Sexual violence has already been known to be a worldwide issue that at times may have been addressed too little by authorities around the world. It has impacted the lives of millions of people, even so in India. With a population of over one billion, human trafficking, gendercide and forced labour have been exposed but the desired change seems to be missing.
According to findings by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime which was conducted in 2018, adult women account for nearly half, 49 percent, of all human trafficking victims detected globally. Women and girls together account for 79 percent, with girls representing more than three out of every four child trafficking victim. More than four out of every five trafficked woman and nearly three out of every four trafficked girl, is trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The WHO has released findings in which it is assumed that 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
Women who have been physically or sexually abused by their partner report higher rates of a number of important health problems. These women are 16 percent more likely to have a low birth-weight baby. They are more than twice as likely to have an abortion and twice as likely to experience depression. In some regions these women are more likely to have been infected by HIV in comparison to women who have not experienced partner violence.
In the film documentary “It´s a Girl”: The Three Deadliest Words in the World from 2012, documentary maker Evan Grae Davis, addresses this issue. In his documentary, Davis initially sought out to expose sexual trafficking and raise awareness, but after speaking to several women, changed the his focus, as he became aware of a more crucial subject. Gendercide. A practice that western countries may not be too familiar with, but which has impacted the entire world.
According to the United Nations Population Fund of 2020 it is now estimated that 143 million, around 3.7%, of women worldwide are missing today as a result of sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, gross neglect of young girls, entirely preventable maternal death and the inability of older women to access food and shelter. As well as socially sanctioned violence against women. I sat down with Beverly Hill, founder and president of the Gendercide Awareness Project, who has been, for the last several years, vocal and active to raise awareness of the deliberate extermination of women based on their gender.
In early 2004, on what would have been a relaxing afternoon at a café, Hill discovered the horrors of the Sex Trafficking Industry. After reading a published article titled “The Girls Next Door” by Peter Landesman in the New York Times Magazine, her life mission and desire to protect and raise awareness on the horrors of sexual violence against women was born.
Landesman’s findings brought a wave of shock as his discovery mirrored the seemingly silent world that by the looks of it ignored and turned away from the scene. His findings highlighted the great power people involved truly have. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Act of 2000, which was introduced in 2000 by the Bush administration, has since been renewed five times but has not changed much of the circumstances. Countless cases have been mentioned in which victims sought support and protection from the police only to discover that the police were in collusion with the brothels they escaped.
Landesman’s article may have primarily focused on the United States, Mexico and Russia but the impact of this issue reaches far beyond. Countries like India and China have to this day the largest populations and the consequence of Gendercide are felt there the most.
According to Hill, women of all ages suffer tremendously as these traditional societies generate wealth to their sons instead of to their daughters. Widows are oftentimes neglected after their husbands die and are unable to take care of themselves. In many cases their daughters have married outside their village, leaving behind old parents with the burdensome duty to pay off their dowry and with no provision.
For fear of these high dowry costs, it has been a common practice to murder daughters after birth, as mentioned in the film documentary “It’s a Girl”. Many pregnant women were forced to sex selective abortions by their husbands and in-laws.
In an effort to change India’s perception on daughters, several initiatives have been formed by the government. Under the leadership of prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, billboards and add campaigns were brought up that asked families to keep their daughters. The government offered financial aid to support families which would have been used as a deposit for their daughters’ future wedding.
The aftermath of these long-practiced customs have left large portions of the society with skewed sex ratios that have in turn become sex trafficking hot spots.
In past interviews Hill addressed this issue and explained that the North-West provinces in India have the most skewed sex ratios in the world. Many women and girls have been trafficked from Nepal, lured under false pretence with job opportunities as maids. These girls wake up in brothels to a new realty they never would have imagined.
As a result of poor law enforcement and collusion between the police and the brothels, women that try to escape are caught and brought back beaten and intimidated to prevent them and others from escaping. In many instances these women are completely lost unable to get back to their families as they do not know in what part of the country they are located.
The dilemma does not stop here, due to their skewed sex ratios many women are sold as brides on so called “black markets”. In many instances underage girls who have not even reached the age of puberty are raped by their older husbands. Often times these young girls have, as a result of this, damaged bodies or die during childbirth.
Worldwide initiatives to change and bring a stop to sexual violence have not been addressed enough. India’s new leadership under Modi, has made it very difficult for foreign NGO´s such as the Gendercide Awareness Project. According to Hill, there have been several initiatives to bring the Gendercide Awareness Project’s Art installation of baby booties to India, but all plans were brought to a hold as Hill was unable to find the approval and support from the government.
In total 12.600 baby botties were handmade by several women in collaboration with the Gendercide Awareness Project, each representing 10,000 missing women.
By Adina Sarah Abraham
Adina Sarah Abraham 