I thought of something regarding trafficking. Some people think it’s okay. There are men who claim to have the right to disparage women by forcing, threatening and abusing them, to have their way. Men who find women in grave need of money, then exploiting that need.
Sex slaves have existed since ancient times, hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, yet it continues today. Every person is equal in value, this should be a certainty. No one should be able to control a person in such a horrible way. All women in the world actually has to feel threatened in some way just by going outside. Most of the women who are victims of trafficking are those who are kidnapped. It is even possible for us who live in Sweden to be kidnapped. We know slave trade has occurred here long ago but also that pimps have brought vulnerable women who are victims of sexual abuse to Sweden.
As a woman, you can’t even feel safe in your own neighborhood, because women are “weak” and easy prey. Being a woman in society today isn’t the same as a thousand years ago, but we are still not like men. It’s all about power. Men who feel they have power and are able to do the awful things to show they are in control. The men who subject the women to sexual assault are not ashamed of it. They can’t talk about it publicly in countries where it thankfully is illegal. But in countries where there are no laws regarding sex trade, the men can discuss it openly. The woman is after all a “commodity”, she is not considered very important. They are treated like animals, mistreated animals.
Equality between men and women are still not true, which can also lead to men exploiting women. If men go around appearing powerful, then more people will eventually believe it. Getting people to think you are powerful can make others join you. If a group of men with similar opinions meet, the message will spread and more women will be abused. Why even give men a chance to feel stronger? Why should they have that opportunity? Who gives them the right to think they are worth more? Who says they are better? These questions will probably never be answered, but it would be interesting to see what the men who sexually abuse women answer.
The mistake society makes is that they don’t explain things like trafficking to children at an early age. I think people are influenced the most as they grow up, so why not teach children about this? It’s awful to have to discuss these things with a ten year old but we do live in a world where things like trafficking occur. If we don’t get the message across, alert and even affect children’s thinking, how can we ever expect these things to end?
If I could give you something smart, a solution, it would be to “create a new religion”. Since we live in a society where very few adhere to a religion, making one could be possible.
I personally think it’s a little “sad” to still have people with the same views as those from thousands of years ago. People who founded the religions lived in a very different society.
Why not create something more fitting for us and our circumstances? We can all agree that we don’t live like people did two thousand years ago. We are different in so many ways.
To prevent human trafficking for example, the new “religion” could perhaps have harsher punishment for sexual assault. Or perhaps making sure people don’t even contemplate it.
If the “new religion” gained a lot of followers and attention, it would spread to others. Why keep following ideas and opinions written two thousand years ago? Why not live as we want to today? Live in a decent way like you should today.
There are of course many wise things in the religions of today, but why not improve them? Improve them so that society of today will be a better place for everyone.
Melanie, 17 år, Angeredsgymnasiet
Read the other students texts and thoughts about trafficking here.