The society in which we live has radio stations that play songs about strippers, boys who buy video games with half naked women on the cover, and girls that fantasize of living the life of Vivian Ward from the movie Pretty Woman. Our culture glamorizes and accepts prostitution, when the truth of it is actually horrific. Many girls are not given a choice and are trafficked into the sex industry, an industry where they are violently beaten and forced to do things they normally never would. This is the reality of the matter and every girl’s worst nightmare. The Danish anti trafficking ad which depicts girls packaged up as if they were meat, makes a statement against sex trafficking and calls attention to how inhumane it truly is. 

A huge component of girls being trafficked is that they are not seen as humans, but rather objectified. In the image, there is a barcode placed on the packaged up women. Barcodes are usually found on items like furniture, sporting good, or groceries. Not on human beings. The fact that there is a barcode on them leads the viewer to infer that these women are being seen merely as objects for sale. On top of this, the women are lined up side by side, their bodies touching. The lack of space between them shows no regard for their condition. They are treated as if they were literal chicken about to be sold. They are lined up this way to maximize the amount of them that can fit into the container because profit is the most important part of the sex industry, not the wellbeing of the girls. If the industry actually saw the girls as people they would care. Unfortunately, they are seen as objects that only matter for the purpose of making money. This is obvious, to anybody with a conscious, to be wrong and immoral. This image clearly depicts sex trafficking as negative to the girls involved.

Girls trafficked into the sex industry are victims of inhumane treatment. The girls in the image are stripped naked which is extremely derogatory. Normally this would be seen as sexualization, however in this case it is victimization. This conclusion can be drawn from each woman being in fetal position, the go to position when feeling unsafe. This makes a huge statement against prostitution by not depicting the women as sexy but rather helpless victims. On top of this they are bound so tightly in the saran wrap that it shines from being pulled so tight. The viewer can infer that this has to do with control, or rather lack there of. Being bound tightly has to do with having no freewill. Girls trapped in the sex industry have no control over their lives. They don’t have the ability to make their own choices and are under the control of others constantly. Being constricted to the will of others is a lack of rights and therefore inhumane. Every human deserves to have rights and this images gets that point across. To add to this, the only actual text on this image is “Fresh Meat” written right above the barcode. Meat bought from the grocery store in most cases, is very bloody. There aren’t any clear signs of abuse like bruises or blood on the girls in the picture. However, being the only words written makes it very significant. Since the girls have not been violently harmed yet and in a package, it can be assumed that the girls are being shipped to whoever has bought them. When thinking of meat an image that a lot of people think of is a dog chewing on meat. In this case, that would make the person receiving them the dog and the girls the meat. Once the girls are stuck with the “dogs” this is when the violence will occur. The words labeling the package are a foreshadowing of what is in store for the girls. A future that is far from the fairytale like depiction the media always shows our society, and more like a scene straight out of a horror movie. 

This anti trafficking ad brings attention to a very serious human right issue. It shines a light on the truth of the sex industry and makes a clear stance against it. More awareness must be brought to this issue for anything to chance. 
