THE JAMMED TRUE STORIES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING BLOG

The aim of this blog is to uncover and present TRUE STORIES of Human Trafficking and debt bondage in all its forms. We are seeking stories of victims "jammed" in slavery, of perpetrators of this crime, stories of efforts to help victims; of individuals moving to change policy, and stories of misguided efforts to help that have done further damage … in the hope that the telling of these personal stories will highlight the reality and complexity of this heinous practice, and shed light on the need for action on many fronts. Our vision is to finance this project through sponsorship and donations so that we can make the films freely available to everyone, everywhere for advocacy, campaigning, education and calls to action.

Following on from the feature film THE JAMMED we intend to select a series of stories from those posted on this blog, and produce a dramatised series of short stories

THE JAMMED is a feature film inspired by court transcripts about sex slavery and deportation in
Australia - (www.thejammed.com). The number of women and children trafficked into sexual servitude (slavery) and debt bondage is impossible to quantify, but it is estimated that between 700,000 to 4 million people are trafficked around the world annually for sexual exploitation.

This is a call for your stories.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

SEXUAL SERVITUDE - THE JAMMED


Australia surely is an attractive immigration destination. It offers the dream of a better life; it stands as a beacon for freedom and hope and opportunity; a nation of acceptance, tolerance, equality. But not everyone who lands on our shores is privy to this privileged view of our home.

It is estimated between 500 and 1000 girls are “imported” into Australia each year by individuals and trafficking syndicates. The girls land up in brothels – usually illegal – and find themselves in sexual servitude and debt bondage. Many of the girls are aware that they are coming over as prostitutes, but are generally not informed about the contractual conditions – and essentially become “modern slaves” within a cruel system.

Often when they have paid their debt back – an amount which can be nominated as high as $50,000 or the equivalent of 700 “jobs” they are deemed “past their used by date”, and many were dobbed into immig4ration and deported back to their home country.

They become victims a second time when they land up in the immigration system – landing up in detention centres and promptly deported at the tax payers expense – and not at the expense of the brothel owner. There is also the indignity that they are theoretically “billed” or in debt once again for the days they are in detention.

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