Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. Sexual slavery has taken various forms throughout history, including single-owner bondage and ritual servitude linked to religious practices in regions such as Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
Instances of non-consensual sexual activity are interwoven with systems designed for primarily non-sexual purposes, as witnessed in the colonization of the Americas. This epoch, characterized by encounters between European explorers and Indigenous peoples , saw Forced labour for economic gains and was also marred by the widespread prevalence of non-consensual sexual activities.
In unraveling the intricate layers of this historical narrative, Gilberto Freyre 's seminal work 'Casa-Grande e Senzala' casts a discerning light on the complex social dynamics that emerged from the amalgamation of European, Indigenous, and African cultures in the Brazilian context.
In some cultures, Concubinage has been a traditional form of sexual slavery, in which women spent their lives in sexual servitude, notably Concubinage in Islam. In some cultures, enslaved 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 and that sexual slavery is an abuse of human rights.
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.
