Sexual Exploitation
Malaysia – Sex work is not work, it’s oppression
Dr Madeline Berma described the multi-billion-dollar sexual exploitation industry as a deception that was built upon the backs of the bodies of real women and girls who have been raped, assaulted, trafficked and murdered. Even the term ‘sex worker’ has been created and popularized to lend some sort of ‘dignity’ to prostitution and other forms of sex work including that of pornography. Sex work is not work like ‘any other job. Escaped prostitutes’ testimonies testify to that. Many women are driven by poverty, criminally trapped or even trafficked into it. They are often unable to exit. Melissa Farley, a clinical psychologist who has worked in this field for 25 years, reports in the Journal of Trauma Practice that 70 per cent of prostituted women had a history of childhood abuse which led to their entry into prostitution.
We reiterate that all forms of ‘sex work’ ranging from prostitution to pornography and everything in between need to be abolished, and clients who patron them need to be severely punished as a form of prevention. More