Woman, Child For Sale

by Gilbert King, Eleanor Clift (Foreword)

Every year, there are more than 4 million victims of human trafficking around the world, from forced prostitution and pornography, to sweatshop and migrant labor. Some estimates put the figure at 50,000 human slaves living in the United States, through fraud, coercion and outright kidnapping, prompting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to claim that the United States is determined to stop "this appalling assault on the dignity of men, women and children."

But Powell made those remarks back in 2002 and, if anything, human trafficking is on the rise around the world. Today's slave trade is estimated to generate more than $7 billion in annual revenues--all of it "exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable," according to President George Bush, who has pledged millions of U.S. dollars to support organizations working to free these slaves.

Woman, Child--For Sale examines the horrors of these black market operations that kidnap and purchase women and children and move them across borders, erasing their identities and forcing them into a ruinous life of slavery. The book takes an in-depth look

* Personal Stories of Rescued Sex Slaves and Survivors
* The New Slave Who are they?
* The World's Worst Human Trafficking Offenders
* Fighting the New Slave Trade

Woman, Child--For Sale details the explosive and heartbreaking stories behind the nameless, statistical nightmare that is human slavery in the 21st century.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 31, 2004

About the author

Gilbert Anthony King is an American writer and photographer.

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[rinabeana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for my book club. I finished it, but I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. In fact, it only took me two days to read it because it goes very quickly. This may be due in part to the fact that it's extremely repetitive. In fact, the same sentences are recycled verbatim in one section (as if it isn't enough to explain three categories at the beginning and then refer to them by name instead of describing them again in each case). By the time I got to the appendices I felt like I was reading a fifth grade history book. It didn't seem to have been proofread since there were typos such as misspellings and sentences out of order. I have little respect for this.

Bad writing aside, the substance of the book didn't have the effect on me that I think was intended. Don't get me wrong, I find human trafficking utterly appalling and I completely agree that something should be done about it. For a book that claims to be "a call to action" it was lacking about a few important points. It felt dispassionate and naive at the same time. I didn't get a good handle on what current legislation on human trafficking covers at this time. It seems that it is relatively non-existent in many problem countries, but I was a little unclear on the statutes in the U.S. Even if there are laws against human trafficking, they are clearly not being enforced effectively. This was outlined as part of the problem, but the solution in other countries seemed to be passing legislation. In the current system of complicity by law enforcement, this will have no effect whatsoever. I don't have a good solution to this awful problem, but I'm not sure Gilbert King does either.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There are thousands more horror stories of human slavery each year in the United States. Many of these incidents stay below the radar of the mainstream media because they don't involve U.S. citizens. Or because the media continues, out of ignorance, to use the wrong word to describe teenage girls who are kidnapped, smuggled across borders, beaten, and raped into submission and forced into sexual slavery. The media calls them "prostitutes"--and in one quick breath, empathy, outrage, and the most basic human rights are obliterated."

This made me excited to read the book. However, the book did not live up to my expectations. I felt like it was dry. There was a great deal of information, but it was presented in a repetitive way. Also, the author did not address the media and their impact on the slave trade each year. I was hoping for more. I would recommend the books to increase awareness of this detestable culture.

[Feisty Harriet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, I wanted it to move me and change me the way several of the other books I’ve read on the topic of the degradation of women have…and this book failed. It started out strong enough, but quickly devolved into a mess of terrible stories (they are supposed to be terrible, there is nothing light or happy or fluffy about women being sold or kidnapped into sexual slavery) but the author was not a capable enough writer to do them any justice whatsoever. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but after reading Half the Sky this book seems like a footnote in a boring newsletter. Not awesome, please skip.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't personal accounts of people who were trafficked- this is more of a starting point to learn about trafficking. King included some accounts of actual trafficking but it was much more about actual numbers and statistics.
Being that this is the first book I've read on the subject it was perfect for me. From the kind of books I'm used to reading I would have liked it better had it been more personal- I wanted to know details of actual accounts- not a broad perspective but that's for another book. I'd recommend to someone trying to learn more about the subject- it's horrifying what we don't know.

[Traci Medeiros · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sort of just stumbled upon this read... think Borders sale bins. At any rate it wasn't horrible. The information was definitely there it just wasn't in a very interesting, insightful, or groundbreaking package. It was sort of a THS Investigates version of this subject. However, I think that for someone not too familiar with everything going on it might serve as a good start to just getting the idea out there that this type of traffic is, unfortunately, alive and well, and a lot closer to our backyards than many of us might realize.

[Victoria (hotcocoaandbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only helpful information I received from this book was about the Tier 1-3 information. Otherwise I didn't really get much out of it. The examples they gave of former slaves did not get you attached in any way. I did enjoy learning some of the former slave history though. I highly recommend NOT FOR SALE as a read if you want to learn a lot more about human trafficking. This book was too short really. I didn't get sucked into it as much as other human trafficking books

[Erin Dobrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in awe, I cried, and I sat for hours thinking about how this could have gone on for so long & to such an extent without everyone knowing about it until just recently. It has begun to capture a more public audience, however, we are nowhere near where we need to be in order to feel completely safe and know that it won't, in some way, touch our lives personally - what if one of these women was your daughter????

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part of the book is interesting. It helps explains all the reasons for trafficking. The mass of countries involved. It starts to explain how people sometimes become victims, but doesn't delve into that too much. It also explains some of the laws that treat the victims as bad or worse than the traffickers.

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book about child and sex slavery. It gives many true examples of life in this enviornment and the loss and hardship that comes with it.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn't quite get through it all. wasn't what i was hoping it would be - would like to find some other resources on trafficking.

[Britanny · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is a water down policy book but good for awareness. five stars because everyone should read it and be aware.