process of getting back to normal. Others are murdered outright or commit suicide later on.
Many of these girls are trafficked to other cities. Later, I’ll elaborate on international trafficking.
Initially, some kind of a rape, gang-rape and beating is expected. Serious threats and intimidation and the flashing of a weapons is used to keep the girl from escaping. In addition, a girl may be locked up in a domicile for extended periods of time. She may be drugged before the selected Johns appear. The Johns are either oblivious to what’s happening to her, don’t care or may be in cahoots with the pimp/s.
For thousands of years the primary victims in the sex
trafficking industry have been women and children. In modern times, the 1902 International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic was drafted.
Later, the United States enacted the Mann Act of 1910. This
act specifically forbade the transporting of an individual across state lines or international borders for prostitution or other immoral (licentious lascivious) purposes.
Later yet, the United Nations addressed the sex trafficking
problem through the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of
Others.
It
was
ratified
by
nearly
50
countries.
Unfortunately,
the
problem
has
been
getting
worse.
Sex
trafficking is now a real epidemic. Kidnapping and selling by family members (for immense need or greed) or the luring and deceiving (promises of work, money, opportunity, etc.) or the paying off of a debt are the methods used to acquire more and more
females
and
children
for
the
purpose
of
sexual
exploitation.
Teen girls, even in the United States can be transported across county and state lines for purposes of prostitution.
In a case involving Chicago man women told investigators that they began to work for him when they were 16 and 17 years-old. This Chicago man was quoted as saying “so what? Some of my best girls were minors”.
54
-The laws pertaining to sex trafficking must be enforced diligently. This is a horrible.
-Plea bargaining should be restricted for participants
guilty of sex crimes or pimping.
-Victims should receive free emotional and legal support
and protection. They should be allowed to testify against sex traffickers without being fearful for their safety and security.
-If possible, stiff fines should be paid by the pimps and other traffickers. Part of those fines can go to the victims.
-Victims should not be discriminated against based upon
gender, age, nationality race, economic status or mother tongue, which unfortunately is often the case.
-People should be educated about sex trafficking.
-Sex trafficking can sometimes be territorial in nature;
women
from
specific
regions
are
kidnapped
or
snatched,
transported and then sold by gangs.
-The United Nations and the nations of the world can work together to bring perpetrators and traffickers to justice.
Israel has become one of the transport destinations for sex
trafficking of women. Thousands of women have been trafficked to Israel, the boom beginning in the early 1990s. It’s estimated that during the boom years 3,000 women were trafficked to therein every single year.
Most of the women are from Slavic countries, in particular the Ukraine but some are also from Asia. In this worldwide epidemic White and Asian women tend to be in most demand.
Women trafficked to Israel may be brought in legally, in that regard they’re likely lured with false hopes and bogus claims; lies. Illegal women are smuggled into the country; they literally have no immigration status, fearing their criminal captors and the authorities alike.
The women, like many others around the world destined for other places are lured with false promises of work and money and a better life. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Many of the victims are trafficked in horrid conditions
arriving in Israel sickly. The women can’t travel because their passports are conveniently confiscated by the traffickers, later sold to pimps.
Some women in this sex trafficking enterprise have been
stripped and then sold at auctions, like the black slaves of the Southern U.S. during slavery. They have no rights whatsoever; they’re objects to be used and not respected.
The pimps use elevator eyes and study the ‘merchandise’
carefully. Women cost thousands of U.S. dollars.
55
Months or years later, a woman that’s still alive may have one or more STDs and/or tuberculosis and/or hepatitis; this is not including any injuries incurred by their pimps or the Johns.
But as of 2007 the Government of Israel has ‘at least on the books’ intensified its efforts to combat sex trafficking; no doubt, the threat of sanctions by the United States sped up the decision. Regardless, the victims need protection regardless of the origin of the reason.
A place of shelter for the luckier victims is the Maagan Shelter located in Tel Aviv. According to the Maagan Shelter website the shelter was created according to the decision of the government of the State of Israel (decision N 2806 dated 1/12/2002).
The Maagan Shelter officially opened its doors on February 15, 2004.
The Maagan Shelter is supposed to provide a safe calm place
for former victims to live in. Medical, mental and social needs are also provided. They receive therapeutic care and can be actively involved in the decisions pertaining to the internal operations of the shelter.
