There are an estimated 31,000 people living in condition of modern slavery in Israel (GSI 2018). Women from Eastern Europe, China and Ghana, as well as Eritream men and women are subjected to sex trafficking in Israel. People are often lured through the promise of seemingly legitimate jobs, only to be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation upon arrival.
Lena tells of her experience of sexual exploitation as she was being trafficked across the Egyptian border with Israel.
When we arrived at the border, we stopped beside a peach orchard. The Bedouins hosted us, served us tea. We sat there about an hour, until they began physically forcing us to provide them with sexual services. Each time they took a different woman to the side and forced her to provide sexual services, and even raped her.
They tested us, touching our chests. They asked me if I had ever given birth, yes or no. In other words, what interested them was our bodies…
Narrative provided by ATZUM – Justice Works