Just a few days ago, I returned from touring the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. A lot goes on behind those walls which greatly shape the future of the European Union and millions of people. Every day, members of Parliament write, propose and legislate laws for the betterment of Europe. Some of these laws, gratefully, deal with the problem of the trafficking of persons across the continent. This is a growing problem and Europe is finally taking notice.
Sex Slavery In France
France has recently adopted a law to penalize men for paying for sex. The first infraction is 1500 Euro and the second is doubled. I was a little shocked to hear this knowing France’s past liberal stance on prostitution. As I dug a little deeper, I realized that France did its homework and found out that over 90% of all prostitution in the country is related to human trafficking – forced sex slavery. This is a problem of society and human dignity. France is brave enough to tackle these issues.
As the EU has expanded to include more economically challenged nations, places like Romania and Bulgaria become vulnerable to the exploitation of the poor. A recent news scandal involving teenage Romanian immigrant girls in France slowly uncovered rings of trafficking that became too gross to be ignored. France, as well as other EU states, are beginning to understand that they can’t control the flow of people but they could deal more heavily with the penalization of unlawful sex slavery.
It’s about time Europe! The horrors of trafficking must be stopped now. It is my hope that Europe’s affirmative action could be an example to the world. Let’s end sex slavery in our generation!
