The International Herald Tribune reports this very disturbing story of three Emirati men who raped a French teenager in Dubai:

DUBAI: Alexandre Robert, a French 15-year-old, was having a dream summer in this tourist paradise on the Gulf. It was Bastille Day, and he and a classmate had escaped the July heat at the beach for an air-conditioned arcade.

Just after sunset, Alex was rushing to meet his father for dinner when he bumped into an acquaintance, a 17-year-old native-born student at the American school, who said he and his cousin could drop Alex off.

There were, in fact, three Emirati men in the car, including a pair of former convicts, aged 35 and 18. They drove Alex past his house and into a dark patch of desert, between a row of new villas and a power plant, took away his cellphone, threatened him with a knife and a club and told him they would kill his family members if he ever reported them.

Then, Alex says, they stripped off his pants and one by one sodomized him in the back seat of the car. They dumped Alex on the side of the road across from one of Dubai’s luxury hotel towers.

Alex and his family were about to learn that despite Dubai’s status as the Arab world’s paragon of modernity and wealth, its legal system remains a perilous gantlet when it comes to homosexuality and legal protection of foreigners.

The authorities not only discouraged Alex from pressing charges, he says; they have left open the possibility of charging Alex with criminal homosexual activity, and neglected to inform him or his parents that one of his attackers had tested HIV positive while in prison four years earlier.

“They tried to smother this story,” Alex said by phone from Switzerland, where he fled a month into his 10th grade, fearing a jail term in Dubai if charged with homosexual activity. “Dubai, they say we build the highest towers, they have the best hotels. But all the news, they hide it. They don’t want the world to know that Dubai still lives in the Middle Ages.”

United Arab Emirates law does not recognize rape of males, only a crime called “forced homosexuality.” The two adult men charged with molesting Alex appeared in court Wednesday, and will face trial before a three-judge panel on Nov. 7. The third, a minor, will be tried in juvenile court. Men convicted of sexually assaulting other men usually serve sentences ranging from a few months to two years, legal experts here say.

Read the rest of the story here.

So much for the “land of opportunities.”

Posted in Rape, UAE | No Comments

Reported for the AP news by Omar Sinan:

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Iraqi women jump onto the stage at the al-Rawabi club, their long black hair swinging, their young faces caked with makeup. Iraqi pop music booms out as they sway and dance under strobe lights.

Nearby, a woman nicknamed At’outa meets her paying dates — men who hand over $90 a night for companionship and sex.

This club in northwest Damascus represents one of the most troubling aspects of the Iraqi refugee crisis — Iraqi women and girls who are turning to prostitution to survive in countries that have taken them in but won’t let them or their families work at most other jobs.

No reliable figures of Iraqi prostitutes exist, but an increase in the number of Iraqi women seen in recent months in clubs and on the streets of Damascus, Amman and other cities suggests the problem is growing as more Iraqis flee their country’s violence.

Most of the Iraqi women at the al-Rawabi club appeared to be in their late teens and early 20s although some were older. While some danced on stage, about a half-dozen others strolled around the tables, smiling at men and inviting offers to sit down for a drink.

Ayman al-Halaqi, a club manager here, said Iraqi dancers are cheaper to hire than Syrians. Back home, even dancing in a skimpy costume would be considered shameful. Iraqi women who go beyond that can earn 10 times more from a single encounter with a client than by working a full day as a housemaid.

Read the rest of the article here.

Posted in Syria, Iraq, War | 1 Comment

From PBS Frontline:

Four years ago, I began a photo project on the sex trafficking of young women in Eastern Europe. I interviewed and photographed girls who had escaped. Some had been trafficked to Turkey and Russia. Others were taken as far as the United Arab Emirates, lured by the promise of legitimate jobs and a brighter future. Once they arrived in the new country, they were priced and sold, and their documents taken away. The young women told me they were forced to service mechanics, soldiers, priests, butchers, tourists, and even U.N. personnel who were supposed to protect them.

I grew up in Eastern Europe and met Vika on my second reporting trip to Moldova. (You can hear Vika’s story in the FlashPoint slideshow, Moldova: The Price of Sex.) She told me she had been trafficked to Dubai, at times serving 30 clients a day. She quickly learned the only English words necessary to keep her owner from hitting her: “How much?” and “With or without plastic?” Once, without plastic, her luck ran out and she got pregnant. It didn’t matter. Her pimp kept her working for the duration of her pregnancy.

After hearing Vika’s stories, Dubai became a place I felt I had to see to understand.

Read the rest of the article here.

