KARA “Sex trafficking is a crime that shames us all. To fight it we need to research it, know it in depth, and calibrate measures accordingly. Siddharth Kara’s compelling economic and strategic analysis is very useful to our work. Readers will gain a deep understanding of the functioning of modern-day slavery as well as what can be done to eradicate it.” —Antonio Maria Costa, executive director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime SEX TRAFFIC cross eighteen countries and six continents, Siddharth Kara has witnessed firsthand the sale of human A beings into slavery, interviewed more than five hundred slaves of all kinds, and confronted some of those who trafficked and exploited them. In this book he draws on his background in finance and law to provide the first ever business and economic analysis of contemporary slavery worldwide, focusing on its most profitable and barbaric form, sex trafficking. Kara describes the local factors and global economic forces K that gave rise to various forms of modern-day slavery worldwide and, for the first time, quantifies their size, ING growth, and profitability. He also recommends specific legal, tactical, and policy measures that would target the most vulnerable sectors of various slavery industries and help abolish slavery once and for all. I N S “The best book ever written on human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Representing a new period of solid IDE yet humane scholarship, this breakthrough analysis represents a quantum leap in the study of this sub- ject. Simply beyond anything I have seen anywhere.” —Kevin Bales, president, Free the Slaves T HE BU “Sex trafficking is more of a problem than most people realize. Read this well-written book and find out.” —Kirk Douglas S “An eloquent, campaigning book that addresses an evil that belittles our humanity.” — Financial Times INE “Siddharth Kara has done a great service by laying bare the realities of sexual exploitation of women SS and girls around the world and the scale of this modern slavery. His analysis is rooted in an understanding of OF MODERN SLAVERY the way unregulated economic globalization has impoverished whole regions, failed to improve the miserable lot of women in many countries, and facilitated global criminal networks. His book should be widely read and his recommendations taken very seriously.” —Baroness Vivien Stern, King’s College, London SIDDHARTH KARA is the first Fellow on Human Trafficking with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He speaks and consults extensively on contemporary slavery and human rights worldwide and advises several governments as well as private and nongovernmental organizations on anti-slavery policy and law. Sex Trafficking is the first of three books providing his groundbreaking new approach to contemporary slavery. Previously, Kara worked as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, and ran his own finance and M&A consulting firm. Cover design by Frances Baca Author photograph by Michele Mattei COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK www.cup.columbia.edu Printed in the U.S.A. Columbia Praise for Sex Traffi cking “Siddharth Kara possesses that rare and valuable combination of passion for his subject, insight, and rigorous research. His analysis is persuasive and his descriptions heartbreaking in their clarity. Human traffi cking in all forms is slavery, no matter how you cut it, and in this book Kara brings a modern- day scourge to the light of day.” — erica stone, president, american himalayan foundation “A disturbing and illuminating study.” —irish times “I approached this book with a certain weariness. Having worked on the subject of sex traffi cking for many years, I was unenthusiastic about yet another exposé or cri de coeur from a business executive turned anti- slavery advocate. I could not have been more wrong. This is a unique and inspiring book— an honest, lucid, and im mensely intelligent account of a devastating yet pervasive aspect of contemporary globalization. It de- serves to be widely read by anyone who wants to understand one of the most per sis tent and complex human rights violations of our times.” — jacqueline bhabha, harvard law school “An impressive, scholarly book that will prove an asset for the global anti- traffi cking movement in the next decade.” —stanford social innovation review “As an experienced investigator of human traffi cking off ences, I was not expecting to discover anything new from this book. The reality was the opposite—this book off ers unique and invaluable insight into the whole subject of human traffi cking. The global fi nancial perspective was espe- cially helpful, and I have found the analysis and recommendations ex- tremely useful in my work as an investigator and policy adviser. I strongly recommend it to others involved in the fi ght against human traffi cking.” — stephen wilkinson, se nior investigating officer on human trafficking, united kingdom “This book could not be more important. After years of witnessing slavery and meeting with slaves, Siddharth Kara illuminates one of our most pressing human rights issues. He off ers brand-new research and reliable facts, shattering the myths and sensationalism that tend to surround this topic. Everyone should read this book: it will change the way we think about our world.” — zoe trodd, harvard university sex trafficking Inside the Business of Modern Slavery Siddharth Kara Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2009 Siddharth Ashok Kara Paperback edition, 2010 All rights reserved A Caravan book. For more information, visit www.caravanbooks.org. Library of Congress Cata loging- in- Publication Data Kara, Siddharth. Sex traffi cking : inside the business of modern slavery / Siddharth Kara. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 231- 13960- 1 (cloth : alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-231-13961-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)— I S B N 9 7 8 - 0 - 2 3 1 - 5 1 1 3 9 - 1 ( e - b o o k ) 1. Human traffi cking. 2. Human traffi cking—Prevention. 3. Minorities—Crimes against. 4. Minorities—Social conditions. 5. Minorities—Economic conditions. 6. Globalization—Economic conditions. 7. Prostitution. 8. Slavery. 9. Sex- oriented businesses. I. Title. HQ281.K37 2009 364.15—dc22 2008021988 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid- free paper. This book is printed on paper with recycled content. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. Their vessels now had made th’ intended land, And all with joy descend upon the strand; When the false tyrant seiz’d the princely maid, And to a lodge in distant woods convey’d; Pale, sinking, and distress’d with jealous fears, And asking for her sister all in tears. The letcher, for enjoyment fully bent, No longer now conceal’d his base intent; But with rude haste the bloomy girl defl ow’r’d, Tender, defenceless, and with ease o’erpower’d. Her piercing accents to her sire complain, And to her absent sister, but in vain: In vain she importunes, with doleful cries, Each unattentive godhead of the skies. —Ovid, Metamorphoses Contents Preface ix Ac know ledg ments xvii 1. Sex Traffi cking: An Overview 1 2. India and Nepal 45 3. Italy and Western Eu rope 83 4. Moldova and the Former Soviet Union 108 5. Albania and the Balkans 129 6. Thailand and the Mekong Subregion 152 7. The United States 179 8. A Framework for Abolition: Risk and Demand 200 viii contents Appendix A: Selected Tables and Notes 221 Appendix B: Contemporary Slavery Economics 227 Appendix C: Selected Human Development Statistics 259 Notes 263 Works Cited 279 Index 285 Preface After my third research trip into the global sex traffi cking industry, I brooded for twenty- four hours on a fl ight from Mumbai to Los Angeles, wondering how to write this book. Countless faces of torture, savagery, and abject slavery swirled in my mind. I did not know how I would con- vey these stories; I knew only that the truths of the scores of sex slaves I met in brothels, massage parlors, street corners, and apartments across the world must be told, however unpalatable those truths may be. Though I originally intended this book as a systematic narration of my journey into the sex traffi cking industry, a much broader intention began to form in my mind. I realized I wanted to recount a life- altering journey, one that motivated in me a newfound mission to contribute to more success- ful international eff orts to abolish sex traffi cking and all other forms of contemporary slavery. That slavery still exists may surprise some readers, but the practice of violently coerced labor continues to thrive in every corner of the globe. There were 28.4 million slaves in the world at the end of 2006, and there will most likely be a greater number by the time you read this book (see table A.1 for detail). Some are child slaves in India, stolen from their homes and worked sixteen hours a day to harvest the tea that middle- class consumers drink or sew the carpets that adorn their sitting rooms. Others x preface are bonded laborers in South Asia, Latin America, and Africa, who accrue or inherit debts that can never be repaid, no matter how long they work. Slaves in the United States harvest agricultural products: onions, avoca- dos, and corn in Texas, California, Florida, and the Carolinas.