The Price of Sex

Human Trafficking in Eastern Europe

An incredibly moving film that leaves me, initially, without words. I think anyone with the least sensitivity to the conditions of our fellow human beings would find this movie both compelling as well as overwhelming. I never quite understood the world of sex trafficking and this film made it very clear to me. I feel deeply for the victims. I am in awe of the bravery and humanity of the filmmaker. Toward the end, the film attempts to get into the mind of the men who support this trade and i would love to see more from the Ms Chakarova about these men and their seeming ability to turn away from basic goodness. I am left sort of dumbfounded at the cruelty that is out there and i think this filmmaker would be just the person to help shed light on that side of the equation.

The Price of Sex is a film about sex trafficking in Eastern Europe. The women I followed over seven years grew up in villages similar to my own. Under Communism, we secretly hungered for opportunities in the West and when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, we finally had a chance to taste raw capitalism. Many in rural villages, however, lacked the skills and education to survive it. Girls, some still teenagers, became a commodity to be sold, exploited and discarded. Some call them foolish and unfortunate; others call them sex slaves, but they share the same story: desperate to leave, they were promised work abroad and instead sold to pimps to work in brothels and sex clubs. Over time I found young women who had survived and for seven years followed their stories to the countries where they were trafficked and back to their villages. This film is a testament to their courage – their willingness to expose the darkest and most haunting inner-workings of sexual slavery. The women tell their own stories. My hope is that hearing them will bring change. I also found ways to expose the corruption among police, clients and pimps. I spent nearly a decade connecting the dots between the countries of origin – where the girls come from – and the countries of destination in the West and the Middle East – where they end up sold into prostitution against their will. Sex trafficking is not a sheer equation of supply and demand. Add desperation, poverty, abuse, no access to justice and high levels of corruption and you’ll be a step closer in understanding why sex slavery continues to thrive. By breaking down the price of sex to its most human elements, the viewers become witnesses. And the women end their silence.