Olaudah Equiano was one of the most important figures fighting for the abolishing of slavery and slave trade. Equiano is a complex and contradictory personality. Thus Equiano preserves meaning for his existence and dignity for himself by making geography coeval with moral states. The Interesting Narrative in the Life of Olaudah Equiano represents an important translation of cultural identity and new social values. Thesis Some of the contradictions in his character and complexities were caused by social and political landscape, social morals and values typical for the 18th century society.
Essence
Equiano’s awareness of his low status as a slave is a main driven factor in his career and life. It is a known fact that initially viewing whiteness as disfigurement and the English as monsters, Equiano comes not only to accept the ideologies of his imperialist masters but also to employ and articulate their economic ethics. Hardship and life grievances, despair and oppression force Equiano to fight against oppressors and inequality. It is possible to assume that Equiano idealizes ‘a white man’ and European traditions, values and business practices. Equiano questions: “But had the cruel man struck me I certainly should have defended myself at the hazard of my life, for what is life to a man thus oppressed?”(Equiano 2000). The important detail Equiano bestows on each transaction suggests the significance to him of his “mastery” of international capitalism, the choice of label suggests that he is not only purchasing manumission but also legitimacy within the white world. European religion seems to Equiano as an ideal one in contrast to his native traditions. He writes: “Though we had no places of public worship, we had priests and magicians, or wise men” (Equiano 2000). He sees religion as a part of the European culture and political relations. Equiano’s Narrative demonstrates a conscious effort to ascribe spiritual enlightenment to the political arena and hence ascertain the importance of the relationship between spiritual intervention, the ‘mysterious ways of Providence’ and parliamentary decisions concerning the abolition of the slave trade.
Equiano depicts that European religious and business practices play a crucial role in his new identity and self-determination. These practices allow him to become an ‘individual’ in the Enlightenment sense. Equiano stresses the fact that it is not his status as a ‘Christian’ which earned him the appellation ‘Freeman’, but his dabbling in petty trade which paid for his freedom. To a significant extent, Equiano’s Narrative adheres to the conversion narrative framework popularized by radical Protestantism. Yet in an important departure from this, Equiano presents a narrative of cultural exchange in terms of its subtle synthesis of African belief systems with the dissenting traditions of the western world. Equiano describes his experience: “They often used to teach me to read, and took great pains to instruct me in the principles of religion and the knowledge of God. … friendly cautions how to conduct myself, and some valuable presents” (Equiano 2000). Without these lessons, Equiano would not be able to ‘penetrate’ into the European society and obtain a leadership position.
Equiano does not abandon his roots by participating in European wars and slave trade, because Equiano is not a revolutionary but an imperialist; in fact, it is only by becoming a successful trader and subsequent propagandist for abolition phrased as the victory of empire that he is able to articulate his imperturbable dissatisfaction with European intrusions on African identities. Equiano passes for civilized European imperialist trader to mark that frame as inherently self-deluded, complicating its simplistic self-articulation. That the correlations between civilized / barbaric and African / European become so tortured in Equiano’s document as to elude any final classification goes to show only that the paradigms themselves are inadequate. Of course, it is tempting to align the civilized with the African and have done with it; but after reading Narrative, any such reversal of the cardinal hierarchy of imperialist discourse seems almost simplistic. An informed reading of Equiano’s text refuses such easy answers, scraping them away to reveal underlying structures of power that serve to make any uniform notion of subjectivity nonsensical and almost charmingly naïve. Equiano writes: “I early accustomed myself to look for the hand of God in the minutest occurrence, and to learn from it a lesson of morality and religion; and in this light every circumstance I have related was to me of importance” (Equiano 2000). When he complies with his owners’ declarations of power, Equiano’s actions undergo an intricate process of cultural assimilation and severance from African cultural loyalties.
The complexity of this situation is that the former slave becomes slave owner, and the African, Englishman, substituting national identification for complexion as he passes from slave to imperialist. The ruptures in the text are warnings that for the African, integral subjectivity is not so easily maintained; the danger is always that Equiano’s self-mastery will disintegrate, forcing him back into silence. But no matter how skilled Equiano’s articulation of English imperialist ideologies, enough ruptures and silences remain in his text finally to subvert those same ideologies. Equiano makes clear that such complacency required merely that one form of trade be supplanted by another, one more profitable because it depended on a need that all Africans could be assumed to develop, rather than making enemies of the many for the benefit of a few. Equiano comments: “I could not silently suffer government to be thus cheated, and my countrymen plundered and oppressed, and even left destitute of the necessaries for almost their existence” (Equiano 2000). Abolition of the African slave trade would make consumers out of former potential slaves: that is, Parliament would do well by doing good. These shifts seem to enact, perhaps more “coherently” than smoother passages, the paradox of a black man trying to make himself understood to the predominantly white culture responsible for his enslavement. At the same time, his exposure of his own (sexual) collaboration with the traders demonstrates a complex process of assimilation with the host culture. Ostensibly, therefore, his ‘confessional’ disclosure of his collusion with the traders’ sexual violations demonstrates his personal (Christian) salvation, yet his text simultaneously registers a departure from such ideologies, a challenge to the English legislature and an adherence to the African cultural values. Thus, during the eighteenth century male dominance and power of a man dominated in the society. Women obtained secondary roles and were deprived equal rights with men. These facts help to explain complexities of his characters and contradictory actions.
Conclusion
In sum, participation in European affairs and acceptance of the European culture are the main factors which help Equiano to become a part of the European community. During the 18th century, nobody would accept a slave with his barbarian traditions and ‘low culture’. Equiano’s justification of his submission to the pressures of cultural norms and male bonding, is supported by claims alleging his ‘performance’, a hesitancy which correlates with his displaced status.
Works Cited
Equiano, O. The Interesting Narrative in the Life of Olaudah Equiano. 2000. Web.
The revolt of slaves under the direction of Spartacus 73-71 BC is considered the most significant event of the period of crisis of the Roman republican regime in the first century DC and is estimated as the brightest display of class struggle in an antiquity.
Main text
Spartacus was born in Thrace (modern Bulgaria). Antique authors give inconsistent data on its life. According to one source, he was a prisoner of war, he has got in slavery and has been sent to the school of gladiators at Capua. “Spartacus, a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a gladiator, and was in the gladiatorial training school at Capua, persuaded about seventy of his comrades to strike for their own freedom rather than for the amusement of spectators” (Appian, The Civil Wars, I. 1ll; 116-121).
Under the other version, Spartacus served as the mercenary in the Roman army, and then he ran and, on having been taken prisoner, has been given in gladiators. Spartacus was famous for his physical strength, dexterity, and boldness, he skillfully used the weapon. For his capabilities he has received freedom and became the teacher of fencing at gladiatorial school. Spartacus had the huge authority among gladiators school at Capua, and later among the rebelled slaves of Ancient Rome.
The greatest in the Ancient world revolt of slaves had under itself the favorable circumstances. Wars have flooded Italy with slaves of various ethnic groups: Gauls, germen, inhabitants of Asia and Syria. The revolt in Italy governed by the Thracian gladiator in 73 “proved to be the catalyst to a major attack on Sulla’s constitutional arrangements” (Shotter, 1994, p. 50).
The main mass of slaves has been involved in agriculture and was in the heaviest conditions. The life of the Roman slaves because of their severe conditions of life was rather short However, it did not really worried slaveholders, as victorious campaigns of the Roman army provided uninterrupted deliveries of cheap slaves on slave markets.
If to consider city slaves it is possible to say that on special positions there were gladiators. Any festival did not pass without gladiatorial performances in Ancient Rome that epoch. Well-skilled and trained gladiators came to the arena in order on joy of thousand Roman citizens to kill each other. There were special schools where physically strong slaves trained in gladiatorial art. One of the most known schools of gladiators was in the province Campaign, in the city of Capua.
In arenas mostly battled the condemned criminals from the slaves. It was the lowest social class, people deprived of civil rights. Basically there were Gauls and Thracians, not without reason considered in Rome as aggressive and rebellious people. “At this time, gladiatorial combat was becoming increasingly popular at Rome because of its close association with the ideology of Roman power, as ambitious politicians sought to manipulate spectacles in the arena to demonstrate their political and military authority to the Roman masses” (Futrell, 1997, 29-33).
It is not inconceivable that the certain percent from them made prisoners of war, who only recently have lost their freedom, and have not got used to slavery. In such conditions for the revolt they needed only the leader, and Spartacus has became it, being born leader and organizer, brave and courageous man.
The revolt of slaves in Ancient Rome has begun that the group of slave-gladiators (nearby 70 persons) ran from the school at Capua after disclosing of the plot and has found a refuge at the top of the volcano Vesuvius. Fugitives have become stronger at remote mountain top, having transformed it in military camps. To the beginning of 73 BC the group of Spartacus has quickly grown up to 10 thousand persons. Numbers of the risen gladiators every day were filled up with ran away slaves, gladiators, poor peasants of the province Campaign, deserters from the Roman legions. Spartacus sent small groups on neighboring estates, everywhere releasing slaves and taking Roman’s weapons and foodstuff away.
Soon the whole Campaign, except for the cities protected by strong fortifications, has appeared in hands of the risen slaves. Soon Spartacus gained a number of convincing victories over the Roman armies, which tried to suppress the revolt of slaves and to destroy its participants. Spartacus has shown excellent organizing capabilities, having transformed an army of the risen slaves in well-organized army on the sample of the Roman legions. The army of the risen slaves had high moral spirit and discipline.
We almost do not know anything about other heads of powerful revolt of slaves in Ancient Rome. In the history were kept only the names of Crixus and Oenomaus, two most likely germen, who have been selected by the risen gladiators in assistants to Spartacus and became military leaders of his army.
It is possible to agree with Gruen (1974, p. 20), who claimed that It was not the governing class alone “that would react in horror to the prospect of a slave insurrection. Whatever the grievances of men disenfranchised and dispossessed by Sulla, they would have found unthinkable any common enterprise with Thracian or Gallic slaves. It causes no surprise that Marxist historians and writers have idealized Spartacus as a champion of the masses and leader of the one genuine social revolution in Roman history. That, however, is excessive. Spartacus and his companions sought to break the bonds of their own grievous oppression. There is no sign that they were motivated by ideological considerations to overturn the social structure”.
Spartacus revolt has deeply shaken Ancient Rome and it slaveholding regime it has entered into the world history as the largest revolt of slaves at all times. This revolt has accelerated transition of the government in Rome from the republican form of board to imperial one. Created by Spartacus military organization has appeared so strong, that for a long time could resist with success to perfect Roman army.