Posted in UAE, Human trafficking, Eastern Europeans, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | No Comments

Gulf Daily News reports this morning:

A HUMAN rights society is stepping up its campaign to combat sex trafficking in Bahrain through the Internet.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is already investigating the perpetrators behind websites that are offering sex to customers here and in other Gulf countries, and now with the same technology it hopes to help solve the problem.

It believes raising awareness about sex trafficking and offering victims a way out are the keys to making a difference.

The society plans to approach companies, bloggers, recruiters, organisations and others to post on their website a banner in various languages that will contain information about sex trafficking and useful contacts for victims.

Similar information will be sent through an e-mail campaign.

The society also hopes to produce a film exposing sex trafficking in Bahrain.

“I want this issue to be discussed in the community, on websites and in the media,” said BYSHR president Mohammed Al Maskati.

“We opened the file and will continue to work on this. We want to do something to help these women.”

The move follows the group’s discovery that women from Europe, Middle East and Asia were being brought to Bahrain and advertised for sex through more than 50 Arabic and English websites.

The BYSHR’s investigation found more than 1,000 pictures of girls who were all below the age of 25.

The main website advertising sex in Bahrain is based in the US, but the GCC co-ordinator is thought to be operating from here, noted Mr Al Maskati.

It has more than 13,500 members, which includes pimps, prostitutes and customers.

“We are monitoring the sites and found within just two days 1,200 members had been added,” he told the GDN.

“Now we are starting to see websites advertising sex in Bahrain that are established Africa.”

Mr Al Maskati said Bahrain’s amnesty scheme that allows illegal workers and residents to leave the country without penalty is an ideal opportunity for victims of sex trafficking to free themselves.

However, he said, some of these women were unaware of the scheme and even if they knew about it they were prevented from going.

“Some women don’t know about amnesty, they don’t have access to a newspaper or TV, or speak Arabic or English, so how would they know where the ministry and police are?

“Also the women may owe the sponsor money for her ticket and visa and will be forced to pay him back before he lets them go.”

Mr Al Maskati called for authorities to implement a better monitoring system of expatriate workers in Bahrain.

He said authorities needed to conduct thorough checks to ensure expatriates were employed in the job for which they had been issued a visa.

“Someone called me to say an Indian sponsor had married an Indian women and brought her to Bahrain so she could work as a prostitute and every month she has to give him BD200.

“There are also some Bahrainis who marry four women and create a small network advertising them for sex.”

Anyone with information about sex trafficking through the Internet in Bahrain and the Gulf, or who needs help, should contact Mr Al Maskati on 39813867

Cross-posted on the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

Posted in Human trafficking, Reports, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | 1 Comment

Following up on this previous report, BYSHR notes:

The second report on Human Trafficking case
By: Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

August 15th, 2007

Introduction:

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) has recently published its first report on “Human Trafficking in Bahrain” (1). The report referred to Human Trafficking gangsters interested in misusing women all over Bahrain. One of the regular visitors of chatting websites told BYSHR about his own experience and how he discovered that they are prostitution websites. The moderators of these websites offered him girls for sex from Bahrain and from all over the world.

BYSHR believes that the prostitution business is organized by local networks in Bahrain that have strong ties with international networks. They provide prostitution service via the Internet. Therefore, BYSHR will continue its struggle to eliminate such networks by unveiling the files of “Human Trafficking – Sexual Misuse of Women” in Bahrain. The association shall reveal all the information it holds about sexual misuse of women on the World Wide Web.

How do women are misused for trafficking:

The victims coming from foreign countries are seduced with tricky plans. Usually, they arrive to Bahrain with gratefulness to those who brought them here. They can hardly identify where they exist because of their incapacity to use the local language. They do not have any one to resort to when the “Human Trafficking” hide their passports and identity documents. Then, they are seduced by offering to upgrade their living standard, provide appropriate job vacancy, and ensure a better future to their families in their origin countries.

Read the rest of the entry.

Posted in Human trafficking, Reports, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | 1 Comment

According to Gulf Daily News:

A BAHRAIN human rights group has launched an investigation to unmask the perpetrators behind more than 35 websites offering sex to customers here and in other Gulf countries.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) president Mohammed Al Maskati said they were concerned about women who were being brought here on promises of lawful employment only to find themselves victims of sexual exploitation.

He said women from Europe, Middle East and Asia were being advertised for sex through more than 35 Arabic and English websites.

One of the main websites, he said, was based in the US, but the GCC co-ordinator was thought to be operating from Bahrain.

“We found that it is more difficult to access these sites in countries such as the UAE and Kuwait, but they are easily accessible from Bahrain,” he told the GDN. “We think the co-ordinator is from Bahrain, but we don’t yet know who it is.

“We know the network is registered in the US but we think there is an agency in Bahrain because girls living in Juffair, Manama and Adliya are being advertised for sex.

