Women in the World: A Sex Slave’s Escape

Week of November 28, 2012 CRIME 1. A Sex Slave's Escape Enslaved as a child in Cambodia, Sreypich Loch was forced to have sex with dozens of men a week. Loch, now around 20 years old, managed to escape that world and works today to rescue other girls. She helps grab them out of brothels, and she hosts a groundbreaking radio show in Phnom Penh, giving the girls a forum for their stories. She hopes that by talking about her past, she will help people understand that slavery is alive and well. When people "hear the voice of the survivor," she tells Abigail Pesta, "we can help others." Loch's story may sound extreme, but it is not some isolated incident. An estimated 27 million people are victims of slavery around the world, according to the U.S. State Department. The buying and selling of humans is a multibillion-dollar global business, but one that happens in the shadows. Read it at Newsweek BABY-MAKING 2. New Hurdles for Pregnancy First it was cigarettes. Then laptops. Then disposable diapers. There's no shortage of obstacles for couples trying to get pregnant. A recent study by the National Institutes of Heath has found one more: chemicals that you've most likely been exposed to, and can't do much about. The chemicals, which include PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are not found in factories or FDA-banned products—they're in meat, fish, and dairy. And they have been associated with a 20 percent reduction in odds of achieving pregnancy each menstrual cycle. "What is concerning and why we need more research on this is that most of the chemical exposures studied are environmentally relevant," Germaine Buck Louis, the main author of the study, tells Eliza Shapiro. "They're a part of modern life, and we're all exposed to them." Read it at The Daily Beast RELENTLESS 3. Rice Meeting Troubles GOP Senators Susan Rice didn't do a very good job assuaging three Republican senators' concerns about her explanation of the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya. In fact, after a closed-door meeting with the U.N. ambassador Tuesday, Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte were left even more worried than before. According to Senator Ayotte, Rice said she was wrong in claiming on national television that the attack had been spurred by a spontaneous demonstration. Rice's comments, however, were not made immediately after the attack but five days later with the help of intelligence. Read it at Associated Press GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors. GET Culture Beast Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.

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