The image of Spartacus has found wide reflection in world fiction and art. “Since the eighteenth century, popular versions of the story of Spartacus have been inspired by his “age-old fight for freedom,” but have typically concentrated on private conflicts and family drama, interpreting his political importance through a personal lens” (Joshel, Malamud, & McGuire, 2005, p. 79).
Conclusion
The image of Spartacus has continued its existence in revolutionary France. It is not known, who first has “anew opened” the invincible leader of slaves after many years of oblivion, but the excited minds has liked it. The Gallic temperament has literally uplifted Spartacus on a pedestal. His name has started to be mentioned with addition of an epithet “hero”. Here certainly there is some element of idealization. But it is necessary to give due to Spartacus.
The sources, which have reached us, represent him as a noble and brave person. Even those Roman historians, who concerned extremely hostile to the revolt as a whole and to its participants, nevertheless recognized personal qualities of Spartacus. They describe Spartacus as a person, not only having outstanding courage and physical strength, but also sharp mind and special features of character.
Works cited
Gruen, Erich S. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974.
Futrell, Alison. Blood in the Arena. The Spectacle of Roman Power. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.
Joshel, Sandra R., Margaret Malamud, and Donald T. McGuire. Imperial Projections Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture. Arethusa books. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
Shotter, D. C. A. The Fall of the Roman Republic. Lancaster pamphlets. London: Routledge, 1994.
Yavetz, Zvi. Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Rome. New Brunswick, N.J., USA: Transaction Books, 1988.
Slavery in this or that form and in that or other time existed in all parts of the world. Any race did not manage to avoid this terrible form of public development. Slavery is one form of dependence of one person on another, which in anthropology refers to rights-in-persons. Such relations are possible at the most various social and economic structures in any country and during any historical epoch. Their spectrum is very wide: on the one hand are obligations to relatives, spouses, and children, somewhere in the middle relations between a chief and subordinates, and at last on the other hand is the right to dispose of people as some articles of trade – to sell, to buy, and to exchange them.
The United States has from the very beginning arisen as the slaveholding state. Slavery was an integral part of the American way of life. American slave-owning was not a certain similarity of antique slavery. It was formed in the depths of capitalism and has reflected the feature of its coming-to-be in the agrarian economy of Northern America. American planters owing to the extreme narrowness of the market of waged labor, have been compelled to resort to the work of black slaves. But the use of slave labor has not passed without leaving a trace for the planter bourgeoisie, which have turned into a special class in which the features of typical capitalists and slaveholders have strange and at the same time naturally intertwined.
The first independent state in the western hemisphere, the United States of America, was formed as a result of the revolutionary war of North American colonies of England for Independence in 1775-1783. But despite the proclaimed slogans that “all people are born equal”, the first American Revolution, the War for Independence of 1775-1783, has left the slavery of black people in southern states in inviolability. Moreover, the second American Revolution – the civil war of 1861-1865 has also not led to a radical decision on this problem. The problem of slavery in the USA is a complicated complex of social, economic, political, legal, racial, and other questions, which roots are in-depth the American history.
Colored, white, and black slavery
As we have mentioned above, American slave-owning was not a certain similarity of antique slavery. The “colored” slavery in North American colonies of Great Britain has arisen together with the first settlements on the distant continent. The word “slave” has not at once become a synonym of the word “slave” became the word “black” delivered from Africa on ships of slaveholders. Color of skin had no special value as before the introduction of slave-owning colonial authorities and independent colonists widely practiced slave labor of red-skinned Indians and white people.
To get slaves from among of local population, colonial authorities used various sources, most widespread from which there was a sale of captives during exterminatory wars of aboriginals, their abduction. Kidnapping and the purchase of Indians, who were taken as prisoners by other tribes, were also practiced. Colonists not only seized the lands, driving Indians away in internal areas of the continent but also tried to use the indigenous population as slaves. Frequent wars were accompanied by the sale of captives-Indians in slavery to colonists.
Though the slave labor of Indians has played a certain role in the economy of English colonies (especially in the first decades of their existence), however, it could not completely satisfy the demand for workers. Besides, colonists have convinced that they could not lay their account with locals as a labor force. All attempts of colonizers to use Indians as slaves effectively were unpromising. The principal cause of it consists in the unwillingness of Indians to work for their enslavers. The aboriginal population did not wish to be reconciled to a lot of slaves, which was prepared by newcomers. They offered armed resistance and gave slaveholders shivers by their attacks. Colonists had to refuse from such not reliable and dangerous sources of labor. The resistance of Indians has forced colonizers to search for other sources of the solution to the labor problem.
The peculiar feature of the development of English colonies in Northern America was an attempt of a solution of this task by the introduction of the institute of white slavery when colonial authorities waded into the enslavement of representatives of the white population.
There were two categories of white workers: enslaved for a certain term, so-called servants, and free handicraftsmen and farm laborers. Servants made a great bulk of white workers. There were two forms of enslavement: under the contract and debenture. As a rule, the contract has been established in England. A person who has signed it has lost the freedom, and the “buyer” has got the right to dispose of this person at discretion. Such enslaved people referred to servants under obligation.
A debenture has been established after the arrival to America in English colonies. Entrants were obliged to find themselves an owner who would agree to pay the captain or the businessman the cost of transportation. Immigrants have been obliged to work their ticket for the owner who has paid for their travel.
Such a form of servitude was especially practiced by shipowners. In exchange for passage and food, passengers undertook to pay a certain sum on arrival. In case of non-payment, the owner of the ship sold passengers-debtors.
After the sale, existing distinctions in the position of contract and debenture servants were actually erased. They both became the property of the owner who has bought them, had the right to sell the white slave, to hand over in hiring, to bequeath to successors, feather to concede for a while within the limits of the term of the contract.
At first, in colonies, it was widely applied the work of criminal and political criminals, who have been deported from mother countries for various terms. However, the work of such people did not solve the problem. With the increase in the number of slaves and the increase in the inflow of voluntary emigrants, its value became appreciable to fall. During the seventeenth century, the basic workers were servants. Mainly it was immigrants from Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, German states, who have been undertaken for work their passage to America during a certain period of time, usually from three till seven years.
In the second half of the seventeenth century, British colonies on the American continent: New Jersey, Northern, and South Carolina, New York has quickly arisen and developed. They also have a sharp shortage of laborers. The reduction of immigration stream from Europe, rise in the price of cost of transportation through ocean led to increasing of the prices on contracted workers. The complication has also been caused by the fact that many servants have the term of their service by contract finished, and it was not easy to replace them.
Colonial businessmen on searching a way out have set their eyes on Africa. Soon they could make sure that Africans, in a greater measure, than Indians and white slaves, satisfy the needs of manufacture. The increased inflow of black slaves in comparison with the decreased import of enslaved servants has led to a reduction of prices on black slaves by the end of the seventeenth century.
Black slavery was developing up to the end of the seventeenth century rather slowly. There are a number of reasons: in colonies, they still did not understand what economic benefit gives the use of work of Africans; during all the seventeenth century, the trade of African slaves was a monopoly of Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese merchants, which kept high prices for their “goods.”
In 1713 Great Britain got the right (asiento), the right for import of slaves from Africa to Spanish colonies. English, and after also colonial merchants of New England have received a monopoly on transportation of black slaves in New World.” African slaves were accustomed to a change of masters. Slavery, therefore, to them, was certainly no new thing; with it they were familiar, but a voyage across the vast Atlantic, whither they knew not, was indeed appalling” [1].
The absence of agricultural machines and instruments led to that them began to replace machines with black slaves, which in this case acted as just means of production. Work on plantations did not demand any special knowledge or skills. Here only the physical strength of a slave has been necessary. The planter has been interested in the living conditions of slaves, their feed to that measure in what it answered the preservation of their ability to work.
The development of the economy has led to differentiation also among black slaves. The poorest were those from them who have directly lived and worked on plantations. In a better position were domestic servants. In favorable position also appeared black slaves, who had any specialty: carpenter, smith, etc. Such slaves have been often handed in hire by their owners that displeased white handicraftsmen and hired white workers. Handover of black slaves in hire did not mean the occurrence of black hired workers. These people still remained slaves; only the owner has changed. Slaves, in this case, represented neither more nor less than goods, which can pass from the hands of one owner to the hands of another.
Conclusion
American slavery has arisen as a way of exploitation of labor force within the framework of capitalism, but it was gradually reformed in the independent social, economic, and political institute, based on original distinct from capitalist “political economy.” Being originally an “appendage” of the British capitalism, American slavery after the War for Independence, having kept communications with the capitalist market, has turned into an “aristocratic” system, defining the basis of which became not only private-capitalist accumulation but also a slaveholding way of exploitation of the black population of the South.
Gradually capitalist systems of the North and planter slavery of the South have become to act as two diverse, from the point of view of contained tendencies of development, public systems.
Comparison of industrial capitalism and planter slaveries from positions of historicism does not leave any doubts that the market of wage labor, free competition, and coming from the industrial and social relations (economy, politics, and culture) were historically more progressive and are incompatible with the system of slavery.
The civil war in Northern America has destroyed slavery, but the ideological bases of this institute till now influence the political life of the USA. Having absorbed in itself the experience of slaveholding aspirations of the colonial period, the southern society has generated a huge quantity of various racist theories. Horace Greeley writes: “Many of people of the United States regard Slavery, if not in the abstract a blessing, at least as now existing, a condition of society best for both white and black, while they exist together; while others regard it as no evil, but as the highest state of social condition” [2]. These ideas have been skillfully ground and used in the works of defenders of the slaveholding system in the first half of the nineteenth century.
The racial wars, which have flashed in the USA in the twentieth century, in many respects were the consequence of these ideological concepts, which have substantially strengthened the mentality of not only people from the South but also inhabitants of the North. Moreover, the reflection of these ideas we also can find in the American legislation: at the beginning of the twenty-first century, we may observe the case of not only “black” but also “white” racism, when the white population of the United States has fewer rights, than “color” does.
Bibliography:
Berlin, Ira. Generations of Captivity: A History of African-American Slaves. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003.
Buell, Tonya. Slavery in America: A Primary Source History of the Intolerable Practice of Slavery. New York: Rosen Central Primary Source, 2004.
Greeley, Horace. A History of the Struggle for Slavery Extension or Restriction in the United States, From the Declaration of Independence to the Present Day. Mainly Compiled and Condensed from the Journals of Congress and Other Official Records, and Showing the Vote by Yeas and Nays on the Most Important Divisions in Either House. New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, 1856.
Price, Thomas. Slavery in America. Detroit: Negro History Press, 1836
Thornton, Thomas C. An Inquiry into the History of Slavery; Its Introduction into the United States; Causes of Its Continuance; and Remarks Upon the Abolition Tracts of William E. Channing, D.D.. Washington: W.M. Morrison, 1841.
