The catalogue could continue. We are confronting what can only be called the modern form of slavery. Millions of people are being denied the most basic of human rights. They are suffering from physical abuse. Their dignity as human beings is stolen.
Every victim has a story to tell.
But very many of these tragic stories never get told because of fear. A very important aspect of the Palermo Convention and the Protocols is their emphasis on the protection of witnesses and victims. A prostitute being held in a form of debt bondage is unlikely to go to the authorities for help. The result would be punishment in some cases death at the hands of the criminal group that has taken charge of her life. That is only one part of the threat to her.