Hearing a Voice: Reframing the Issue of Sex Trafficking in the Iraqi Legal System and Society

Summary: Sex trafficking is a widespread problem for women and girls in Iraq. For sex trafficking victims, currently their voice is silenced under the law, society typically views them as prostitutes, and limited social resources exist once they are free. War News Radio’s Sabrina Merold spoke to Sherizaan Minwala, an expert on the sex trafficking of women and girls in Iraq about how honor codes predispose women to become victims of sex-trafficking, why combatting sex-trafficking is not a priority in Iraq, and what could be done to change sex trafficking in the Iraqi legal system and in society. WARNING: this piece contains discussions of rape.