Thornton, Thomas C. An Inquiry into the History of Slavery; Its Introduction into the United States; Causes of Its Continuance; and Remarks Upon the Abolition Tracts of William E. Channing, D.D.. Washington: W.M. Morrison, 1841, p. 38.
Greeley, Horace. A History of the Struggle for Slavery Extension or Restriction in the United States, From the Declaration of Independence to the Present Day. Mainly Compiled and Condensed from the Journals of Congress and Other Official Records, and Showing the Vote by Yeas and Nays on the Most Important Divisions in Either House. New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, 1856, p. 111.
Military sexual slavery is a fact and is a crime that had prevailed during wartime and even at the time of peace. The dual aspect of this issue is that women are not safe in a time of peace. During wartime, raping of women is considered as aggressiveness and the embodiment of power. When a country is under military rule or is under threat of another country, the personal rights and liberty of women, children, and senior citizens are under severe threat.
When a country is under military rule, there is no other force to question the deeds of the military. The force which is proposed to defend the individual rights of the citizens is committing crimes and there is no other way to escape from this threat. In this essay, it will be shown that military power and sexual slavery are interconnected, how the human rights of women are violated by the military, and how gender is related to a war crime.
When one glances at the world wars and wars between neighboring countries, it can be seen that women are victimized and were treated cruelly. Military sexual slavery is not a momentary one but it is a well-organized long-term mode of exploitation. So as to bring meet the sexual urge of the soldiers, thousands of women were used. During the war, most of them died and the remaining were infected with sexual diseases. Moreover, they were considered prostitutes.
He Soon Kwon points out that: “by force, deceit, or kidnapping in order to be used as military sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers. They were forced to serve about 30 soldiers daily on weekdays and 50 soldiers a day on weekends. These women were euphemistically called “comfort women”.” (Kwon 1994). During the war between Japan and Korea, women were used as sex slaves. When Japan occupied Korea, women were forcibly kidnapped and raped. Moreover, they were forced to serve so many soldiers and they were called comfort women. Here, one can see that women are considered as a commodity for mere comfort not as human beings.
When absolute power is given to the military forces in a country, there is a high chance for violation of human rights. More and more women are victimized in war zones and most of the stories of exploitation do not reach the media. When sexual exploitation is well organized and is done by the ultimate force in a country, the sound of the victims will not reach much far. Some of the women soldiers who are working in warfronts with male soldiers are sexually exploited.
Berry, Bonnie points out that: “Women soldiers are exploited in the US military, as are men, both with the distinction being that the presence of women-warriors provides supposed evidence that the administration equally admires women soldiers.” (Bonnie 2005). For example, women soldiers who are working and fighting with men soldiers in the US military are under the threat of exploitation. So, one can see that military power is used for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery.
Worldwide, the sex trade is an important mode of violation of human rights. The sex trade is closely related to the development of tourism. From the viewpoint of a human rights activist sex trade and the sex, the industry is well organized by the male and is another way of gender discrimination and sexual exploitation. Most of the girls and women who are working as sex workers in South East Asia are under the threat of HIV/AIDS infection.
Chris Beyrer points out that: “The human rights abuses which occur during civil conflicts pose special threats to the health and lives of women. These can include rape, sexual violence, increased vulnerability to trafficking into prostitution, and exposure to HIV infection.” (Beyrer 2001, p.543-550). The violation of human rights during civil conflicts among countries poses threat to women. Moreover, their health and lives are under threat. In this condition, death is considered better for survival. When a woman is sexually exploited during the war, her future is defined. Most of the women who are exploited during the war are thrown into prostitution and are exposed to HIV/AIDS infection.
When military forces enter the territory of the enemy nation, their first aim will be to exploit the weaker section of the society. Here, women and children become victims and are helpless to fight against the powerful military forces. When there is no one to question injustice the forces which are supposed to defend the violation of human rights will become the violators of human rights. Yuki Tanaka and Toshiyuki Tanaka are of the viewpoint that: “why US occupation forces did little to help the women, and argues that military authorities organized prostitution to prevent the widespread incidence of GI rape among the Japanese women and to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.” (Tanaka and Tanaka 2002).
The US occupation forces who entered Japan at the time of the Second World War did not try to help the women in Japan. So as to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among Japanese women, authorities found out an innovative idea. It was to force women towards prostitution. So, the human rights of women are violated and are under severe threat of further exploitation. The problem becomes more serious than for a woman once trapped by exploiters gets less chance to escape from the situation.
Thus, the global expansion of military forces and the development of tourism can be considered as the basic reasons for sexual exploitation and violation of human rights. Globally, prostitution is closely related to the military because women are used to fulfilling the sexual urge of soldiers who are away from their families for a long period. Moreover, on a war front, there is less chance for survival. So there is a tendency among soldiers to exploit the available time and chances.
Kane and Stephanie C are of the opinion that: “First world militaries based in “third world” countries offer an appropriate context for developing AIDS intervention models that are keyed to large-scale population movements and regional differences in HIV infection.” (Kane and Stephanie C 1994). The military forces of developed countries which are based in developing and underdeveloped countries cause the widespread of AIDS because people are forced to move from one place to another and it causes the widespread of infection.
Women’s human rights are under threat and military forces are behind this violation of personal liberty and individual rights. Mentally and physically, rape is considered brutal because it is the worst thing that can be happened to a woman. Most of the women who survived after the First World War suffered from post-traumatic stress. Claudia Card points out that: “not of men in war but of women in civilian life and that women and children subject to civilian rape and domestic violence are in a war:” (Card 1996).
There were similarities among men and women those who survived from battlefields and from domestic violence and rape. So it can be seen that the stress which is created by sexual exploitation is as same as the stress which is created on battlefields. According to Myrna Goldenberg, the hardships and sexual exploitation suffered by the Jewish women who were confined in concentration camps during World War II were not well documented or reported. During wartime, there were restrictions to enter the camps and to collect information. So it can be seen that the cruel stories of rape, sexual slavery, and sex for survival were not recorded. (Goldenberg).
There is evidence to prove that sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. There is a complex relationship between sexual violence and war. But now, there are attempts to report the stories of wartime sexual violence and sexual exploitation against women. According to Inger Skjelsbaek, “In the 1990s there was more focus on wartime sexual violence than ever before.” (Skjelsbaek, 2001, p.211-237). now the reports related to wartime sexual violence are not kept confidential.
When one considers sexual exploitation as a violation of human rights, it is evident that the whole peacekeeping forces are to be blamed because their duty was to protect the weaker sections of society. According to Amnesty International USA, there were some faults by the side of the US by ratifying the treaty related to war and this resulted in the violation of women’s human rights. (About This Campaign 2008). In some countries like Japan, sex is considered recreation for soldiers.
So in these societies, there is less chance to have equal treatment for men and women. Chris Spackman points out that, a medical inspection of the prostitutes, who were used to fulfill the sexual urge of the Japanese soldiers were under the direct control of the military. (Spackman 2005).
There is an opinion that war is capable to unite the people. To an extent, it is right but when one considers the fact that wars are the products of extreme nationalism, it is helpful only to increase hatred among the people. According to Nancy Huston, “When the war in former Yugoslavia began, women protestors from all regions and ethnic backgrounds united around their identities as the mothers of sons serving in the Yugoslav Army.” (Ristanovi 1996, p.359-364). when war occurs, mothers show immense courage and they are even ready to unite and protest against the futility of all wars. For example, the mothers in Yugoslavia united and protested against war because their sons were serving in the army.
Gender and the issue of a war crime can be viewed from the perspective of a feminist. The forced sexual slavery exerted upon the female by the male-dominated society during wartime and peacetime creates a lot of physical and psychological stress in women. C Sarah Soh points out that: “attempts to historicize the experiences of wartime enforced sexual labor and its impact on reproductive capacity in post-war marital lives among some Korean, Filipino, and Dutch survivors.” (Soh 2005, p.67-80). There were reproductive problems among the women who were forced to do sex labor during the war in Korea. The attempt to historicize the hardships and experiences of women who are marginalized from the mainstream of history is great.
In history, all the stories are based upon the bravery of men and the stories of women who fought for their country are marginalized and even totally excluded. This is because women as considered weaker than men and are conditioned to look after domestic matters. They were not allowed to cross their private domain, i.e. family and its surroundings, and to enter the public domain, i.e. the society. Nancy Huston points out that: “the exclusion of women from the making of war and war narrative has meant that they have played predominantly passive or reactive rather than active roles in both.” (Huston 1982, p.271-282). When women were marginalized, they were excluded from direct participation in wars and were considered commodities that can be used for recreation and to raise the morale of soldiers.
In this essay, it has been shown that the military is the place of forced sexual slavery, and women are exploited by the military. There is nothing to do with women’s human rights and military exploitation because it is well organized. Moreover, the whole control of the exploitation is in the hands of those who are proposed to help the weaker sections. Military sexual slavery is against the development of humanity because when a section of the society is totally under the control of another section, individual freedom is under threat. War affects women, children, and senior citizens of society. Sexual slavery and war affect the psychological and physiological health of women.
So, before concluding, one can see that gender and war crimes are interconnected, and the military is behind the violation of women’s human rights. When more and more stories about the exploitation of women in war zones come to the court of humanity, there is a high chance to have a transformation that will result in a society without exploitation.
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SOH, C Sarah. (2005). Infertility Among Korea’s Comfort Women Survivors A Comparative perspective: Synopsis. [online]. Web.
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This paper explores ethical problems with non-human slavery and abuse about power and victimization. The first part of this paper discusses whether Spiegel’s argument about animal rights is convincing. The second part demonstrates that Spiegel’s comparison with human slavery intensifies the horrors inflicted on non-human animals. The third part shows how Spiegel prevents herself from being a racist, considering the use of animal comparisons as racist insults. The fourth part gives my view on legal and policy developments in line with the legal abuse of non-human animals as property. The fifth part shows how Spiegel changes my views about the way people treat non-human animals. The last part of this paper discusses the role of religion and spirituality in changing the situation of non-humans caught in human webs of self-interest.
Marjorie Spiegel’s argument is convincing because she cites many illustrations in language and literature which show animal segregation. Spiegel critically compares the suffering of blacks during colonial times with the suffering of non-human animals in contemporary society. Spiegel argues that most members of society consider it ethically wrong to treat black people in the same way “like animals” (19). However, most people still think that it is not bad to treat animals, to some extent or in the same manner as they term it, “like animals” (18).
In essence, society regards the certain treatment as totally improper when occasioned to a human being, but as a proper treatment when occasioned to non-human animals. According to Spiegel (28), the move toward animal liberation provides a venue for lessening the oppression of black people and others who are subject to suffering under the power of other races. She warns against the mentality that it is necessary to curtail the rights of certain groups of living beings to live well. She manages to convince the reader that non-human animals are in many ways similar to humans (18), and they both deserve respect and protection against torture.
