Of all the issues that disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein has brought to light, sex trafficking could be the most shocking. The International Labour Organization estimates that 40.3 million people are trafficked globally, with 75 percent being women and children.
Sex trafficking is modern day slavery, forcing a victim into dangerous work with no way out.
British actress Kadian Noble claims she was a victim of sex trafficking by Weinstein in a lawsuit filed in New York. And a second lawsuit by another woman was filed against him in Los Angeles also alleging sex trafficking.
According to CNN, “Noble accuses Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in a hotel bathroom in Cannes, France, in 2014, and says Weinstein coerced her with talk of a potential movie role for her.”
Weinstein’s attorney, Phyllis Kupferstein, argues that “because nothing of value was exchanged by their client, the commercial sex act aspect was not met.”
On the contrary, Weinstein took everything of value from Noble. He stole her dignity, took her physical freedom, and seriously threatened her ability to succeed economically in the future as an actress if she did not give in to his unwelcome sexual advances. She was forcefully restrained, threatened, and manipulated through intimidation.
Kupferstein describes “a typical sex trafficking case” as sexually assaulting an underage girl with a green card. That’s one example out of many because sex trafficking does not have a one-size-fits-all criterion. Noble’s case shows a female that was recruited through coercion for sexual exploitation with the promise of gain. That’s what the United Nations defines as sexual trafficking.
Just because Noble was a rising celebrity and not a woman kidnapped and forced to prostitute herself in India does not mean she isn’t a victim of sex trafficking. Victims’ characteristics are often variable, but the mentality of the oppressors is usually a constant.
Weinstein and those who buy and sell women and children on the human trafficking market aren’t that different. They share the same characteristics of abusing power, manipulating others, self-centered ambition, and raw desire for fortune. Human trafficking is a billion-dollar market worldwide. It is a societal and economic crisis.
Women who have suffered at the hands of sex traffickers deserve to be heard and empowered, and their abusers to be held accountable. There are millions of trafficking victims in hidden brothels in India and Cambodia. There are dozens of women, at least who have come forward, that have been victimized by Harvey Weinstein. I believe that by empowering enslaved women and restoring their sense of justice through self-agency, we are able to restore their light and encourage them to reach their full potential.
Every woman and child deserves to feel empowered through the full criminalization of human trafficking in the justice system. Human trafficking awareness should be more prevalent so as to provide better legal support, rehabilitation and reintegration services to survivors, and educational resources to create a new dawn of knowledgeable global citizens.
In all of the terrible revelations that have come from the Harvey Weinstein media storm, the spotlight on sex trafficking will hopefully bring more awareness to the plight of millions of women and children around the world who deserve to be free.
Diana Mao is co-founder and President of Nomi Network, a nonprofit that creates economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk of human trafficking.