“Our team found more than 1,000 pictures of girls who were all below the age of 25.

“We think there is a Bahraini girl on the website, but we can’t confirm this because they only use nicknames.”

Read rest of the entry.

Posted in Human trafficking, Asia, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | 1 Comment

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights just published a report concerning human trafficking within Bahrain. It first introduces the problem as a very grave one, and then goes on to highlight a way in which local “gangs” are possibly using the internet for sexual exploitation:

The start – finding them:

“There are websites for dating between females and males in different countries all over the world. Some of these websites are interested in Gulf countries, including Bahrain. On one of these websites, there are more than 1000 photos for young ladies from different nationalities. Most of them are under 25 years-old,” (M.H.) told Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR).

“I signed up at one of these websites and I was happy to find a way to contact girls in Bahrain and in other countries so easily. When I reviewed the website, I found dozens of photos for various girls. I did not expect to see photos for naked girls. That is why I wonder how come this website is only for dating,” M.H added.

Websites:

BYSHR - with the help of a web navigation specialist – succeeded to discover the countries which launch such websites. BYSHR reached a conclusion that most of these websites are operated from the United States of America with nick names; so that the webmasters may not be arrested for Trafficking in human.

Advertising websites:

M.H told BYSHR that “some Arab and non-Arab websites – the nonsexual ones – post pop-up advertisements. These advertisements only appear when the user clicks a certain link. They include photos for naked girls and under the photo a sentence saying that they want to have sex. Most of the locations shown in these photos are in Bahrain.”

The report concludes with the following demands, which we wholeheartedly support:

BYSHR Demands:

1. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for unveiling the sources that misuse girls for prostitution in Bahrain.

2. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for legislating new laws to eliminate Trafficking in human in Bahrain, particularly those related to sexually misusing women.

3. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for discovering how such girls can access Bahrain to do their prostitution business.

Read the rest of the report here.

Posted in Human trafficking, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | 1 Comment

Gulf News:

Dubai: Police are investigating whether the door of a flat where a club dancer died when a fire broke out on Monday night was locked.

Aaina Malek, a Pakistani dancer, died in the apartment when the fire broke out as she could not escape. Another girl, Lucky, who was also trapped in the fire, was rescued by neighbours after they broke the door open.

“We are investigating the case,” said a senior police official.

He said that locking people up is a criminal offence and legal action can be taken against them.

The death of Aaina could have been averted if the flat had not been locked, said witnesses.

Two Pakistani girls, Aaina and Lucky (their stage names), were trapped and could not escape the flames because they did not have the key, Gulf News has learned.

Left behind for a rest

Aaina’s original name was Sana’a Malek while Lucky’s real name is Tahira Hajjab. Both are from Karachi.

Aaina was 19 and had been performing in Dubai for the last year and a half.

“While all the girls had been taken to perform in the club, both of them were supposed to join them later because they wanted to rest a bit after their flight for visa change on Monday evening,” a close friend of the girls told Gulf News.

“They normally keep the girls, who perform in dance clubs, locked in their flats during the day for ’safety’ reasons,” said a dancer, who works at another club.

“It is quite common and the management of many Indian and Pakistani night-clubs follows the same practice.

“We are taken to clubs around 8pm and brought back to flats after 3am when the clubs close. We are not allowed to go anywhere. We are given food in the flat and we live like prisoners,” she said.

Several girls and employees of other clubs also confirmed this.

When contacted, the management of the club refused to comment.

“We have given information to police. It is not our fault. Come with legal papers if you want information from us,” one of the top managers told Gulf News. The same management runs similar clubs in some other hotels in Bur Dubai and Deira.

The dance club where Aaina performed was closed for the last two nights.

Kiran, a bar dancer at a Deira club, said that there had been many incidents when girls have fallen sick but could not get the much needed medical attention on time.

“Such an incident was expected. We are always scared because we cannot get out of flats during an emergency,” she said.

There are more than 150 Asian dance clubs in Dubai where hundreds of girls perform every night. They are mainly brought from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

They normally come on a three-month visit visa and their visas are renewed if their performance is appreciated by customers, otherwise they are sent back.

“They are paid hefty salaries and a good performer earns up to Dh8,000 to Dh15,000 per month apart from gifts from customers,” said a manager of a night club.

Posted in UAE, Human trafficking | No Comments

According to Reuters:

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has criticised U.S. charges that it is guilty of human trafficking, saying a U.S. State Department report was misleading and ignored Saudi efforts to stamp out the practice.

Saudi Arabia was among 16 countries listed in an annual report released last month on the world’s worst offenders in failing to prevent people being sold into the sex trade and servitude.