The comparison with human slavery intensifies the horrors inflicted on non-human animals. Spiegel (29) demonstrates that the degree of suffering subjected to animals in the contemporary society in laboratories is similar to that which blacks endured in the antebellum and postbellum period. There are many similarities between human and non-human suffering. Both are capable of experiencing the loss of their loved ones. They are also capable of suffering from restrained movement and the loss of social freedom. Both are capable of experiencing objectification. As a result of suffering, both animals and human beings can be driven to total physic or psychic defeat (Spiegel 30). Spiegel notes, “With animals, this (suffering) continues in its most extreme form” (30). The growing research, especially for non-medical purposes poses a great danger to many animals.
Considering the use of animal comparisons as racist insults, Spiegel attempts to prevent his argument from being racist by emphasizing that both human and non-human animals deserve equal treatment. She argues that all species have special traits, and it is not proper to label some groups of individuals or animals as “more important” than others (19). During colonial times, colonists “measured progress and civilization in terms of (among other things) how far people could distance themselves from nature.” The colonists viewed those still living in consistence with nature as “savages” (Spiegel 16). They disregarded the degree of sophistication of individuals living in their native territories.
The colonists were of the view that they were “whipping black people, animals, and nature into submission” (Spiegel 17). Spiegel demonstrates that whites aimed at making blacks feel that their race was inferior. Whites made blacks kill each other so that they could regard “themselves no better than animals” (18). Spiegel claims that such sentiments hurt the lives of both human and non-human animals. The author notes, “Society has concluded that it was and is wrong to treat blacks like animals” (19).
I think law and policy can change regarding legal abuse of non-human animals as commodities, similar to the way laws have changed regarding human slavery. There should be laws that prohibit the oppression of animals. There should be stricter regulation of hunting so that animals cannot live most of their life in fear and oppression. Animals need to be not necessarily distanced from their families since separation has physic and psychic effect on both human and non-human animals. According to Paul Waldau, there is heightening recognition that human cruelty to non-human animals can lead to an increase in the overall degree of cruelty (262). As a result, there are increasing developments in legislation to cater for animal rights. Societies are adopting new laws to protect the feelings of animals. Research shows that violence increases the chances of victimization (Waldau, 262). Regulation of animal violence generally reduces violence in society.
Spiegel’s argument changed my views about the way we treat non-human animals. I had never considered the fact that animal suffering is similar to human suffering. Spiegel convinces any reasonable reader that animals in contemporary society are subject to unnecessary suffering in many ways. Most people treat animals as slaves so that they do not have a right to decide what is best for them (Spiegel 40). Many animals go through harsh conditions during most of their life (Spiegel 53).
Some people hunt and kill animals for sport, without considering the effect of such torture to the family of the victimized animals (Spiegel 60). Many animals undergo vivisection in the hands of researchers who do not perceive them as equal to humans. The most disturbing fact is that most of the experiments done on animals are not medical. Human beings should not treat animals as mere objects. Non-human animals suffer in the same way as human beings. It is not ethically right to disregard the feelings of animals or subject them to unnecessary suffering and oppression.
Religion played a significant role in justifying human slavery, as well as fighting its abolition. There is still a role for religion and spirituality in changing the situation of non-human animals caught in human webs of self-interest. From a Christianity perspective, God expects human beings to take care of the environment and all its constituents. Animals are no exception. Taking care of animals does not mean mistreating them. Human beings should not abuse their power by torturing other living beings. Human beings ought to accord animals their natural rights such as freedom of movement and the right to socialize. Religion prohibits cruelty. Religion also promotes interdependence among all living beings. No living being is capable of coexisting on its own. Therefore, all living beings should coexist peacefully.
Works Cited
Spiegel, Marjorie. The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery. New York: Mirror Books, 1988. Print.
Waldau, Paul. Animal Studies: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.
The New World plantation, appearing historically with the rise of world markets, resembles in some ways the Old World manor: both were, and in America still are, “relatively large landed estates based upon agricultural economics, governing numbers of people on the principle of authority.” In this respect, the feudal attitudes of the manor have been reproduced on the plantation. The book Ar’n’t I a Woman, the author portrays that life of a woman in plantation was more difficult that life of a man because of different duties and responsibilities assigned to a woman-slave.
The primary role of women was child bearing. The author portrays that slave-breeding was a systematic business, and southerners generally refuted these accusations of their northern opponents. Breeding slaves like cattle for market was a disgraceful business, though undoubtedly it occurred. Owners certainly considered slave-rearing of prime importance and did not hesitate to boast of what they considered an annual growth in their estates accruing from their infant slave populations. They encouraged their slaves to propagate since natural increase meant additional wealth. Breeding slaves are familiar terms in writings of the Old South. The grant carried with it a condition that the grantee introduce Negro slaves in sufficient numbers to improve and cultivate the land.
And arn’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And aren’t I a woman? (White 45)
The nursery was a solidly built structure, roomy and comfortable. On some plantations, it resembled the overseer’s cottage and was often located in the quarters next to or near the overseer’s cottage.
Field hands between eighteen and thirty years of age brought more than older Negroes, and male hands brought higher prices than female hands. Children were often priced according to height and weight and infants were valued by the pound. Attractive females and skilled workers sometimes sold for triple the value, and in some instances the buyer would pay more for a group of Negroes upon agreement that the old and infirm would be excluded. An arrangement somewhere between the gang and task system was most often used, since the whole plantation functioned better when certain tasks were performed by Negroes more skilled in that particular work. The more skilled laborers were classified as blacksmiths, brickmasons, carpenters, cooks, ginwrights, seamstresses, shoemakers, and weavers, to distinguish them from field hands who were termed “axe hands,” “hoe hands,” and “plow hands.” The positions demanding skilled labor were eagerly sought because of the distinction and because they involved partial or complete exemption from field labor. When cotton was ready to be picked all of the slaves were sent to the field to help. At other times the more skilled laborers performed their individual tasks.
Slaves who were worked in the field were separated into groups such as “hoe-gangs” and “plow-gangs.” The former were led by a driver, the latter by a foreman. Drivers and foremen acted as petty officers and demanded a certain respect among Negroes, as did firstclass hands. Drivers were responsible for forcing a certain amount of speed among the hoe gang. Under supervision of the driver, Slaves too old to work in the field were assigned regular duties which took less physical effort. Old men worked as gardeners, wagoners, carters, and stock-tenders. Aged or infirm women were employed as hospital nurses, assistant cooks, workers in the dairy or poultry yard, caretakers of Negro children in the plantation nursery, or in sewing and repairing garments and in spinning and weaving. The more skilled laborers such as blacksmiths, carpenters, house servants, seamstresses, and the like were all considered first-class hands. A caste system existed among slaves. The first-class hands considered themselves superior to the field hands. Among the Negroes Edward Bradford inherited and took to Florida were his house servants. They considered themselves part of the Bradford family and felt superior to Bradford’s newer slaves, such as Fannie, a “boughton nigger,” purchased as a house servant from a slavetrader. The woman writes:
That man over there says women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And arn’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted , and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And arn’t I woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man—when I could get it—and bear the lash as well! (White 46)
The life of the men was more pleasant than that of the field hands. Their food was likely to be the same as their owners, and used clothing was often passed on to them by their owners. House servants sometimes learned to read and write because of their association with children of planters. Some traveled with their owners as personal servants and enjoyed advantages generally denied slaves in other categories. Slave-hiring, though it was a restricted form of slave-trading and has been mentioned as such, also concerned slave labor. Slave-hiring throughout the South came into wide use because of labor shortages and the demand for labor by certain groups who were not slave owners and by others who needed additional labor for a temporary period of time. A certain amount of prestige was involved in the ownership and hiring out of slaves. Slaves preferred to be hired rather than to be sold to an objectionable owner, though there were many undesirable conditions involved in the labor of hired slaves. The author portrays:
I am a woman’s rights [sic]. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal; I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am strong as any man that is now (White 47).
The supply for hiring came from several sources. It was common for slaves from estates of deceased planters to be hired out as a source of income for the beneficiaries. Also, planters sometimes resorted to hiring because of crop failure or unfortunate managerial conditions on the plantation. There was a certain amount of personal tragedy involved in the system of hiring since the place of hire was sometimes far away from family and friends. Hired slaves were often overworked since the period of hire was temporary and there was little concern for the welfare of the Negro. Hardships endured by hired slaves encouraged them to run away.
Slaves were needed to clear the heavily timbered hammocks and dig out the stumps and roots of trees before fertile lands could be cultivated. Migration to the forests of Middle Florida typifies the pattern of the early settler in his desire for new wealth. He moved to a wilderness with his slaves, cleared the woods and planted a field, built a log house, and enjoyed these primitive surroundings while planning to expand his holdings in acreage and slaves to become an established planter. In the mind of the planter, his slaves’ physical well-being was as important as religious instruction. The more progressive planters had hospitals and dispensaries on their plantations to care for sick and ailing Negroes.
I can’t read, but I can hear. I have heard the Bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. Man, where is your part? (White 47)
Though hospitals varied in size, twenty by twenty-five feet was considered adequate to house three or four sick Negroes at a time. Hospitals were built well off the ground, with enough windows for proper ventilation and substantial fireplaces for adequate heat in winter. Mattresses on hospital beds were constructed of refuse cotton and corn shucks, as these were thought to be healthier and cheaper than feather mattresses. Patience’s father was not only a capable field worker but also a finished shoemaker. After tanning and curing his hides by placing them in water with oak bark for several days and then exposing them to the sun to dry, he would cut out the uppers and the soles after measuring the foot to be shod. There would be an inside sole as well as an outside sole tacked together by means of small tacks made of maple wood. Sewing was done on the shoes by means of flax thread. Patience remembers saving the feathers from all the fowl to make feather beds. She doesn’t remember when women stopped wearing hoops in their skirts nor when bed springs replaced bed ropes.
In sum, it was more difficult to be a woman performance both men and women’s duties and functions. Women were deprived a chance to protect their rights and freedoms. the author portrays that that these things were typical for many plantations. Sh She remembers seeing buggies during slavery time, little light carriages, some with two wheels and some with four.
Cotton Plantations
The book Plantation Mistress portrays life and chances of women implantations and their role in economy. The author underlines that cotton growers in Florida soon discovered that the soil was especially suited for the growth of Sea Island cotton. It was superior to the short staple, and, because of the length of its fiber, it was used for the finest fabrics and sewing thread. French manufacturers used it to adulterate their silk fabrics. Though the Sea Island variety required more space for cultivation and took about four weeks longer to mature, its market price per pound was about twice that of short staple.
