The Slave Across the Street Essay Example

is described as strained, but loving. She is raised under strict Catholic values. Her neighborhood had a diverse culture, but had a powerful Catholic Arab population, known as Chaldeans. Once settled in Detroit, she begins a flirtatious relationship with Daniel, a Chaldea.

Despite being warned of the dangers of associating with the Chaldeans, she allows him to drive her home one day. Instead, he takes her to his house, drugs and rapes her. She feels guilty and ashamed and doesn’t tell her parents and the police about the rape. The situation worsens when Daniel approaches her and explains that his cousins had taken pictures of the rape and were threatening to release the pictures to her family and friends if she did not have sex with them as well. Petrified of shaming her family and ruining her reputation she agrees to have sex with the cousins.

Unfortunately, this is all a part of an elaborate scheme to force her into sex slavery. For two years she suffered through violent rapes under the threats of harm to her family. Eventually, she is able to escape the life, but only due to her father’s job transfer. The book goes onto explain the the struggles of the author to experiences as she come to terms with what happened to her. Strengths The Slave Across the Street, shows that sex trafficking is not a problem for those in far off lands, but is in fact occurring right her in America—everyday to young people who feel there is no escape.

This book spreads awareness to a growing concern over sex trafficking all over the world. According to research conducted by the US Trafficking

in Persons report, approximately 80 percent of victims trafficked across international borders were females and an alarming 70 percent are trafficked for sexual exploitation (US Department of State, 2008). Although Theresa was not moved to or from a foreign land, she was still a victim of trafficking as ‘human trafficking for sexual exploitation takes many forms, including forced prostitution” (Lee, 2011).

Theresa’s story also demonstrated a form of debt-bondage that often ensnarls trafficking victims—forcing slaves to work off, an often unspecified, debt to their captors. Victims portrayed in Half the Sky also face similar issues with debt bondage. Rath, a 15 year old from Cambodian girl, was promised a job in a restaurant in Thailand, but was instead forced to work as a prostitute in order to pay off ‘debts’ incurred from her travels (Kristof & WuDunn, 2010). Theresa’s story also reflects those of girls and boys all over the world force into slave labor through threats of violence and shame.

Flores admits she did not tell her parent about the initial rape out for fear she would be blamed and continued to hide her abuse out of fear that her family would be harmed. Her shame was intensified by her Catholic values, but similar values are shared all over the world. In Punjab, and provenance in Pakistan, it is expected for girls to commit suicide in order to “cleanse herself and her family of shame” (Kristof & WuDunn, 2010). Weaknesses Although, Flores attempt so show another type of sex trafficking, It may be too far of an extreme for many to grasp more believe.

The idea of a well-off, Catholic, White girl could be trafficking in her

own neighborhood—under the noses of her family, friends, and teachers—it hard to believe. This is a point Flores acknowledges and defends almost unnecessarily. Her adamant defense of herself, her story, and decisions detract from the impact of the book and could possibly cause more doubt, rather than less. The blame she places on those that should have protected her is also off-putting. Flores rightfully blames the school staff for ignoring the signs of abuse, yet she defends her parents for noticing her depressed state, her floundering grades, and late night departures.

This is a bad message to send to readers and victims. No one should be allowed off the hook for not noticing clear signs of abuse. In situations such as Theresa, parents play a large role in the prevention of exploitation and must remain attentive and vigilant. Also, if more emphasis on the importance of seeking out help were used the conclusion would have had a much strong impact on readers and victims. Theresa had had several opportunities to reach out for help, but did not out of fear. Police, for the large part, our significantly more inform than they were in the 1980’s, the message to seek help should have received greater importance.

Conclusion: One to two paragraphs identifying and explaining what you found most interesting and intriguing about the book and how that relates to your overall understanding of human trafficking. Bibliography * Flores, T. (2010). The slave across the street. Boise, ID: Ampelon Publishing. * Kristof, N. D. , & WuDunn, S. (2010). Half the sky, turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. (1st ed. ). New York: Vintage. * Lee, M. (2011).

Trafficking and global crime control. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. * US Department of State (2008) Trafficking in persons report 2008. Washington, DC: US Department of State.