Svetlana hasn't seen her son in seven years, because she agreed to take a job as a waitress.

She was then was kidnapped and forced to work as a prostitute in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Her story is not unique. Hundreds of thousands of women are trafficked around the world for the purposes of pleasuring men who wish to pay for sex.

Being a prostitute by choice is one thing. Being a victim of mutliple rapes as a sex slave is quite another.

In the Al Jazeera report below, the question of how to stop the trafficking of women for sex is raised several times. To me the answer is simple: if there were no demand, there would be no need for supply.

At the root of this abhorrent trade is the continued belief held by many men that women are mere objects that should be available to serve their needs and preserve their honour, regardless of the cost to the women whom they physically abuse, rape and murder.

Wake up men! We are one half of the human race. We are your mothers, your sisters, your daughters.

WE GIVE YOU LIFE. You come from our wombs.

Stop violence of every kind against all women and girls now.

Trafficking women and girls for whatever purpose is not acceptable, no matter where it occurs. Slavery, regardless of the form it takes, is a crime against humanity.