They were picking cotton in groups at different places in the fields while an overseer on horseback rode from one group to another. In one field near the quarters, women “sucklers” were picking cotton. They were working near the nursery to be able to feed their infants when necessary during the day. Such a scene as this, portraying happiness and contentment of slaves, was a condition owners strove to create among their Negroes. In instructions to overseers, they frequently expressed concern for the well-being of their slaves. Their food and clothing must be adequate and their houses comfortable, and they must be cared for in sickness and old age. Owners were well aware of the importance of providing the necessities of life to insure profitable returns from investments in Negroes, and, more especially, to sustain a labor force. And so, if for no other reason, self-interest prompted most planters to see that their slaves were properly cared for. To provide them with adequate food and clothing was the first consideration.
Planters came to realize that, if they were to produce an article of superior quality, their prosperity and ability to meet the demand for the staple depended more on restoring the fertility of the land than on the quantity of land under cultivation. Florida planters were free from the strong prejudices which bound the planters of older regions. They used the plow more extensively and were able to cultivate more acreage per hand, a contributing factor in the growth of the cotton industry in Florida. Though there were advantages from the soil, planters were not without the crop hazards which were a bane to all who participated in the culture of cotton. Methods of cultivation varied; the hoe and plow were most common. One progressive planter reported that he never used the hoe; instead he used horse-drawn implements, such as the scraper, skimmer, and sweep, which were more efficient for shallow cultivating than ordinary plows. They covered a greater width when making a furrow. 10 The planting of short staple cotton began in March and extended through early May. Sea Island cotton was planted the last two weeks in March
Cotton started blossoming about the first of June. Picking began in August, or when a hand could gather about fifty pounds in a day; it was picked over several times from the first to the last opening of the bolls. Pickings as late as December and January were not unusual, to gather the last remaining cotton from the plants. Cotton left on the bush too long might easily be injured by sun, wind, or rain, causing the oil to evaporate in the plant, thus reducing its weight. The picked cotton was stored in close bulk from four to eight weeks “to allow it to heat, care being taken not to allow it to heat too much, and to let the oil from the seed diffuse through the lint, imparting to it the ‘ting’ so admired by buyers and manufacturers. After this preparation, cotton was ready for ginning. Discriminating planters saw that their cotton was ginned carefully at a moderate speed and that packing was done in damp and moderately rainy weather. This resulted in better packing and heavier weight. The bagging was then put on loosely to allow for any swelling; the ropes around the bagging were put on tightly to prevent any undue expansion of the bale.
Occasionally, planters allowed their cotton to be fraudulently packed. An article written by the Cotton Brokers Association in Liverpool to the American Chamber of Commerce in 1835 stated that the fraudulent practice of packing cotton caused great concern and suggested that planters attach their names on the bales so that those who proved reliable could demand a preference in the market. The usual method of this dishonest practice was to place good cotton on the two sides of the bale to be sampled, leaving the inside packed with inferior quality. It was not unusual to find trash, rocks, or water in the center of the bales, placed there to increase the weight. These practices created a storm of protest from cotton factors; they threatened to publish the names of persons indulging in such methods. “Plantation mistresses attempted to exert an “uplifting” influence on black women-to little avail” (Clinton 91).
Cotton gins, presses, and other heavy plantation equipment necessary to prepare cotton for shipping were expensive, and many of the planters could not afford them; they usually paid a more fortunate neighbor for the use of such equipment. Alfred Gatlin of Leon County had “doubtful notes and accounts amounting to $111 and good notes amounting to $81” for the use of his equipment. In the early period of plantation growth in Florida, cotton instead of cash was sometimes used as a medium of exchange. Plantation accounts found among county courthouse records, dated 1845 to 1860, show that corn and hides were frequently used by planters as payment for merchandise. When cotton was ready for shipment, “six-mule team” wagons hauled it to the warehouse.
Prices covering the cost of marketing cotton varied by locality, depending on the distance to port and methods used to move the cotton. During the early 1820s, total costs for handling and shipping cotton from a Georgia plantation averaged six dollars a bale. Improved conditions in handling and shipping reduced costs slightly during the next decade and the average appears to have been nearer four dollars. The importance of cotton was a natural result of the demand for it at home and abroad from manufacturers who found a ready market for the finished products. Cotton employed “millions of the human family in its culture, commerce, and manufacture” and in directly employed as many more “who produced the articles required for the sustenance of those first so engaged.” In 1850, the consumption of cotton in England and the United States averaged five to six pounds per person, in France about four pounds per person, and in Prussia about three. Fabrics and garments made from cotton grown in the southern United States were superior to those manufactured from India cotton, and the finished products were universally preferred. The planter or southern merchant received advances on or payment for the cotton shipped, usually by means of sixty-day sterling bills or four-month New York drafts.
The cotton weigher’s position was an important one and he was respected within the community. When Florida became a state, provision was made by the General Assembly to have the governor appoint certain persons from time to time to serve as public cotton weighers. Usually the appointment was made upon recommendation of interested persons in the area (Kalman 34). The merchant and planter had to have confidence in the cotton weigher. Apalachicola was such a thriving port that six cotton weighers were appointed to serve that area in 1846. Supplying planters and marketing their cotton was a profitable business, and the factorage system was the financial arrangement upon which it was based. That the system enriched the factor and merchant is evidenced by the various charges made for handling cotton, financing the planter, and supplying his needs. The system by no means deprived the planter of his share of the profits from his crops, though a contrary concept has often been suggested by contemporary travelers and economic historians of the twentieth century (Kalman 34).
The role of women was limited by white women supported and taught black slaves how to perform the main functions and work with cotton. “Indeed, religion was an effective tool for this oppression-perhaps more so with women, trapped within the white male bastion, than with slaves, segregated into separate communities” (Clinton 165). Their standard of living rose as they adjusted their tastes and habits to an expanded cotton economy. Newer and finer dwellings replaced the log cabins and frame cottages of the frontier and depression era. Sterling silverware, linen sheets, and expensive horses and carriages were typical accessories. Vacationing at resorts to escape the summer heat became commonplace. Daughters and sons were sent to boarding schools and universities in adjoining states or in the North. The gentleman planter of the late ante-bellum period stands as the symbol of the “Old South” and its way of life. Most of the wealth and power of the slaveholding states was controlled by members of this aristocratic group, though they constituted only a small percentage of the white population. The majority of the white people in Florida, as in other cotton states, belonged to the yeomanry. They owned small estates or none at all, and most owned no slaves. There was a tendency for these yeomen to climb into the planter class, and they frequently did when acquiring sufficient acreage and slaves to classify them as such. Class distinctions were based on wealth, though there was some recognition for differences in education and breeding, Inventories and appraisals of estates help to complete a picture of plantation life; they list specifically the articles which were necessary equipment for operating the plantation.
Works Cited
Clinton, C. The Plantation Mistress. Pantheon, 1984.
Kalman, B. Life in the Plantation. Crabtree Publishing Company, 1997.
Trafficking is a vice that bears at least four implications on any society that it besmirches. It has legal, economic, political, health, and social implications among others. Slavery dates back to the primeval history. The phenomenon has troubled humanity for centuries. The United Nations championed the plight of the victims of slavery when it abolished slave trade several centuries back. Currently, trafficking has been a rare occurrence because those who engage in it do not do it publicly. However, inherent in human trafficking is the upholding of slavery in different forms because a definitive element of the constitution of human trafficking includes the use of force or coercion in the abrogation of an individual’s freedom or human rights. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate these two interlinked variables to determine how they influence women throughout the world.
Statistics on Women Trafficking and Slavery
Trafficking of women is a significant segment of the global human torture, which primarily affects women and girls. The vice mainly takes the form of sexual exploitation. Despite the fact that many countries around the world have outlawed human trafficking, it remains one of the most challenging problems in the modern world (Mills 12). A report by Lee shows that women account for the largest share of human trafficking (Lee 23). The graph below indicates 49% share of trafficked women.
Chart 1: Victims of Trafficking (Lee 23).
While trafficking of women is a worldwide problem, it is highly correlated with gender and poverty vulnerability. Women are targeted because of their susceptibility in the society in terms of their gender and their disadvantaged socioeconomic status in many regions of the world. In this case, many regions of the world where poverty prevails serve as the origin of trafficked victims while regions that have a higher development and economic progress act as the destinations for the victims (Havoscope 6). In this case, Asia, Africa, and South America account for more than 53% of all trafficked women across the world (Davidson 244). The United States and Europe are major destinations for trafficked women. This plan completes the supply and demand chain for this crime against humanity.
According to Shelley, while the majority of women are exploited for sexual exploitation, other emerging reasons for trafficking in women have been established (34). Further, these reasons vary in terms of their share from one region to another. For instance, in Africa and the Middle East, 53% of women are trafficked for sexual exploitation while 37% are enslaved in forced labor, servitude, or slavery-like exploitation.
The remaining share of 10% comprises women who are trafficked for other forms of exploitation such as organ removal and marriages (Davidson 251). In America, sexual exploitation accounts for 48% while forced labor and servitude account for 47%. The remaining 4 % constitutes women who fall under the other forms of exploitation. In East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific, sexual exploitation accounts for 26%. Servitude and forced labor account for 64% while other forms of exploitation account for 10% (Bales and Soodalter 36). The graph below gives a breakdown of the above statistics.
Chart 2: Forms of Exploitation of Trafficked Women in Detected Cases. Source: (Bales and Soodalter 36)
The Legal Perspective Concerning Women Slavery
Defining women trafficking and slavery based on the established statutory laws is critical to establish the status of women who migrate to other countries seeking better pastures only to end up in the hands of exploiters who abuse them sexually or even through forced and unpaid labor. Such a case falls under trafficking and slavery of women. Is there any possibility that such women may have waived their right to legal protection based on their consensual relocation? This dilemma is the outcome of the neo-abolitionist school of thought, which links the idea of trafficking with sexual abuse, especially on women (Chuang 1656).
Trafficking refers to the act of recruiting, moving, transporting, transferring, receiving, or accommodating persons through forceful, threatening, or coercive means, including abducting, defrauding, deceiving, or abusing of the fiduciary obligations that are owed to vulnerable beneficiaries with the motive of exploiting the victim in any of these situations purposefully to earn profit (Chuang 1657; Gergana-Danailova and Laczko 40). Due to the inherent characteristics of use of force, deception, fraud, and exploitation, trafficking of women amounts to modern-day women slavery.
Trafficking or slavery of women is a multi-pronged subject in legal discourses because it touches on human rights and freedoms, the migration laws, gender and minority policies among others. Moreover, although the Palermo Protocol guides the international arena on human trafficking and slavery, national laws differ broadly. Some countries have no effective policies that can govern these phenomena (Gergana-Danailova and Laczko 42).