Not all sex trafficked women in Israel can make it to a shelter. Some women who are able to escape hide. The players in the sex trafficking network are so horrid, they’ll rape, beat, torture or kill a trafficked woman if need be.
Prostitution in Israel is still legal; brothel operations and pimping are illegal though.
As is the case in other countries where sex trafficking occurs foreign women are highest in demand. The Johns want a
‘different flavour’. The women often appear run-down, used and in dire straits. The Johns don’t seem to occur.
In December of 2011, Guatemalan authorities announced that they disassembled an international sex trafficking network that enticed Guatemalan women to Jordan. Therein, they worked as prostitutes.
Two nationals and two Jordanians were arrested. Authorities claimed that the arrested individuals were major members of a sex trafficking gang.
The unsuspecting women were enticed with false promises of work in Jordan with good pay (relative to Guatemalan salaries; $400 per month.
Upon arrival in Jordan, the women were beaten, forced to work long hours as prostitutes. In addition, their food supply was seriously restricted. Not understanding the language or the culture in Jordan, these women were helpless.
Human
trafficking,
unlike
drugs
or
illegal
weapons
trafficking is usually not perceived as a major threat to national security. Today, the major illegal trafficking networks 56
may deal in drugs, illegal weapons, animals or animal by-products and human trafficking. There’s big money in each of the aforementioned activities. But be careful if you get in their way.
Not much information is available in the media outlets or internet regarding sex trafficking into Jordan. However, the truth is, there’s a big problem therein. Most of the prostitutes are labelled as Russians by locals however, Slavs is a better term. Likely, many are from the former Soviet Union countries including Russia.
Jordan is a monarchical dictatorship, therefore the news is
curtailed. Furthermore, like Israel, at present the dictatorship is a close friend and asset to the west.
Saudi
Arabia
also
has
a
human
trafficking
problem.
Children, especially from Bangladesh and India are brought into the country forcefully to work as jockeys. These children may be beaten and brutalized, underfed in order to maintain a proper jockey weight, and sexually violated.
The Saudi authorities, in general, couldn’t care less about
these children, which by the way are all boys.
Men and women from India, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Philippines and parts of Africa are trafficked for forced labour. They’re often not paid, abused and in many cases sexually violated.
Many legally bound domestic workers and servants are also physically abused and sexually violated. As the law stipulates, passports of foreign nationals are always confiscated by the employer. Strict measures for all workers, regardless of status include entry and exit visas, and passport requirements to travel from one city to another.
Domestic women servants from the Philippines appear to get the worst deal amongst the various nationalities. Sponsors’
payment for work rendered appears to be voluntary. Numerous sponsors have been documented raping and abusing their workers.
Domestic workers fear the Saudi Authorities, and rightfully so. In this brutal regime, complainants from Third World countries may face stiff penalties or punishments.
Some employers, often rich, often feel that they have a right to sexually abuse their domestic workers; sexual slavery.
The withholding of payment also appears to be another problem.
Regarding the sexual trafficking in Saudi Arabia, some
women, often from Africa are enticed therein with promises of work, others with temporary marriages with wealthy persons. But often they end up being sex slaves.
In the past, there had been cases of African nationals who were
enticed
to
go
to
Saudi
Arabia
by
providing
free
57
transportation for the Hajj Pilgrimage, upon arrival the poor individuals were thrown into the pit of forced servitude.
Western women are also sometimes physically abused, forced into seclusion and sexually violated.
Without a passport, and the fact that Saudi Law prohibits women from leaving the country without permission or escort of a male guardian, it’s very difficult to escape. The authorities don’t care; western governments apply little or no pressure. In addition, the so-called religious authorities (who are often figure heads to the government) don’t appear to be protesting.
I remember hearing a story conveyed to me by an Asian
woman, who by the way was a hijab wearing Muslima (a Muslim woman), concerning a friend of a former employer in Saudi Arabia who chased her around his mansion trying to catch her and do
‘his thing’ with her. Luckily, she knew self-defence. She was able to neutralize him. Most other cases of this sort end in sexual violations or rapes.
Another case in Saudi Arabia that occurred in 2005 involves
a hijabi woman who was thrown to the ground and then bitten on the face. The perpetrator attempted to sexually assault her.
Luckily, she was able to ward him off.
Soon after notifying the authorities the perpetrator was