Hidden behind the bright, flashing lights, the colorful billboards, and the everyday busy hubbub of the enormous city that we live in, a dirty secret exists. In the dark corners of New York City, a profitable industry thrives: the world of sexual trafficking of over 20,000 women from dozens of countries across the globe. In fact, the United States is considered as the “second highest destination in the world for trafficked women.”1 80% are women and young girls, dislocated from their families and the only communities they had ever known, who are forced into sexual slavery – an industry that the United Nation estimates generates around $7 billion per year.2
Young women, las mujeres de las sombras, “the women of the shadows,” as sex workers, are forced to live in sub-human conditions, often sexually abused and exposed to life-threatening illnesses, and are marginalized within society.
Las mujeres de las sombras is an attempt to tell the story of these displaced women and young girls. While their stories are filled with tragedy and sorrow, one must also remember they are not victims and that another life is possible. Heroes like Somaly Mam, a former sex trafficking victim from Cambodia, was able to escape the violent streets of Phnom Penh and now as a human rights advocate works tirelessly to rescue young girls, as many as 4,000 so far, from the inhumane industry. Young girls from the rural countryside, who even in the same country, when moved to the urban sprawl of Phnom Penh, can feel displaced and dislocated within their very own country - as many people in the sex trafficking industry do, no matter if they are nationally or translationally transported away from their homes.
The project is a series of two piñatas, the colorful paper maché, Mexican folk-art medium. Each piñata represents an aspect of the story of the sex trafficking industry. The first is a stiletto with a chain, representing the reality of sex trafficking and how women are made captives, either physically and/or mentally, in the brothels they service. The second, a piñata made in the shape of a bird, represents the freedom of the young girls and women who were once inside of the industry. This celebrates hope and struggle of women across the world, as sexual trafficking is a global phenomenon, occurring in every major city across the world. This piece intends to bring awareness to inspiring heroes like Somaly Mam, who are fighting for justice and human rights for themselves and Las mujeres de las sombras.
Young women, las mujeres de las sombras, “the women of the shadows,” as sex workers, are forced to live in sub-human conditions, often sexually abused and exposed to life-threatening illnesses, and are marginalized within society.
Las mujeres de las sombras is an attempt to tell the story of these displaced women and young girls. While their stories are filled with tragedy and sorrow, one must also remember they are not victims and that another life is possible. Heroes like Somaly Mam, a former sex trafficking victim from Cambodia, was able to escape the violent streets of Phnom Penh and now as a human rights advocate works tirelessly to rescue young girls, as many as 4,000 so far, from the inhumane industry. Young girls from the rural countryside, who even in the same country, when moved to the urban sprawl of Phnom Penh, can feel displaced and dislocated within their very own country - as many people in the sex trafficking industry do, no matter if they are nationally or translationally transported away from their homes.
The project is a series of two piñatas, the colorful paper maché, Mexican folk-art medium. Each piñata represents an aspect of the story of the sex trafficking industry. The first is a stiletto with a chain, representing the reality of sex trafficking and how women are made captives, either physically and/or mentally, in the brothels they service. The second, a piñata made in the shape of a bird, represents the freedom of the young girls and women who were once inside of the industry. This celebrates hope and struggle of women across the world, as sexual trafficking is a global phenomenon, occurring in every major city across the world. This piece intends to bring awareness to inspiring heroes like Somaly Mam, who are fighting for justice and human rights for themselves and Las mujeres de las sombras.
1. “Ending the Business of Human Trafficking in NYC,” National Organization of Women NYC Fact Sheet, 2010.
2. Ibid.
Part of Art for Change's dis/located group exhibition
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