What is "sexual slavery"

n. A criminal activity that involves forced sexual acts upon a person who is usually held hostage as a slave.

Sexual slavery is slavery for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Sexual slavery may involve single-owner sexual slavery; ritual slavery, sometimes associated with certain religious practices, such as ritual servitude in Ghana, Togo and Benin; slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes but where non-consensual sexual activity is common; or forced prostitution. Concubinage was a traditional form of sexual slavery in many cultures, in which women spent their lives in sexual servitude. In some cultures, concubines and their children had distinct rights and legitimate social position.

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action calls for an international effort to eradicate sexual slavery as an abuse of human rights. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies.

Sexual slavery in a BDSM relationship refers to a submissive person in a BDSM relationship consenting to a dominant person (also called a slave owner or the master or mistress) treating the submissive as their slave, i.e., their property. Sexual slavery in a BDSM context is both a sexual fantasy or sexual roleplay. The slave master or mistress might be any person or group, though the majority of such relationships are usually either one dominant, or a committed dominant couple, owning one or more slaves. A sex slave and the owner, and others involved in the relationship, can be of any gender, sexual identity, or orientation.

Sexual slavery may refer to:

• Sexual slavery
• Human trafficking
• Sex Slaves (film)
• Sexual slavery (BDSM)