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ADDITION TO "WOMEN IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE" ARTICLE, section "Slavery"
Women in the Ottoman Empire were used in the practice of slavery, mostly for purposes that were sexual in nature. Still, the slave trade was not an exclusive one, as people of all races, religions and gender identities; that is, except for those who were classified as dhimmis, or non-Muslims who were exempt from slavery according to Ottoman law.[1] Owners, too, were male, female, Muslim and non-Muslim.[1] The slave trade in the Ottoman Empire was heavily influenced and controlled in part by European nations, and most specifically the British.[1] Regarding the women who were not necessarily involved in a direct way with the slave trade, sometimes the laws that were meant to protect them in the instance of rape would actually be bent to their disadvantage. For example, in the case of a young girl's rape, the perpetrator's defense could have been the assertion that the victim's family was to blame instead of him because they are the ones who let the girl out of their home in the first place.[2]