This evening while driving home I caught the tail end of a programme on Radio 4, which reported on a legalised Brothel in Bangladesh. Many of the women working there were forced into it by their families, when they were children (even though the minimum legal age is 18, apparently). The conditions are dirty and squalid, and apparently men can buy sex for the equivalent of around £2, which includes a meal. As if all that wasn't awful enough, one young girl who got rescued by a charitable organisation told this story of her friend, who got left behind.
The girl was forced into a room in the brothel by her mother, who then let a man into the room and she was trapped. After he'd done what he wanted to her, she hanged herself. She was just 9 years old.
I can't find the words to describe how shocked and horrified I felt when I heard that story. How can this be happening in the 21st century?!? How could any mother do that to her child? The fact that this is a legalised brothel makes it worse, as it appears that the state is turning a blind eye to paedophiles raping children.
I know that every country has cultural differences concerning the age of consent, etc, and there are still many parts of the world where women are treated as second class citizens/possessions, but AIBU to post this here for traffic, and to ask for your suggestions on how to stop this hellish situation? (I know there is no easy solution, but maybe someone could suggest the best charity to support, or ways to bring pressure to bear on the Bangladesh authorities who allow this to happen.)