Cause and Effect: The Growing Trend of

Trafficking of Women on the World Wide Web

Joann Natalia Aquino, Graduate Student

Evolution and Trends in Digital Media TechnologiesCOM 538

Department of Communication

University of Washington

Objectives

Examine the growing trend of the Mail-Order Bride websites in the World Wide Web which promotes trafficking of women.

Focus on the social issues of the Mail-Order Bride Internet industry featuring women from the Third-World countries .

Operational Definitions

Picture Brides- during the first two decades of the 20th century, “Picture Brides” were known as the Japanese and Korean women who immigrated to United States by marrying men in America whom they have only seen in photographsMail-Order Bride (MOB)- a contemporary form of trafficking of women; a type of activity that range from voluntary or facilitated migration to exploit women, to the exploitation of prostitution for certain exploitative purposes.

“Mail-Order Bride” #1 ranking definition when searched on the web: “The best way to get an Asian wife without being Asian. $3.50! for a mail order bride? Good Lord that’s a lot of money.” (www.urbandictionary.com, 11/17/03)Trafficking of Women- the recruitment, transport, or sale of human beings for the purpose of exploiting their labor or exploiting the person. The trafficking of persons includes bonded sweatshop labor, forced marriage, forced prostitution, domestic servitude, and other types of coerced or exploited services.Exploitation- the perversion, prostitution, demoralization, misrepresentation, profiteering, misuse, mistreatment, cruel treatment, corruption, and abuse of someone or something. Third-World Countries- countries that are underdeveloped in the world, many of which are located in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

Evolution: The Past

Parallel of the Picture Brides and Mail-Order BridesDuring the first two decades of the twentieth century, “Picture Brides” were known as Japanese and Korean women who immigrated to the United States due to the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907-1908, which prohibited the further emigration of Japanese laborers but allowed wives and families to join Japanese already in the United States. Based on the “omaiai-kekkon” or the custom of arranged marriages, women in Japan and Korea exchanged photographs with prospective husbands in the United States, had their names entered into their spouse's family registers, and then applied for passports to join husbands they had never met. Many picture brides, misled by visions of wealth and photographs of more youthful versions of their new husbands, were deeply disappointed upon their arrival in the United States. Unwary of the backbreaking labor, the harsh living conditions, and the cultural adjustments, many had a hard time adjusting to their new life, though many also stayed and made the best of the situation, working alongside their husbands in the fields or in family business while helping to establish family life in their new country.

Evolution: The Present

Mail-Order Brides can now be purchased on the Internet:The web search for “Mail-Order Brides” on Google.com yields 174,000 searches. Type “Filipina Mail-Order Brides” and you’ll get 47,500 hits. Type “Russian Mail-Order Brides” and you’ll receive 116,000. Type “Asian Brides Online” and 109,000 searches will come up.

(October 26, 2003)

Examples of Mail-Order Bride Websites

Cherry Blossoms, http://www.cherry-blossoms.comMail-order brides from the Philippines, http://www.filipina.com/Mail-order brides from Asia, Philippines, marriage brokers, http://www.afilipina.net/Filipina and Asian brides, http://www.afilipinabride.com/Planet Love, http://www.planet-love.com/East-West Match.com, http://www.mailorderbrides.com/Mail-order bride resource guide and online forum, http://www.bridesbymail.com/Mail-order bride personals, http://www.1mailorderbrides.com/Good Wife.com, the Mail-Order Bride Warehouse, http://www.goodwife.com

Objectification of Women

When you browse through these websites, hundreds of photos and profiles of women from foreign countries looking for an American husband are available for anyone’s viewing. Sample of Profile:Country: PhilippinesCity: SamarAge: 19Birth Date: 3/21/1984Weight: 85lb, 39kgHeight: 5'1", 155cmEducation: CollegeJob Title: StudentHobbies: Reading, dancingSelf -description: I'm pretty, understanding and humble.Comments: I seek an understanding man, humble, handsome and want a family.

Factors

Economic

Globalization

Immigration policies

“The grass is always greener on the other side.”

View of America: “The land of milk and honey.”

Trends in the MOB Websites

The matchmaking/pen pal websites are growing in abundance, and according to recent studies, an estimated 200 international matchmaking organizations arrange between 4,000 and 6,000 international marriages each year in the United States alone. (Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus, “Protections for Mail-Order Brides: A Matter of National Debate,” www.sdc.wa.gov .)Annually, an estimated 150,000 women from various countries have advertised themselves being "available for marriage" through international matchmaking organizations and pen pal agencies. Many of these women are from the countries in Southeast Asia especially the Philippines; as well as Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. (Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus, “Protections for Mail-Order Brides: A Matter of National Debate,” www.sdc.wa.gov .)

