Selling Children to Brothels, e.g. in the Netflix series “The Witcher”

Before the year 2000, the media reported cases of children being sold to brothels and then bought back by people who cared about the fate of others. For the past 20 years, there have been no such reports in Polish media. Perhaps this is because daughters sold for profit were returned to their parents, who then had an extraordinary opportunity—legal within their community—to sell the same child again.

I watched the series The Witcher with interest, as I was intrigued by the theme of a hunchbacked girl being bought by a noble sorceress, supposedly for the purpose of training her in a profession. A civilized person of the 21st century might think: yes, that’s how it was. The realities of earlier centuries bring to mind a simple association with a brothel madam buying another girl for a brothel for four coins. The father—or perhaps stepfather—was all too willing to get rid of her.

The girl was referred to by the Madame as “Little Pig.” The investment seemed profitable, as soldiers eagerly chose the girls, and the hunchbacked one was taken by swineherds because she was cheaper.

In the series, the characters’ clothing stands out. No matter what they do, everyone looks like they’ve just stepped off a fashion runway. Clothes appear freshly made, even after several days of travel through forests. There are no signs of feasting on garments, no sweat stains, no patches. It therefore seems justified that the producers decided to hire a new seamstress to create costumes for the second season.

In the fifth episode of the first season, the girl—who in the meantime has been miraculously healed—already owns a thriving brothel. This serves as evidence that patterns instilled in youth bear fruit later in life.

The series also touches on themes of abortion, showing that both brothel madams are unable to have children of their own.

Opublikowano: 29/04/2026
Autor: Sławomir Majda
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