New York offers a good example within the United States. As late as 2008, New York was yet to enact anti-trafficking laws that could guide the criminal prosecution of perpetrators of trafficking. As a result, conflict of laws is a common occurrence in law courts where such issues come up. A large percentage of cases may be struck out due to such gaps that lead to the denial of justice to the victims and perpetrators of women trafficking. In other cases, conflicts arise due to a difference in the basic legal structures and fundamentals such as the average age of most women trafficked and enslaved women. In such a scenario, a case of defilement of a 17-year-old minor may be thrown out some courts, especially if the courts define a minor as anybody who is below sixteen years. Every nation has a constitutional and international organ that addresses the issue of human rights and freedoms.
Trafficking of women contravenes these fundamental rights and freedoms. Each woman has a right to feel safe. It is against any person’s right to live in fear of death, punishment, or the loss of a loved one. Consequently, the trafficking of women is not only an affront to their rights but also a disgrace to the nation that espouses such said rights and values. Hence, the scope of the ramifications of trafficking and slavery cannot be overemphasized.
Trends on Women Trafficking
Each year, over 27 million people suffer exploitation or slavery in various contemporary situations while millions are made to cross borders as victims of trafficking. The US State Department estimates that over 820,000 people cross borders while being trafficked. This figure is corroborated by that of the International Organization for Migration, which stipulates it at roughly 800,000. Among these people, 1.39 million are specific victims of sexual exploitation while two-thirds of this figure comprises women and children, both within and without domestic borders. Research indicates that domestic trafficking of women usually takes the form of labor exploitation in sweatshops and house cleaning tasks. However, excessive violence is not witnessed in many cases of women slavery or exploitation because consent on the victims’ side (Belles 7).
The victims need an income to survive. Hence, they accede to their exploitation. However, it is also becoming apparent that transnational trafficking of women has its destination in commercial sex exploitation through channels such as prostitution where the women are given money to consent easily. However, in some cases, the clients end up threatening the women’s lives if they report the matter to other bodies. A research by Biden also makes it apparent that domestic trafficking occurs largely in the poorest countries (47).
For instance, in Indonesia, the International Labor Organization estimates over 700,000 women and child domestic workers. In this country, these women receive slave-like treatment and extreme conditions such as physical abuse, including whippings and sexual abuse in the various factories in which they are enlisted. Conflicts of the political nature and religious missions can also render large populations of people vulnerable to exploitation since they are internally displaced with little or no options for surviving (CME Resource/NetCE and Yick 5).
These factors have an intrinsic connection with development. During his acceptance of the Vital Voices Solidarity Award in New York, 2014, the United States Vice President, Joe Biden stated, “Violence against women is a stain on the moral character of a society in any country where it occurs” (Marcus par.3). Bidens gives interesting statistical observations on how he has encountered this monstrosity in various forms. He gives an example of the Democratic Republic of Congo where more than 1100 women are hospitalized each month because of rape that has been used as a weapon of war. This vice is tantamount to slavery because it is the equivalent to the domestic displacement of men and women to labor camps where they encounter harsh living conditions in the excuse of debt bondage.
In Nigeria, the Boko Haram is responsible for the abduction and exploitation and sometimes killing of more than 500 girls and women (Marcus par.31). Subsequently, this situation reveals the reason for creating protective women rights policies in the United States of America. The move was no walk in the park since it took over thirty years to get a working legislative framework in place to address the issue of women trafficking and slavery. Many nations that experience women trafficking or slavery lack such clear policies that address the matter. The United States experienced many cases before the inception of the campaign against the dehumanization of women in society (Belles 23). The move by America to implement working guidelines gives profound insights into the universality of this societal vice, especially with a focus on women. It makes it clear that culture, religion, or any other social obligation, tradition, or norm is not a valid excuse for the abuse of fundamental human rights. Biden tackles the matter of consent and the role that it plays in pushing women to slavery (Marcus par.15).
At the onset, the mentality that overrode any deliberations as to whether an atrocity had been committed to a woman or not was heavily hinged on her consent. Hence, in case a man rapes a woman brutally when she had consented to have a time out with a man, such a man cannot be found culpable of first-class sexual molestation (Falls and Falls 3). However, if the woman happens to be on her way when someone rapes her, this act amounted to first-class rape. However, current, America experiences very few cases of women slavery because the legislation and public opinions have revolutionized the situation such that even a husband is capable of raping his wife if he does not welcome the woman’s opinion on the matter. At first, it was difficult for the US to defend women since the common law background of the United States featured a patriarchal bias. It viewed women as chattels. Subsequently, the United States and many other nations that have noticed this flaw have since removed this bias in their legislative frameworks to adopt a more equalized approach to addressing women trafficking and slavery.
Solution to Women Trafficking and Slavery
In the past, the United Nations came up with sanctions and penalties for members who failed to eradicate women slavery in their countries. This strategy caused a great reduction in women exploitation. In fact, this intervention led to not only the abolition of the slave trade but also the gaining of independence by many nations that were colonized by superior powers. Another cause for concern is the assumption that informs anti-trafficking policies. Some policymakers claim that victims are always coerced into crossing borders before being forced by circumstances to engage in commercial sex for survival when no other employment options are available for their continued existence.
However, as pointed out earlier, in some cases, these assumptions are false. Some of these women may have been engaging in commercial sex before such that they opt to migrate in search of better opportunities only to end up in the hands of exploiters. In this particular case, consent is a debatable issue that can cause an occurrence of injustice (Marcus par.15). Consequently, the established legal framework is inadequately equipped to handle other surrounding factors such as the other women who suffer due to labor trafficking or migration exploitation.
Given this new stance that the international scene is assuming, it does not bode well for any nation that overlooks or downplays the seriousness of these crimes against women within its borders. Through the Palermo Protocol, the United Nations intends to eradicate this vice globally. To achieve this goal, sanctions will be placed on all non-compliant countries. A sanction greatly influences the economies of scale and other developmental issues in the culpable country. The adage, “United we stand, divided we fall” requires nations to pull together men, women, and children for optimal performance. The Chinese people have a maxim, “Women hold up the sky”, which reflects their high regard for the female gender and by extension, their great protection of women.
Conclusion
The trafficking of women largely undermines any society’s developmental potential. As such, women trafficking should be a primary concern for developing countries, which have the highest rate of this crime being perpetrated within and across their borders. Based on the expositions in the paper, lack of integrity and the underlying desperation to acquire wealth stand out as issues that lead to women participation in organized crimes with the view of earning profits. This paper has presented the issue of women trafficking or slavery as a serious offense where the perpetrators can be jailed for life for causing harm to innocent women. The formulation of proper policies will help to address the vice by imposing harsh penalties to those who will be found guilty.
Works Cited
Bales, Kevin, and Ron Soodalter. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery In American Today, Oakland: California: University of California Press, 2010. Print.
Belles, Nita. In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It, The United Kingdom: Baker Books, 2015. Print.
Chuang, Janie. “Rescuing Trafficking from Ideological Capture: Prostitution Reform and Anti-trafficking Laws and Policies.” Journal of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review 158.6(2009): 1655-1728. Print.
CME Resource/NetCE, and Flanagan Yick. Human Trafficking and Exploitation, London: CME Resource/NetCE, 2014. Print.
Davidson, O’Connell. “New slavery, Old Binaries: Human Trafficking and the Borders of ‘Freedom.” Global networks 10.2 (2010): 244-261. Print.
Falls, Abraham, and Sheri Falls. Human Trafficking: Complete Series-Global Perspective of Sex Slavery, Young Man’s Point of View of Human Trafficking in Thailand, Mother’s Point of View…Trafficking, Sex Slavery, Thailand, Asia, New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2014. Print.
Gergana-Danailova, and Frank Laczko. “Trafficking in Persons and Development: Towards Greater Policy Coherence.” Journal of International Migration 48.4(2010): 38-85. Print.
Havoscope. Human Trafficking: Prices and Statistics of the Modern-Day Slave Trade, London: Havoscope Books, 2015. Print.
Lee, Maggy. Human Trafficking, London: UK: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Human trafficking is defined as the illegal enrollment, shipment, keeping, or delivery of people through compulsion, trickery, application of force, or exploitation of authority. Perpetrators of this vice take advantage of the individual’s vulnerability. They also use payments to get consent from the targeted individual who is later exploited (Barner, Okech, and Camp 148). Such exploitation may include strained prostitution, servitude, removal of organs, or forced toil or service among others. Human trafficking goes hand in hand with modern-day slavery, which is also a major issue of concern (CME Resource/NetCE and Yick 2). By definition, modern slavery refers to the process of one person possessing or controlling another person. Such control significantly deprives the possessed person of his or her individual liberty to decide on his or her own (Kara 6).
Although human trafficking and slavery are illegal in all countries, their thriving has led to calls for increased efforts to curb them across the world. Human trafficking and modern slavery are issues of international distress because of the global perspectives that they take where people who are trafficked from one country are enslaved in foreign countries all over the world (Palmiotto 4). This paper discusses the two vices. The goal is to highlight important statistics and efforts that can be undertaken to reverse the trend.
Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery Statistics
Since the last decade, human trafficking and human slavery have become an increasing phenomenon and a major concern based on the increasing numbers of people, including children, who have fallen into the hands of the perpetrators. Human trafficking is an illegal activity, which many countries have sought to fight against. Indeed, estimates show that slaves are more in the modern times compared to the situation in the 17th-19th century when the vice was legal in many parts of the developed world such as the United States (Falls and Falls 3). In 1860, there were approximately 25 million slaves. However, in modern times, estimates indicate that the number of modern-day slaves has reached 27 million as of 2010 (Mills 52). One of the biggest challenges in addressing modern slavery and human trafficking is the fact that the vice is treated as a black market affair where facts about the perpetrators and the victims are difficult to get (Havoscope Report 16).
The 2014 Global Slavery Index revealed important statistical findings that painted a grim situation that is currently getting out of hand, as more people are being enslaved and trafficked across the world (Palmiotto 13). The index estimated that 35.8 million people were enslaved around the world in 2014. According to the index, the high number of people who are in slavery is not an indication of a rising number of the enslaved people, but more of increased accuracy in the methods of detecting slavery cases since human slavery is a highly concealed criminal activity across the world.
Since modern slavery is a globally prevalent crime, no country is devoid of elements of slavery. Among the countries that were involved in the index, Mauritania, a country is West Africa, was ranked number 1, followed by Republic of Uzbekistan , Haiti, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Central African Republic, which were all in the top ten in terms of the percentage of the enslaved population to the whole population (Palmiotto 21).
