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Among desperate Iraqi refugees, prostitution a growing problem

Category: Press Releases and Statements
by Super User,
posted: October 23, 2007
Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 January 2013 17:43

Damascus, Syria

The group of Iraqi girls jump onto the stage at the al-Rawabi club, their long black hair swinging, their young faces caked with makeup. Iraqi pop music booms out as they sway and dance under flashing strobe lights.

Nearby, a woman nicknamed At'outa meets her paying dates — men who hand over US$90 (€65) a night for companionship and sex.

...

"Men and boys are most likely to be deported, so women sometimes work illegally, but have no protection from employer abuse," the New York-based Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children said in a recent report.

After a fact-finding trip to Jordan, the group said it heard accounts of women and girls turning to prostitution. But its report provided few details.

Associated Press