Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is attaching the right of ownership over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. Sexual slavery may also involve single-owner sexual slavery ; ritual slavery , sometimes associated with certain religious practices, such as ritual servitude in Ghana , Togo and Benin ; slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes but where non-consensual sexual activity is common; or forced prostitution.
Concubinage was a traditional form of sexual slavery in many cultures, in which women spent their lives in sexual servitude. In some cultures, concubines and their children had distinct rights and legitimate social positions. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action calls for an international effort to make people aware of sexual slavery, sexual slavery is an abuse of human rights. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO , with the cooperation of various international agencies.
The Rome Statute which defines the crimes over which the International Criminal Court may have jurisdiction encompasses crimes against humanity Article 7 which include "enslavement" Article 7.
It also defines sexual enslavement as a war crime and a breach of the Geneva Conventions when committed during an international armed conflict Article 8. The text of the Rome Statute does not explicitly define sexual enslavement, but does define enslavement as "the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children" Article 7.
In the commentary on the Rome Statute, [6] Mark Klamberg states: [7] [8]. Sexual slavery is a particular form of enslavement which includes limitations on one's autonomy, freedom of movement and power to decide matters relating to one's sexual activity. Thus, the crime also includes forced marriages , domestic servitude or other forced labor that ultimately involves forced sexual activity.
