In early January 2023, a young Ethiopian woman named Haile (approximately 20 years old) was subjected to one of the most horrific human rights violations in Al-Mudharabah and Al-‘Ara districts in Lahj Governorate, Yemen. Haile had left her country seeking a better life and job opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but fell into the trap of human trafficking gangs upon arriving at the coast, where she was kidnapped by a group of approximately 5–6 human traffickers.
After her abduction, Haile was held in a small house controlled by the gang, where a series of severe violations began, lasting a full five months. During this period, she was repeatedly sexually exploited, with gang members raping her periodically under threat of violence. She was also forced to perform household chores and serve the gang, being denied freedom to leave the place or communicate freely with anyone.
Haile spoke about her ordeal, saying:
“I was held with people I did not know, and they raped me during my time there… they threatened to kill me if my father didn’t send money. I felt like I had lost everything, even my dignity.”
She added:
“I did not want to return to Ethiopia, and I could not go to Saudi Arabia… all I dreamed of was having a decent life for myself and my child, without being a burden to anyone.”
During her detention, the gang threatened Haile’s parents with her murder and forced them to send money as ransom, while Haile endured continuous physical and psychological torture, including torture near a phone line to make her family hear her screams. This brutal exploitation resulted in her becoming pregnant from the ongoing sexual abuse, loss of personal safety, social isolation, and severe psychological trauma, reflecting the magnitude of the human suffering she endured.
Legal Analysis:
What Haile experienced legally constitutes sexual slavery, combining abduction, forced confinement, repeated sexual exploitation, psychological and physical torture, and financial extortion. This is a clear form of human trafficking for sexual exploitation under international laws and conventions. Such violations encompass all the core elements of sexual slavery and are considered among the most serious crimes against human rights, particularly when targeting vulnerable groups such as migrant women and children.
After more than five months of detention and suffering, Haile managed to escape on foot to the city of Aden while pregnant—a journey that took four days, facing exhaustion, danger, and little assistance along the way. Upon arrival, she sought medical care, discovered her pregnancy, and continued to face significant challenges related to protection and rebuilding her life after this harrowing experience.
This case highlights the egregious violations faced by migrant women and children in Yemen, especially at the hands of human trafficking networks that rely on sexual abuse and violence to control and exploit their victims. Migrant women are considered among the most vulnerable, facing risks of abduction, sexual exploitation, extortion, and physical and psychological abuse during their journey in search of a better life.
Haile’s story demonstrates that these violations are not isolated incidents but rather a repeated pattern of crimes against vulnerable groups, where victims lose their freedom and dignity and are subjected to prolonged physical and psychological suffering. This case also underscores the urgent need to provide immediate protection for migrant women and children, offer them psychological and material support, and ensure the accountability of human traffickers.
Source: Documented by Mwatana for human rights, Aden, Yemen, 2023.
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