Women Enslaving Women

Charlene Smith, Shepard Broad Law School, Nova Southeastern University

Abstract

Women enslaving women makes no sense from a feminist perspective. Reality, however, tells us that some women disregard this perspective. The rejection is, much to the surprise of most, a common practice right here in the United States. Women controlling slaves has strong historical roots. While it was not possible for a married woman to own slaves prior to the Civil War the slave narratives are permeated with the fact that women controlled slaves, particularly house slaves. This article focuses on how and why this comes about. The article first gives a brief over-view of psychosocial/sociological forces at work that underpin why women enslave other women. That introduction is followed by the pre-Civil War house slave narratives and the narratives of current women house slaves. In order to thoroughly explain the narratives, they will be followed by a more detailed explanation of how power and privilege are the driving forces for women enslaving other women. Also of interest is how the women slaves internalize reactions that help them survive the ordeal which the authors detail. The final section explores the law surrounding current house slavery. There will be a focus on the B-1 visa slave since most women fall into that category, with a comparison to the ‘au pair’ young women who come and work in households without ever becoming slaves because they are given an entirely different visa. Naturally, the authors also offer some insight as to what would be helpful legally to make it more difficult for women to enslave other women. Finally, the authors examine why the federal government is so unwilling to give qualified ex-slaves a visa under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and why the traffickers, when prosecuted, get off with very light sentences.