Syrian Refugees sold as Sex Slaves in Jordan

Camp Zaatari, a tent city in the Jordanian desert, now houses 100,000 refugees. Vulnerable Syrian women fleeing to Zaatari have found trafficking, kidnapping, forced marriages and nowhere else to run.

"The Jordanian guys harass Syrian girls even at the age of 6 and 7." The woman points to a young girl of only 5 or 6 and says, "They'll even harass a young girl like her." The girl smiles a shy, bleak smile. Wealthy Arab men also come here to buy young Syrian brides. The Sheikh who runs the mosque in the camp explains why: "the dowries in the Gulf countries are very high, but to marry a Syrian woman is really cheap". In a bizarre contradiction, sexual violence is prompting families to marry off their daughters as young as possible, in a bid to pre-empt rape and sexual attacks. Matchmakers and brokers are cynically infiltrating the camp by posing as aid workers in search of Syrian brides who fall victim to so-called "pleasure marriages". One 28 year-old housewife from Homs who is effectively "pimping" out young Syrian girls for sex, gives us a price-list for anything from a cup of tea to a "pleasure marriage": "If he wants to get married it's $1400". This startling expose sheds a stark light on the forgotten plight of the women and girls of the Syrian civil war.