On the other hand, human trafficking figures also indicate the enormity of the situation where the number of people who are trafficked across the world has been increasing. According to Kara, many reasons have been established to explain why people are trafficked. For instance, according to Havoscope, strained labor, sexual exploitation, and slavery are some of the reasons (8). Human trafficking majorly affects women who form the largest share of 59% of the victims as of 2012 (Havoscope 8). In this data, while this number is high, the ratio of women to the number of all trafficked people has actually decreased. Adult males account for 14%, girls 17%, and young boys 10% as shown below.
Source: (Palmiotto 26).
The number of trafficked children has been increasing. 2013 statistical findings show that 27% of the victims are children as compared to 20% that was recorded in 2000 (Palmiotto 26). The trend of the increase in the number of child victims varies from one region of the world to another. In this case, the Middle East and Africa have recorded the highest percentage (68%) of the number of trafficked children as compared to all victims while Europe and Central Asia have recorded the least number (16%) of child victims (CME Resource/NetCE and Yick 3). The table below gives a breakdown of victims of human trafficking by region:
REGION
Africa and the Middle East
South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific
America
Europe and Central Asia
Victims
Children
68%
39%
27%
16%
Adults
32%
61%
73%
84%
Source: (Palmiotto 18)
The human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry. Estimates show that the global human trafficking syndicate brings profits of approximately $32 billion (Palmiotto 18). Of this amount, close to USD16 billion is generated in developed nations while close to USD10 billion, which translates to 33% of the total proceeds, is generated in the Asian nations (Havoscope 16). Further, each trafficked laborer generates approximately $13,000 per year (Kara 32). This figure translates to roughly $1,100 per month. In the United States alone, although figures are scarce, the US is responsible for 100,000-300,000 prostituted children (Kara 33). Further, studies show that more than 244,000 of the US kids and teenagers are victims of gender-based violence and illegal human capturing.
Human trafficking is a highly transnational crime where 6 out of 10 of the victims are foreigners in the country where they are identified as fatalities (Palmiotto 56). However, despite the transnational nature of the crime, domestic trafficking has become an increasing problem. In every three reported cases of human trafficking, one case involves exploitation within the country of citizenship of the victim. The chart below shows a breakdown of trafficking flows by geographical reach:
Source: (Palmiotto 56).
Overall, human trafficking and modern-day slavery are two intertwined vices where the former supplies the latter with the persons who are transformed into slaves (Barner, Okech and Camp 149). Due to its high-income returns to the traffickers and the slave masters, the problem will continue in the near and far future. Hence, it will be necessary for stronger approaches to be put in place to curb the menace.
Where is Human Trafficking Happening
To many people, human trafficking is not evident to them and that they are unaware if such a thing happens. Firstly, it is important to know that the vice is widespread across the world and that the victims of trafficking originate from different parts of the world. However, trafficking is more rampant in some countries than others. For instance, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific regions account for the largest number of victims of human trafficking (Palmiotto 58). The map below shows the flows of trafficking across the world:
Source: (Barner, Okech and Camp 153).
From the above map, it is evident that human trafficking victims are majorly from the Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asian, Eastern and Central Europe, East Asia, and South America (Barner, Okech and Camp 153). One of the key trends in the flows of human trafficking is that it originates from a country that has high levels of poverty to high-income and developed countries.
According to Barner, Okech, and Camp, human trafficking is a phenomenon that is majorly fueled by poverty, lack of democratic cultures, violence against women and children, conflict and post conflict situations, lack of access to education, lack of employment opportunities, discrimination, and lack of social integration (153). However, the above vulnerability issues do not mean that high-income countries do not have their own cases of human trafficking. Although they are major destinations for trafficked humans, they account for a considerable share of human trafficking cases, mostly domestically (Barner, Okech and Camp 154). Women from poor backgrounds and conflict-prone zones are highly vulnerable due to the weak policies that have been established to protect them not only from economic hardships but also from traffickers.
Modern-day Slavery in the US and the Globe
Modern slavery is a blanket term that is used to encompass all forceful or non-consensual activities that lead to the possession of one human being by another via human trafficking, strained labor, sexual exploitation, removal of organs, and servitude (Barner, Okech and Camp 148). Despite being a developed country, which has put strong legislation against human trafficking and modern slavery, the United States is also affected by the vice. Approximately 100000-300000 children in the United States are prostitutes and slaves. Other studies show that most of the people who work as slaves in the US are in the prostitution sector (Mills 25). Some of the slaves move to the country to work as domestic house cleaners. They usually go to the US with their masters from countries that have high slavery rates such as Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia (Kara 19).
According to Palmiotto, estimates show that the United States is a major destination for internationally trafficked individuals and that it is ranked 134th in the world where approximately 60,000 of foreigners are enslaved (28). Most of the enslaved people in the US come from Latin America and Asian countries such as Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Guatemala, India, and El Salvador (Kara 47). The major modes of exploitation include strained work and prostitution. At the domestic level, children and young people from the United States are highly vulnerable to modern slavery, especially through forced toil and matrimonies where more than 3000 cases of strained marriages have been recorded since 2011.
Modern slavery is a global issue where 6 out of 10 of modern slaves are found in foreign countries, rather than their countries of origin. As long as the demand for slaves in one region prevails, it will be impossible to fight against the vice, regardless of the efforts that a given country puts in place. The vice is highly secretive. Hence, there is a need for more legislation and policies that will help to identify and break down the cartels that are fueling the vice across the world.
Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Our Neighborhoods
Human trafficking and modern slavery are also evident in our neighborhoods. For this reason, the world governments and powerful organizations have been unable to put accurate statistics on the number of people who are affected by the vice (Kara 43). Modern slavery and human trafficking occur majorly in urban centers where there is little sense of society groupings where people can address and/or the vices whenever they occur. Hence, it is difficult to identify who qualifies to be a slave in the society. Further, due to the secretive nature of the crime, which involves oppressions and threats, many victims never report or act in manner to raise an alarm, even when they have the opportunity to do so (Palmiotto 62). As such, the situation in the contemporary society allows modern slavery to thrive without the knowledge of the neighbors.
Slavery involves many activities such as strained labor, prostitution, and forced marriages among others. In the US, prostitution and strained labor are the most prevalent forms of slavery (Barner, Okech and Camp 158). Enslaved people are held against their will. They are forced to do difficult tasks such as hard labor or commercial sex among other activities where they get little or no pay. Most of them do not have valid documents. Hence, they live at the mercy of their masters. Becoming a slave is a mix of many factors that include poverty, conflict, and lack of opportunities among other aspects, which make people vulnerable. The vulnerable people become easily swayed by promises of better lives where they are trafficked within or across borders to be exposed to acts of slavery.
Preventing Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery
Fighting against human trafficking and modern-day trafficking requires a global approach where all countries dedicate more resources to implement legislation and policies that can effectively prevent the illegal transfer and enslavement of people both within and across borders (Kara 38). Currently, many countries where human trafficking and modern slavery are rampant have weak or no legislation to prevent the vice. This unpreparedness opens many loopholes, which are exploited by traffickers and slave masters.
Another important approach is to enact important policies and measures, which will lead to the unearthing of human trafficking and modern slavery syndicates while at the same time destroying them since they act as the main organizations that fuel the problems (Palmiotto 69). Global pressure such as economic sanctions or other measures on countries that demonstrate little action against the vice should also be considered to increase the governments’ activities towards fighting the problem. Providing resources and opportunities to the most vulnerable people is also another important approach to ensuring that people are not swayed into slavery through empty promises of better lives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, human trafficking and modern slavery are major global problems, which are increasing by the day. The situation needs proactive approaches to reversing the trend. The major factors that fuel these vices include the lucrative nature of the industry where human traffickers are able to give all possible incentives to win the hearts of their targets. As revealed in the paper, no country, including the US, is excluded in the vice. Hence, there is a need for a global approach where all countries will set aside resources to address the vices.
Works Cited
Barner, John, David Okech, and Meghan Camp. “Socio-Economic Inequality, Human Trafficking, and the Global Slave Trade.” Societies 4.2 (2014): 148-160. Print.
CME Resource/NetCE, and Flanagan Yick. Human Trafficking and Exploitation. London: CME Resource/NetCE, 2014. Print.
Falls, Abraham, and Sheri Falls. Human Trafficking: Complete Series-Global Perspective of Sex Slavery, Young Man’s Point of View of Human Trafficking in Thailand, Mother’s Point of View…Trafficking, Sex Slavery, Thailand, Asia. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2014. Print.
Havoscope. Human Trafficking: Prices and Statistics of the Modern-Day Slave Trade. London: Havoscope Books, 2015. Print.
Havoscope Report. Black Market Crime Human Trafficking Prices and Statistics of the Modern-Day Slave Trade. London: Havoscope Books, 2015. Print.
Kara, Siddharth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2009. Print.
Overall goal and Objectives (While you explain the goal, please mention briefly what the background problem is. For example: high HIV rate in the country; frequent human rights abuses; unregulated industry/sector, etc)
Not For Sale campaign has the objective of ending human trafficking and slavery across the world. Despite efforts to curb human trafficking, the problem remains rampant especially in the developing countries. Therefore, Not For Sale aims at rescuing the victims and equipping them with life skills. This is in recognition that lack of life skills predisposes many people to the vice.
Geographical location (Which are the countries where the campaign is implemented?)
Although the organization operates across the world, its major focus for this current year is Thailand, Peru, Romania, South Africa, India and Netherlands.
Target audience(s)
The target audience for the campaign is the entire world with special emphasis on the victims of human trafficking, at-risk and vulnerable population as well as the perpetrators. The latter must face justice.
Approach (advocacy, social marketing, participatory, multi-pronged)
The organization utilizes advocacy and participatory approach to assist the victims to recover from their experiences. Advocacy approach is most appropriate when identifying the perpetrators and the victims.
Dissemination channels (please list the channels or materials)
The Internet Marketing: Selling products to raise funds (e.g. Thai Cord Bracelet, Not For Sale Book and BRMC Free2Rock T shirts) Open communication Mainstream media (Radio, newspapers and TV)
Critique
Social change campaigns are actions that spearhead changes in behaviour for a specific population, clientele or communities. Usually, these campaigns do not have a profit-making intention but they aim at providing all members of a specified society with benefits that occur overtime. As such, coordinated campaigns benefit communities both in the short term as well as in the long term.
The rationale is that they aim at addressing apparent social, cultural or environmental problems that a specific society faces. Effective social change campaigns allow all members to participate in the activities through media or other channels to provide support (Snyder, 2002).
It is however important to note that the success of these campaigns may differ depending on the ability of the target population to understand the communicated messages and their motivation. For effectiveness purposes, social change campaigns ought to have achievable and measurable objectives.
This is possible through continuous analysis and research on the nature and magnitude of the problem that the campaign seeks to address (Snyder, 2002). Besides, the campaigns ought to identify the target audience, the message to communicate and the tools for monitoring the consumption of the messages and outcomes. Rice & Atkin (1994) say that campaigns should also be able to identify the completion and/or an end.
