New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof continues to shine a spotlight on the sordid world of sex trafficking.  In two columns, one on New Years Day and a follow-on column today, Kristof delves into the gross abuse of young Asian women caught up as sex slaves.

The first column describes the plight of a young Vietnamese woman, Sina Vann, who was kidnapped into Cambodia and brutalized, tortured and raped as a modern-day slave.  Today, after being rescued by a former sex slave named Somaly Mam, Sina is an activist fighting to rescue women and girls from the brothels of Phnom Penh, which Kristof describes as chambers of horror. The second Kristof column (which includes very upsetting details of one girl’s torture) is meant at least in part to counter critics who believe most if not all prostitution is voluntary.

The columnist’s larger point is that forced prostitution and sex trafficking are manifestations of contemporary slavery that is a growing global phenomenon.  Referencing Congress’ recent re-authorization of the passage of the Trafficking Victims Persons Act, Kristof concludes:

The Obama administration will have a new tool to fight traffickers: the Wilberforce Act, just passed by Congress, which strengthens sanctions on countries that wink at sex slavery. Much will depend on whether Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton see trafficking as a priority.

There would be powerful symbolism in an African-American president reminding the world that the war on slavery isn’t yet over, and helping lead the 21st-century abolitionist movement.