Was Laura tricked into sex slavery in the United States?

The story of Kenyan lady, Laura that is much discussed in the media and social media these days. According to the story, Laura is a Kenyan lady who was lured to the United States under the false premise that she was getting into a relationship with an American man and ended up as a sex slave in a pornographic movie. Read more about the story here.

HAART would like to comment on the story as it has been much discussed and also confusing. It is important to note that traffickers do use marriage or love interest as a trick to lure their victims and with the advance of technology, social media and the internet in general is becoming a tool that is common. However, since there is a lot of information that still cannot be clarified from this story, it is important to note the following.

1. We are not sure if the video portrays “Laura” or a pornographic actress. Regardless, if the lady in the video is there without coercion to be in a pornographic film, she has not been trafficked. Pornography is not illegal in the US and if there is no coercion, then there is no grounds for calling it human trafficking regardless of moral outrage.
2. If she agreed to be in the pornographic film but was decieved about the terms and conditions and as a result changed her mind and is being held against her will, she has been trafficked.
3. If she did not consent to being in the pornographic video and is being held against her will, she has been trafficked.
4. Her friend is not a trafficker if all she did was tell her about the dating website.

According to the news story, Interpol is investigating the case and we hope that some of these issues can be clarified and if it is a case of trafficking that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

By Sophie Otiende