Objective
Not For Sale: End Human Trafficking and Slavery campaign is run by NFS (Not for Sale) in conjunction with other partners such as CNN and the UN. The campaign aims at combating the rampant vice of human trafficking and slavery that has continued to flourish in the contemporary world. The campaign identifies both potential and actual human traffickers and rescues the victims from the whims of slavery.
While the victims receive training and psychosocial support, the perpetrators face criminal justice system. In addition, Not for Sale campaign also identifies the most at risk populations (MARPs) and vulnerable members of the society.
By identifying the vulnerable members, the organization is able to counter the vice before it occurs. Not for Sale campaign also aims at raising awareness across the world on the nature and form that trafficking and slavery take. This is in an attempt to solicit support from all corners of the world.
Background of the Problem
Not for Sale campaign appreciates and recognizes that human trafficking and slavery are rampant across the world and there is a need to address the problem.
Human trafficking is an illegal trade in people for various reasons such as sexual slavery and provision of labour among many other reasons. International Labour Organization (ILO) says that over two million people from over 120 countries were trafficked into over 133 countries across the globe in 2008 alone (Lee, 2013). In addition, ILO also asserts that almost thirty million people are in ‘modern day slavery’ (Lee, 2013).
Moreover, over 70% of the trafficked individuals are children (Lee, 2013). Considering the above-mentioned statistics, it is perceptible that the figures are startling. Not for Sale campaign aims at reducing the number of people being trafficked as well as those in modern day slavery.
In lieu of the fact that human trafficking is one of the most lucrative illegal trades, many people fall into the temptation of engaging in the trade directly or indirectly. Therefore, the campaign allows the target population to participate in creating awareness and understanding the various issues that surround the vice (Snyder, 2002).
While many laws have been enacted to criminalize and reduce human trafficking and slavery, a huge number of people are not aware of them. This limits their ability to identify instances of human trafficking or slavery since they take many forms. Importantly, many countries are yet to comply with the international laws that prohibit human trafficking.
Countries such as Libya, India, Vietnam and other developing countries have also been unable to set up measures to counter rampant incidences of human trafficking within their countries. To that extent, Not for Sale campaign attempts to enhance the ability of the people in vulnerable countries to understand the nature and form of trafficking and slavery.
The reason is that some of the incidences happen in plain sight and only few people are able to identify them. According to Lee (2013), trafficking takes the form of sex trafficking, force labour and slavery among many other forms.
When the people are able to understand the full concept of human trafficking, it is possible to create a profile of traders, customers and potential victims (Atkins& Freimuth, 2001). This way, people will be empowered to understand the crime and report it to the authorities.
In addition, the society also needs to understand the causes of human trafficking in order to identify the vulnerable members of the society. Mostly, human trafficking occurs due to poverty and inability of the victims to make a decent livelihood. In fact, Not for Sale campaign singles out India where mothers who are in poverty sell their children to earn a living.
It therefore seeks to enhance the ability of people to earn a living by training the vulnerable members and equipping them with essential skills to be independent. It is also vital to point out that rescued victims also return to their countries of origin.
It is therefore critical to equip the societies with information in order for them to allow reintegration of the victims into the mainstream society (Atkins& Freimuth, 2001). This reduces instances of stigmatization and discrimination of the victims.
A theoretical Approach
Not for Sale campaign has much strength in all aspects of its communication. Application of theoretical framework allows further analysis of the campaign and its potential for success. Using theories to analyse the campaign enhances critical judgement and comparative analysis. Central to Not for Sale campaign is the social cognition theory of communication.
The theory is founded on the premise that human beings contribute to their life circumstances (Melkote, 2002). This implies that human beings are not only the products of their behaviour but also influence the functioning of the society through their behaviours.
Not for Sale campaign attempts to create awareness on the apparent need to curb human trafficking by inculcating new perceptions on the vice in the minds of the target audience. This is in recognition of the fact that people will behave in a particular way when they have information.
Specifically, Not for Sale campaign seeks to change people’s perception on human trafficking by explaining the negative effects of the vice. This way, people will be able to adjust their behaviours regarding the vice and take appropriate actions. This will entail identifying and reporting people who engage in the trade.
Further, social cognition theory asserts that human beings take up specific behaviours owing to environmental determinism (Atkins& Freimuth, 2001). Therefore, the society’s environment is important in entrenching and inculcating specific behaviours. Not for Sale campaign appreciates that human traffickers operate in a specific environment and people within that context can identify and report them to police.
Besides, the victims come from certain communities implying that the members of the society are able to identify the traffickers when they initiate their transactions (Melkote, 2002). In other words, social cognition theory has allowed the campaign to focus on the environmental factors that can lead to apprehension and salvation of traffickers and victims respectively.
Further, it is important to point out that human trafficking happens around the world where all countries and communities suffer the effects of the vice. In this light, Melkote (2002) says that everyone across the world should be able to understand that the environment that we live in has been instrumental in enhancing the spread of this phenomenon.
Social cognition theory argues that people are able to develop new attitudes and perceptions when faced with information that causes cognitive dissonance (Melkote, 2002). In other words, human trafficking is a practice that contradicts beliefs and values that many people hold. With information therefore, people will be able to enhance the success of the campaign.
Target Audience
As aforementioned, the entire world ought to be aware of the increasingly high incidences of human trafficking and slavery. However, Not for Sale campaign target most vulnerable members of the society and the countries where trafficking is rampant. In consideration of the fact that 70% of the trafficked people are children, it is important to create awareness among families in poor and developing countries.
Besides, the campaign recognizes the important role that political systems and governments play in countering the vice. Hence, it targets the governments of countries where trafficking is rampant. They include Peru and India among many others.
Efficiency of Message and Media Selection
The message was first relayed in 2007 when David Bastone (founder) wrote a book titled, Not For Sale. This was in reaction to the devastating news that his favourite restaurant was at the centre of human trafficking and slavery. Using the popularity of his book that highlighted the widespread instances of human trafficking, Bastone began the NGO and named it after his book.
From the onset, the message was clear from the name of the NGO. Not for Sale is a self-explanatory phrase that highlights the ills of human trafficking and as such, it achieved efficiency. In the third quarter of this program year, the NGO had been able to rescue 1474 people from the whims of trafficking and slavery.
Other than the book, Not for Sale campaign utilizes the mass media to reach a wide array of audience by catching their attention (Snyder, 2002). The use of role models to influence governments and international agencies to institute measures to counter the spread of human trafficking has been central to the campaign.
The use of the internet and social media, television, radios and books is one of the most effective ways to reach out to numerous people and communicate the message. On the organization’s facebook page, people are able to view various documentaries and reports on human trafficking.
Besides, the organization’s website contains numerous pieces of information about the progress and the status of human trafficking in the world. With this kind of platform, the campaign is able to reach numerous people across the world leading to effectiveness of the initiative (Rice & Atkin, 1994).
Analysis
Not for Sale campaign has been able to utilize its strengths by engaging recognized and able partners in achievement of the objectives. Besides, the campaign has been able to connect with millions of people using various media platforms. Further, the campaign’s ability to use social media has enhanced its chances for success.
The founder has ‘first hand’ encounter with incidences of human trafficking and slavery and as such, he has heightened the ability of the campaign to address the pertinent issues that surround the vice (Rice & Atkin, 1994). In addition, the theoretical framework that the campaign uses aims at enhancing participation of all stakeholders. This leads to effectiveness in changing people’s perception.
In sum, Not for Sale campaign has been in existence for almost five years. Through effective campaign and communication, it has been able to reach out to numerous people and counter human trafficking by rescuing the victims and assisting the authorities to apprehend the perpetrators. However, the length of the campaign may require some extension to allow increased participation across the world.
References
Atkins, C. & Freimuth, V. (2001). Formative Evaluation Research in Campaign Design. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Lee, M. (2013). Human Trafficking. New Jersey: Pearson Publishers.
Melkote, R. (2002). Theories of Development Communication. Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications.
Rice, R. & Atkin, C. (1994). Principles of Successful Public Communication Campaigns. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Snyder, L. (2002). Development Communication Campaigns. Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications.
Slavery has been around since time immemorial and can be described as the abuse of labor. Slavery is the act of one person or organization formally known as the master forcing another person or group of people to work for him for the so-called master to attain maximum gain with a reduced expenditure or no expenditure at all on the human resource remuneration.
In history, there is evidence all over which shows that in earlier times even up to date there existed slavery. The slavery that existed or exists today takes many faces from one part of the world to the other. In all the cases of slavery, there has been one common thing which is that all the involved slaves were denied their rights. Hence slavery on social economic grounds is a form of nonfree labor. In the modern world, we are living in today slavery has been condemned and prohibited with the formation of multinational legal instruments to check and control it.
It is not surprising from several findings that this vice still exists in various parts of the world; it has also shown that slavery exists in numerous forms around. Slavery prohibition is covered under article four of the international Declaration on Human Rights.
The Cuban governance style is that the state owns the people except for the president and his clique. This kind of scenario logically means that the state has all the control and stands out to misuse its citizen in whichever manner it wants, this leaves the Cubans in a compromised state with les and less voice over their rights. One of this such misuse of the people and treating the people of Cuba as slaves is when almost two decades ago the president, Mr. Fidel Castro comfortably traded with the eastern bloc and sold to them at least eighty thousand Cubans to be utilized as laborers in those countries, this Cubans who were sold, were given promises that, there lives and the life of Cuba will drastically improve because of this program. These promises never come to see the light of the day (Servando, pg 8).
When the state of Cuba sold some of its citizens to countries abroad in the pursuit of creating employment for the numerous jobless youth in Cuba, the innocent Cubans who were sold never knew of the bad outcome that could result from this program. These individuals thought that they were going to earn money for the president’s idea.
When the Cuban workers who were sold out, arrived at their countries of work, they were either told that they would benefit from the industrial technical training which would enable them to gain more skills and ended up being misused and was given hard labor that even the natives in this eastern bloc countries could not even do. They were promised good accommodation and housing conditions in these countries of work but were packed more than enough people in a room. They were also told that that put of their wages would be banked back in Cuba but when they come back to Cuba there was nothing on their accounts. There has also been a case where the Cuban government has forced the salary deductions from employees in order to cater for unreasonable emergencies which have always turned out to be lies.
All in all when all this happened the Cubans have never known that the state regarded them as slaves and Mr. Castro was benefiting alone from the sweat of many Cubans who worked abroad and in Cuba thinking that they could better their livelihood.
Work Cited
Servando, G. The Secret Fidel Castro: Deconstructing the Symbol. Caribbean: EarthLink, 2003.
