When Yes Actually Means No

It is said that sex slavery can be permissible if it is for the “greater good” – if it was to support a family financially. The main objection that this point receives is that a lot of the time prostitution is not voluntary, and the prostituted women are then subject so various diseases. An objection to that objection is that some women are fine with it, and that they technically have rights because they are allowed to turn down customers if they so please, and can even earn a lot of money.

I think that in either case, sex slavery is still morally impermissible, because I don’t think that at any point is it truly voluntary. In the readings, specifically the ones involving Srey Neth and Srey Mom, one shows her hatred for what she was reduced to doing, while the other feigns resentment, but ultimately returns to it. While it looks like some women may actually be okay with prostitution, I think that Srey Mom is extremely disillusioned. By the time that the journalist had found her, she was practically a veteran. The article even says that she had very little education coming into this kind of profession.

Even though she returned to the brothel on her own accord, I think it was largely because after spending 4 years as a prostitute, it became the only thing that she knew, and perhaps there was a certain attachment, because of the amount of time she had invested in it. And realistically speaking, it is actually a lot easier to stay in the brothel (because she was already used to it) than to go out and fend for yourself, from scratch. She is familiar with how the brothel works; she has fewer things to worry about because everything has already been thought of for her. This girl probably has abysmal knowledge of what the outside has to offer, and was probably fearful of how hard she would have to work, especially when she knows nothing of this environment she was put in. I think this especially shows when she is reluctant to go back to her parents. There are a lot of things she has to face as soon as she leaves the brothel. I don’t think any human being, even one who has it easier in life, can ever handle that much emotional turmoil in such a short span of time.

This is different from Srey Neth because she was only there for a shorter time, and could still find it in herself to carry out and get herself out of there. She was not there long enough to get used it. Not everyone has this kind of mental toughness. I think it takes a lot to get out of whatever situation you are in.

This may be a stupid example, but I think this is also why Sea World cannot put Tilikum (the Orca or Killer Whale) back into the ocean because he cannot fend for himself anymore. Because of the Sea World environment, and the lack of pressure in the water that Tilikum swims it, he has a flopped dorsal fin. If I’m not mistaken, the fin should be upright because of the water pressure from the ocean that is evidently absent in a giant aquarium. While it is obviously the right thing to do to put tilikum back in the ocean where he belongs, they can’t really do that because he would not be able to survive, or even if he could, it would involve an enormous amount of effort – effort that he might not have.

Similarly, Srey Mom, having everything taken away from her, probably does not have it in her to try. Already as it is, she has zero self-esteem. It seems wrong to use her decisions as a gauge of whether or not prostitution can ever voluntary because she is not really in a position to say that she is, even if she is still okay with it. I feel like if you’re exposed to something for so long, and it doesn’t seem to be damaging, it doesn’t mean that is isn’t. If you’re hit on the head constantly every single day, after a while you stop feeling the pain from the blows, but your brain is still getting the damage, only you can’t tell. Srey Mom is able to adapt to her life as a prostitute out of survival – she didn’t really have a choice but to get used to it.

This leads me to the idea of consent. While consent is being agreeable to certain terms and informed consent is knowing exactly what you’re getting yourself into, I don’t know if consent really counts as any kind of consent if there is a better alternative especially if you do not know about this alternative. In the case of a lot of prostitutes whose social group probably consists of other prostitutes and whoever who hires them, I think it is easier for them to be consenting because the alternatives aren’t clear. Not that they know that they don’t have to go into this kind of work, but more so that a lot of people around the world have not gone through this kind of work, and probably never have to ever. And when it something that you see a lot of your peers doing, it makes you believe that that you only have two choices (to go into or not), not realizing that it shouldn’t ever be a choice you have to make.

*edit* I also think that even for the prostitutes who do get to turn down customers if they see fit it still doesn't show the same kind of consent that there is with something like casual sex. With casual sex, sex only happens when the person who is engaging in casual sex wants it, and when they find a partner their either find attractive or are willing to do it with. Whereas for prostitution, it's a profession. The person doesn't have a choice, because they are depending on it to support themselves. Being able to turn down certain customers may sound like a privilege, but in reality, I'm sure that prostitutes have a very high tolerance, and don't exactly look forward to engaging in physical activity with every single customer, but do it anyway because it's their job. I don't know too much about the sex industry, but I feel like there is a quota that have to fulfill daily in order to make a living.