The countries are subject to possible sanctions, including the loss of U.S. aid and U.S. support for World Bank and International Monetary Fund loans.

Withholding loans and aid is not a concern for Saudi Arabia, whose economy is booming on high oil prices, but the Islamic state is trying to shed its image as a human rights abuser.

“Examining the American report on human trafficking, we felt that it was misleading … It contains descriptions, opinions and understandings that are not necessarily true,” Turky Al Sudairy, head of the government’s Human Rights Commission said in a statement published in Saudi newspapers.

“While we accept that there are some who mistreat (domestic) workers, and this is not acceptable, there are laws that stipulate punishment and the Commission will not hesitate to reveal practices and violations.”

Around a third of Saudi Arabia’s 24 million population are foreign residents, mostly blue-collar workers from Asian countries. Over a million work as housemaids, and reports of abuse are common. Saudi employers often retain their passports.

Sudairy said the authorities had taken stringent measures to regulate the labor market, which he said was subject to abuse by recruitment agencies. He said Saudi Arabia has laws to prevent child labor.

“The efforts being exerted have not finished yet and we cannot claim such a thing,” Sudairy said.

“Cooperation before writing reports would help to make many things clearer and lead to more objectivity and precision, since the (U.S.) report ignored recent developments.”

Posted in Reports, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | No Comments

Sahar Al Haideri, a Mosul-based reporter who was murdered there last month, reported the following story recently featured in the Middle East Times:

MOSUL, Iraq — Asma’s family was facing dire financial problems when a man in his 60s came to her father with an offer that they could not refuse: he said that he would hire Asma for $200 a month to help take care of his wife, who was handicapped.

Asma’s mother is blind and her father is disabled, leaving them struggling to make ends meet. The man assured the couple that Asma could visit them, and that he would raise her with his daughters. The impoverished family took him up on the offer, but Asma, 17, had no idea what was in store for her.

“My work was not only in the kitchen; I had to have sex with [the] son of the man who hired me and his four or five friends,” she said in an interview after fleeing a life of sexual slavery. “I left my father’s house a virgin and now I am …”

She stopped speaking. Her father said nothing except, “I put my trust in God.”

The deteriorating security situation and absence of law and order has allowed sexual slavery to grow in Iraq, with traffickers able to sell victims without fear of punishment.

According to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, issued in June, Iraqi women and children are forced into prostitution and trafficked inside Iraq and abroad, to countries like Syria, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran.

In the volatile northwestern city of Mosul, near the Syrian border, girls and young women from poor and illiterate families are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Many of those hired as domestic servants end up becoming sex slaves.

Khaled, 45, who readily admits to involvement in the sex trade, wears jeans and a yellow T-shirt with four or five rings on his fingers and bracelets around his wrist. This reporter witnessed him speaking to a client about whether he preferred a brown or white girl or woman as a sex slave.

“I know some families who are ready to have their daughters work to earn a living for them,” he said. “Some ask me if [their daughters] can only work in kitchens, while others try to close their eyes and pretend that they have no idea that their daughters are being used as prostitutes.”

Other women seek Khaled out on their own, but do not always know the full extent of his business.

Zaineb, 20, is a thin and beautiful woman with light-coloured hair. She felt financially responsible for her family because her father was arrested by the US military, her mother was ill, and she had younger sisters that needed support. Zaineb got a job through Khaled, but to her horror discovered that she had been forced into prostitution.

“I [have to] sleep with different men each night,” said Zaineb, who managed to contact IWPR. “[My boss] and his friends always take me to a farm, where they get drunk, and then have sex with me. I cry, asking for help from my father and mother, but how can they hear me?”

Victims of sexual slavery in Iraq have little support from the police or the courts. Iraqi law only criminalizes the sexual exploitation of children.

Many women are tricked into sex slavery in Iraq with the promise of a new life in the Gulf.

Khaled convinced 18-year-old Alia’s family that a man in the Gulf wanted to marry her, and paid for her passport and new clothes.

“Like any other bride, I was happy,” she said. “But I discovered after I traveled to the Gulf that the bridegroom was a nightclub manager who used many other Iraqi girls for prostitution. I managed to flee after 10 humiliating months.

“I was screaming when one of [the men] had sex with me; they considered me a slave that they had bought. I lost my dreams, hopes, and future.”

The state department report noted that the Iraqi government did not prosecute any trafficking cases this year, nor did it offer protection for victims or make efforts to prevent or document trafficking. It also said that efforts needed to be made to “curb the complicity of public officials in the trafficking of Iraqi women.”

The names of people mentioned in this story have been changed to protect their identity.

Posted in Iraq, Slavery, War, Sex trade, Prostitution - Gulf | 1 Comment