Women traffic

 Version française : Trafics de femmes

Frightening.
Women traffic is an investigation about the mysteries of women and children exploitation for sexual purposes.
With stories who bring us from Japan to Mexico, while passing by Burma and Middle East, Lydia Cacho reveals to us the mafia mechanisms and the backstage of sexual trade, which became the most profitable traffic in the world, along with arms and drug trafficking.
All of the defaults of human societies are highlighted in these dramas: sexism, racism, violence, and the lure of profit…
It makes us wonder about the place of women and minorities, globalization, corruption and misery (both educational and financial).
There are a few illustrations presented in the booklet inside. We forget about the captions of the pictures very quickly, as they seem derisory and useless (despite all of the horror, and maybe because of the emotional load of the book).
We will dwell upon maps who detail the deals of people around the world (sexual tourism, corruption…). Their readings are eloquent.
Based on a field work and a deep legislative and political knowledge, Lydia Cacho defines the problems of sexual exploitation, but doesn’t evade its complexity.
She highlights the importance of army and wars in the developing of this phenomenon, the links between the different types of traffic: weapons, people (immigrant, workforce…), organs; the impossible fight without neither education nor sex equality, without solving misery. The balance is hard to find between the struggle against the exploitation of human beings, while respecting liberties and avoiding recoveries (religious, extremists…)
To conflict with this world of violence, corruption, dehumanization is not without danger. Lydia Cacho knows the collusion between some police officers, mafia mobs and politicians. She paid the price for it (as much as many witnesses interrogated and defenders of liberties, without forgetting that a few of them deceased…)
As a conclusion, which is not really optimistic, the book includes a terminology of terms that are used, like “mafia”, “traffic”, “slavery” or “deals”. As many precisions necessary to understand the subject and approach it without misunderstanding it.
Lydia Cacho ends the book with an annex where she gives tracks to fight, at our scale, against the exploitation of fragile and weakened persons, children in particular.
Even if some advices are from an activist, the implication ensues from awareness.
The only thing left to do is either fight or give up.
Talking about it already an improvement.

- Monsieur -

Translated by Mademoiselle

Trafics de femmes to Lydia Cacho
Nouveau Monde Publishers