Trends in the MOB Websites

Sex tours operated through MOB websites:Many of the mail-order bride websites, also often called “international matchmaking organizations,” also operate sex tours in the Third World countries. Men can pay for the addresses of the women in the catalogues. The bride/tour agent then sets up a group tour for men to go to meet the woman or women with whom they have been corresponding. Men going to either Russia or the Philippines are assured of “getting a wife to bring home, if that is their desire, or they are assured of the availability of many women.” Men don't want to believe they are taking home a prostitute as a wife, so the men are guaranteed that they will be introduced to marriageable women, as well as other "available and willing" women. A man is usually offered the option of paying for an "escort" for each day. Men are assured that if they have not established a correspondence with a woman, they can still go on the tour to try out the women. (Hughes D.M. (1997). Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation on the Internet.) Example of sex tour promotion: www.asianbridesonline.com

The Future: Challenges

Due to the protection of individuals’ privacy in the United States, there are no current laws requiring the foreign bride to conduct a mandatory background check on her Western husband. (Russell J. (2003, June 29). Larsen, “Cantwell aim to protect mail-order brides.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)

The Future: ChallengesImage of the Mail-Order Brides and women from Third-World countries portrayal and stereotyped in the society:

• Halloween costume at Wal-Mart:The outfit, a white wedding dress with postage stamps from around the world accompanied with a matching white veil, outraged women in the community urging Wal-Mart to cease selling the costumes which promotes destructive stereotypes of women, especially women identified from countries where "mail-order brides" originate from.

• The Mail-Order Bride Halloween costume and international matchmaking websites are just a few of the examples of images perpetrating on the stereotypes and overgeneralizations of non-Western women such as being virginal, submissive, soft-spoken, shy, passive, loyal, well-trained, and other "good housewife" traits.

The Future: Challenges

Social Stigma and CasesAccording to National Lawyers Guild, most Mail-Order Brides who have been victims of blackmail or abuse hesitate to report to the authorities because their husbands frequently threaten them with deportation. (National Lawyers Guild, http://www.nlg.org/ )Many women believe their entire immigration status depends on their husband. In many situations, these cases then lead to other forms of abuse and domestic violence. (Palchikoff K. (March 2001). “Unregulated Internet Matchmaking Trade Booms.” WEnews, Isis International.)

The Future: Challenges

Social Stigma and Cases: FatalitiesIn 1995, the Susana Remarata Blackwell, a mail-order bride from the Philippines; her unborn child, and her two bystander friends were shot and killed at the King County Courthouse in Seattle, Washington. The four people were shot by Susana’s estranged husband in the Courthouse’s hallway, as she waits for their divorce hearings to take place. (Wolfe L. (2003). “Fighting the War on Sexual Trafficking of Women and Girls: The Role of State Legislatures.” Center for Women Policy Studies.)

The Future: Challenges

Social Stigma and Cases: FatalitiesIn 2001, a Russian woman wooed by a divorced Seattle man 20 years her senior immigrated to the United States, after courting by e-mail for several months. Anastasia Solovieva King , a 20-year old University of Washington student, was lured from Kyrgyzstan to Seattle as a teenage mail-order bride with the promise of an education and a better life. Anastasia's life ended, after two years in America, in death. Her husband, Indle King Jr., 39, is in the Snohomish County Jail, charged with perjury and suspected in her death. (Jamieson R. (2001, February 5). “Family and friends mourn slain mail-order bride.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)A lot of the Mail-Order Bride cases are underreported. Though there may be a few success stories, researches and domestic violence reports show that many women’s stories didn’t turn out to be the fairy tale they anticipated. Often, when the women arrive in the United States, they are likely to be isolated and economically dependent on their new American spouse, snowballing to other emotional and co-dependent abuse factors. Several tragic reports of domestic violence and even fatalities also occurred. Though what are far more disturbing are the unreported cases by the women.

The Future: Challenges

Mail-Order Bride industry on the Internet are unregulated, therefore the MOB businesses do not pay business taxes.

(Palchikoff K. (March 2001). “Unregulated Internet Matchmaking Trade Booms.” WEnews, Isis International.)

Many Mail-Order Bride businesses operate/ have contact addresses in the United States.

The Future: Policies

With the help of concerned lawmakers, policies and laws are now being established to penalize those who commit crimes of trafficking of persons. (Russell J. (2003, June 29). “Larsen, Cantwell aim to protect mail-order brides.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)Policies to regulate the mail-order bride business/ international matchmaking organizations are also currently being discussed by legislators and congressional members. (Russell J. (2003, June 29). “Larsen, Cantwell aim to protect mail-order brides.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)

Thoughts to ponder

“Brides-4U welcomes women from all nations of the world. Our service is completely free for ladies. All you need to do is tell us about yourself by registering. Your future husband will then be able to get in touch with you and from there your relationship can blossom in exactly the same way as if you met your man in a bar.” (Brides-4U, www.brides-4u.com )