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The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation |
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About the Factbook |
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Contents |
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Africa
Middle East
Central America
& the Caribbean
South America
North America |
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| About the Factbook |
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The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation was compiled from media,
non-governmental organization and government reports. It is an initial effort
to collect facts, statistics and known cases on global sexual exploitation.
Information is organized into four categories:
- Trafficking,
- Prostitution,
- Pornography, and
- Organized and Institutionalized
Sexual Exploitation
and Violence.
Sources were not contacted to verify information. Close examination will reveal
that there are contradictions in information depending on the sources of information
(ex: how many women are in prostitution in Thailand). All statistics are reported
with no attempt to evaluate which numbers are more likely to be accurate. In fact,
the exact numbers in many cases are not known and estimates come from different sources
which use different methods to determine what they report.
We hope these facts will assist people to recognize the harm caused throughout the world
by sexual violence and exploitation and catalyze action against this violence agianst women.
This project was made possible with the support of the College of Arts and Sciences,
University of Rhode Island and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Norway.
If you use this information in your work, please reference this factbook-- The Factbook on
Global Sexual Exploitation, Donna M. Hughes, Laura Joy Sporcic, Nadine Z. Mendelsohn,
Vanessa Chirgwin, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 1999.
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Ghana
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| PROSTITUTION |
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In Accra alone, there are 125 brothels where young girls are forced into
prostitution. Girls, mostly from poverty-stricken families in rural areas,
posed for nude pictures following monetary offers to them by some local contact
men. Each was reportedly given US$300. A twelve-year-old girl from a rural
area in central Ghana told police that she was convinced to enter prostitution
after realizing that it was the only way for her to survive the harsh realities
of city life. (Women’s Organizations Monthly Meetings of Ghana, Samuel Sarpong,
"Women take initiative to better their lot: Human Rights," AfricaNews,
June1998)
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ORGANIZED AND INSTITUTIONALIZED
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND VIOLENCE |
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Thousands of virgin girls are given to priests to appease the gods for crimes
committed by relatives of the family in the Trokosi tradition in Ghana. The
initiation rituals signify marriage to a god and its proxy, the priest. The
girl becomes the priest’s property and enslaved for three to five years, or
sometimes, for life. If the girl dies, or if the priests "tires" of her, the
family must replace her. For serious crimes families enslave generations of
daughters in a system of perpetual atonement. Girls who are released remain
married to god for life. Many cannot marry, and remain indebted to the priest.
If the priest dies, his Trokosi are passed to his successor. When the Trokosi
girl begins to menstruate she becomes the sexual property of the priest. It
is common that a Trokosi woman has ten to fifteen children. The Trokosi are
denied access to education and other training. Their families supply their
food and clothing. The Trokosi practice continues despite the fact that it
violates the Ghanian constitution. ("Slavery
in Ghana: The Trokosi Tradition," Equality Now, Women’s Action
14.1, March 1998)
Policy and Law
A bill was introduced in January 1998 to punish anyone involved in the enslavement
of others, which would include the priests involved in the Trokosi tradition.
Punishment will be imprisonment for no less than three years. Ten shrines
have given up the Trokosi practice. ("Slavery
in Ghana: The Trokosi Tradition," Equality Now, Women’s Action
14.1, March 1998)
Case
At the age of 12, Abla Kotor was given to a local priest in atonement for
the rape that resulted in her birth, the rape of her mother by her mother's
uncle. As soon as Abla Kotor has completed three menstrual cycles, the priest
to whom she was given, will rape her. She works his fields and farmlands,
cleans his home and cooks his meals. ("Slavery
in Ghana: The Trokosi Tradition," Equality Now, Women’s Action
14.1, March 1998)
Work of NGOs
436 women and girls have been freed from Trokosi slavery in Ghana, as a result
of a seven-year campaign involving several human rights groups. ("Slavery
in Ghana: The Trokosi Tradition," Equality Now, Women’s Action 14.1, March
1998)
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