Ground-breaking report documents forced prostitution in Palestinian society

[oberliner]

Palestinian women are being forced into prostitution in both Ramallah and Jerusalem - including in Jewish neighborhoods of the city, according to a report prepared by the Palestinian organization SAWA, which fights violence against women.

The report, released yesterday, says the victims come from various parts of the West Bank - mostly urban areas - as well as the Gaza Strip and Israel.

It also notes that some eastern European women who were originally trafficked to Israel to work as prostitutes are ocassionally sent to the West Bank.

The report reveals that several legally registered hotels and cleaning agencies are doubling as suppliers of sex services.

SAWA's report is ground-breaking, because until now, a conspiracy of silence has existed about prostitution in Palestinian society. It does not pretend to be a comprehensive study of this phenomenon, but its authors hope it will lay the groundwork for such a study.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134036.html

[niyad]

1. too late to rec, but will kick for this important topic

[Jefferson23]

2. That is very sad!

I hope for the sake of the young women this is a rare activity.


**"The report's authors said they found no evidence of an organized, sophisticated human trafficking network. Mostly what they found were private initiatives by Palestinian madams, mostly former prostitutes who are now in their forties of fifties."


"The report does not, however, go into detail about the identity and background of the customers, merely saying that they range from young men to wealthy businessmen."

I am curious as to the identity of the customers too.


This group SAWA, helped with the aftermath of the Gaza massacre.



Adoption and follow up of cases for people who lost there relatives, suffered, witnessed horrible attacks including paramedics who worked in the field and in the hospitals, doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and the volunteers who used to work in the fields, all these beneficiaries with a special attention to the children and women, who are the most vulnerable groups.

http://feministdialogues.isiswomen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100:sawa-intervention-during-the-war-gaza&catid=31:wsf-2009-news-english