Digital Sx Racket via Social Media : As much as the world of technology has provided facilities, it has also opened up scary and dark paths. A recent report by the ‘Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC)’ has shocked the entire world.
This report has shockingly revealed that women and innocent girls are being traded on the internet like ‘pizza’ or any ‘product’. These platforms, known as ‘pimping websites’, have now become the biggest hubs of modern slavery.
Creepy truth: Trap of more than 60,000 advertisements
Commissioner Eleanor Lyon found in her investigation that these websites are proving to be a gold mine for criminals. The main points of the report are as follows. Nearly 63,000 advertisements on 12 major websites were examined, out of which 6 out of 10 advertisements contained direct indications of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Within just one month, more than 4 crore people visited these 12 websites, which shows how fast this illegal business is spreading.
behave like a supermarket
One victim, Mia de Faoit, has described it as a modern slave market where customers choose women based on their preferred age and race.
Painful stories of victims
Anyone’s heart aches after hearing the stories of the women who came out of this hell:
Tattoo for identification: One victim told that she got a tattoo done on her body so that if she was killed, at least her body could be identified.
Fear of violence: On the websites, if a woman refuses to meet a customer, she is given threats of rape and death.
Capture of middlemen: The criminals themselves chat with the customers in the name of the women and finalize the deal. The middlemen pocket all the profits while the women remain homeless and traumatized.
Government’s tough stance: We are coming after them
After this report came out, the British government and international agencies have come into action. Such laws are being brought in the Parliament which will give the courts the power to immediately suspend these ‘pimping websites’. The Prime Minister has announced that tech companies will have to remove any objectionable advertisements or images shared without consent within 48 hours. Now there is a demand to make age verification mandatory on these websites so that children can be saved from this quagmire.
caution is safety
Tara, an organization that helps women victims of human trafficking, says that criminals often target women with weak economic status. There is often a big organized crime hidden behind the suspicious advertisements of ‘escort service’ or ‘massage parlor’ available on the internet.