US Contractors in Afghanistan Accused of Sex Trafficking

Contractors hired to guard the United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan have been accused of sex trafficking. One guard was heard "boasting" about the profit he could turn if he was able to "purchase a girl for $20,000." The same guard claimed to join the force because he "knew someone who owned prostitutes there," according to NPR. These allegations comes after evidence that contracted guards engaged in inappropriate hazing behavior came to light last week.

James Gordon, a former manager for the contracting firm AmorGroup, said this week that guards "routinely frequented brothels" and at one point an employee had to be "forcibly removed" from a brothel. He told CNN that a "United States law known as the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act, prohibits contractors from procuring commercial sex while working on the contract...Many of the prostitutes in Kabul are young Chinese girls who were taken against their will to Kabul for sexual exploitation." Gordon filed a lawsuit in a US District Court yesterday that claims he was illegally forced to leave his job with ArmorGroup after he asked both the US State Department and his employer to investigate contractors' potentially illegal activities in Kabul almost two years ago.

State Department spokesperson P. J. Crowley has declined comment on the new claims of sexual trafficking and involvement in commercial sex, but the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) released pictures early last week that support earlier allegations of contracted embassy guards participating in sexual hazing and intimidation.

Media Resources: NPR 9/11/09; CNN 9/11/09

© Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine

If you liked this story, consider making a tax-deductible donation to support Ms. magazine.