Emancipating Twenty-First-Century Slaves (Half The Sky Chap. 1) #sjbc

This post is part of the April Social Justice Book Club. This week we are discussing Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuKygSFJBYs

Conversation Questions for Chapter One:

The authors list the reasons for the rise of sex slavery as the fall of communism, globalization, and AIDS. Were you aware that sexual slavery exists today? Would you add anything to this list? Were you surprised by any of these reasons?

“In a town where police officers, government officials, Hindu priests, and respectable middle class citizens all averted their eyes from forced prostitution, the only audible voice of conscience belonged to an eleven year old boy who was battered each time he spoke up.” Do you see parallels between this situation and the parable of the Good Samaritan? What differences do you see?

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“They may not speak to me, but I know what is right and I will stick to it. I will never accept prostitution of myself or my children as long as I breathe.”

Where does Meena’s knowledge of right and wrong come from? Where does she get the strength to stand in opposition to entire communities, law enforcement, etc?

“Rescuing girls from brothels is important, Krishner believes, but the best way to save them is to prevent them from being trafficked in the firs t place—which means keeping them in school.” Do you agree that education is the best way to prevent trafficking? Do believe girls in the United States should be educated about the risks of sexual trafficking? What about the girls in your community? What about the girls in your family? What can you say to them to minimize their risk?

Source: The above questions come from the organization Global Women.

Please share with us your responses to the questions above or any thoughts or questions you have about the issue of sex-slavery in the comments section below.

The Social Justice Book Club is a project of Independence Rock Group: Center for Faith, Ethics, and Social Justice. Please consider supporting the Social Justice Book Club and our other projects. Find other posts about the Book Club and Half the Sky here.

Emancipating Twenty-First-Century Slaves (Half the Sky Chap. 1) #sjbc