Maybe, many of us have been victims of physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse. If we haven’t, we probably know someone who has.Have you experienced different forms of racism, sexism and other expressions of hatred? To be specific, some cultures have even given preferential treatment to sons and despised the daughters. Young girls end up on the street asking for a dime!
Ellen writes the following about the young beggar girls on the streets and the prostitutes outside hotels in the evenings:
“Dear Charlotte: I was not surprised to see beggars here but it disturbs me how young some of the little girls are. Isn’t it dangerous for them to approach cars at stop lights or strangers on the streets and beg? The prostitution trade does surprise me!
“One beggar scene that sticks most in my mind is the young girl, probably about age six, who came up to me while I was buying a cheese toast from a corner shop. Begging, she pushed an empty Starbucks coffee mug into my face. Another day, a woman wearing a black hijab, completely covered in black, walked purposefully toward me while I was waiting for the traffic light to change. She was selling packs of tissues. I bought a pack. I really fear for the young girls who approach cars begging. Trafficking is such a global problem. Who knows what may happen to them or where they may end up? Do you know if many of them end up in prostitution?”
Dear Ellen: Many of us have difficulties with processing these issues. It’s not easy to obtain information on this subject from anywhere.
Here are some facts that were released in 2004 by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO):
* Prostitution totals 100,000 in Turkey
* There are approximately 35,000,000 females in Turkey; one out of 350 women here is on the verge of prostitution
* The age of prostitution falls between 15 and 40. There are 17 million women in this age group in Turkey
* Poverty ranks first among the reasons that push women to prostitution
* Not only are Turkish women involved in prostitution, but also Ukrainians, Moldavians, Georgians, Azeris and Russians
* Most of the prostitutes take drugs, drink alcohol and experience psychological and emotional traumas
* The number of beggars has reached 50,000 in Turkey -- there is one beggar for every 1,400 people in Turkey, which has a population of 70 million. Nearly one-third of them are in Istanbul
* A beggar’s average monthly earnings range between YTL 750 and YTL 1,000.
In another report, “Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” M. Farley, I. Baral, M. Kiremire and U. Sezgin explain how it is a global problem that needs addressing. Their findings are based on their interviews with individuals in South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the US and Zambia.
Sadly, rape and child sexual abuse occur more frequently throughout the world than is commonly realized. Only a few cases come to public attention.
In countries where the poor are the majority and the wealth belongs to a few, sadly, begging and prostitution is the difference between life and death for some families -- families could starve.
Who is in the wrong -- the parents, the child, the tourist or the politicians?
Girls and young ladies who end up in trafficking usually have the following in common: current or past homelessness; experiences of being hit or beaten by adults until injured or bruised as a child; and sexual abuse during childhood.
I imagine many of you -- women, especially -- reading this right now are like me in that when you see these young girls your heart goes out to them. You wonder how and if they will ever have the opportunity to deal with their emotional baggage and pain.
Wouldn’t it be good if there were more institutions that offered assistance to them?
Thanks Ellen for your letter. Maybe others who are in a position to do something will be stirred to do so! In the meantime, we can do our individual part ... buy a pack of tissues, treat them to a bite to eat… Let’s count our blessings for the life we have!
