…is lending her whole-hearted support to raise awareness of trafficking of women and girls into the UK to be raped and sexually abused by men who feel it’s somehow ok to do that.
She’s made a film for the Helen Bamber Foundation who “…work with survivors of genocide, torture, trafficking and rape who seek safety and refuge” and it’s pretty powerful stuff. It may trigger.
I applaud both the Helen Bamber Foundation and Emma Thompson (whom I love) for their efforts to end the sexual slavery of trafficked women and girls. But it seems to me as though there’s a big thing being made about ‘borders’ in recent years. Yes, it’s horrendous that women and girls from overseas are being auctioned at Gatwick airport and in Cambridgeshire pubs and I’m pleased that sexual slavery is recognised as a national horror these days. It should be.
But I admit that I’m a tad bemused by all the recent outrage.
The buying and selling of female bodies by men has been going on for centuries in this country and no-one that I know of ever decsribed it as ’slavery’ before.
But that’s exactly what it is - whatever your national boundaries happen to be.
7 responses so far ↓
Sarah (Ethically Speaking) // December 17, 2007 at 12:44 am
I’m sitting here in floods of tears watching that.
Renali // December 17, 2007 at 6:00 pm
I can’t even breathe. I never wished I was rich before. If I were, I could help. As it is, I am useless. My tears, outrage and desire to help are useless.
They truly do hate us, don’t they.
Sarah (Ethically Speaking) // December 17, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I was talking to someone a while ago about being rich and she said “I don’t think I could handle the responsibility, I wouldn’t know what to do with it all.”
Oh I know. Other than being comfortable and looking after my own, this is what I could do with it. Sure, it would be a responsibility but don’t we have that anyway? Rich or famous, or not - we are all responsible in some way. We are either responsible for letting it happen or for speaking out and raising awareness.
jennifer drew // December 17, 2007 at 11:43 pm
It is always much easier to say ‘how awful these poor, ignorant women are being trafficked into the UK to be sexually abused.’ (Of course missing is the phrase for men to sexually abuse). Rather than seeing what is happening on one’s own doorstep. I suspect there is more than a hint of racism and belief that foreign women who are entrapped by male pimps and traffickers, are somehow more backward and ignorant than white European women. But in fact there is no difference women and girls globally have been forced into sexual slavery for centuries now. Only difference is, at long last some are recognising male demand for women and girl sex slaves for what it is. Abuse of women’s and girls’ human rights. Poverty is a major aspect but the core issue is male belief in their right to sexually abuse and sexually exploit women and girls. For those who believe women and girls living in the UK are not tricked, entrapped or sold into sexual slavery, gives them a sense of superority and the belief ‘it would never happen here.’ How wrong they are. Male demand for fresh supplies of women and girls has been going on for centuries but many do not want to face the ugly truth. Far better to believe it is happening ‘out there’ whereas the reality is women and girls are being entrapped, enticed and tricked into sexual slavery here in the UK. It is not new but centuries old, only difference is some individuals refuse to accept certain women and girls must be made available to meet the mythical inate male sexual needs and demands.
L.M. // December 18, 2007 at 12:07 am
Jennifer Drew - “I suspect there is more than a hint of racism and belief that foreign women who are entrapped by male pimps and traffickers, are somehow more backward and ignorant than white European women.”
Sadly, I’ve heard people try to apologize for trafficking by insisting that women are too smart to fall for traffickers - and therefore they must be coming by choice.
(Typical apologia - httx://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200304/ai_n9228769 - I would link but I’m not sure if Witchy-Woo wants it tracked back)
I thought about this in my own life, can *I* ever be 100% sure, when I respond to a job flier or a listing in a newspaper, that the employers are legitimate?
Gayle // December 18, 2007 at 1:07 am
Wow.
That’s really disturbing. Good for Emma for doing it.
She really is fab. Fab and courageous. Few actresses would participate in something so brutally not “glamorous.”
Fanny Blood // December 27, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Well done to the brave, Emma Thompson who I feel has captured and delivered the message perfectly.
I feel sick to my stomach.
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