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Over the last decade, researchers and legislators have struggled to get an accurate picture of the scale and nature of the problem of human trafficking. In the absence of reliable data, some anti-prostitution activists have asserted that a causal relationship exists between legalised prostitution and human trafficking. They claim that systems of legalised or decriminalised prostitution lead to increases in trafficking into the sex industry.
An article in the Journal of Law and Society, Volume 37, Number 1, March 2010. Weitzer explores the growth of what he describes as a moral crusade in the US aimed at expanding the criminalisation of sex work. He shows how there is a growing trend to conflate sex work with human trafficking and explores the impact of this movement on legal norms and government policies. Weitzer believes this trend has been prompted by the expansion of the sex industry and its normalisation in American society.
Passed to protect women, the 2008 law on human trafficking and sexual exploitation has been used by authorities to justify the harassment and abuse of sex workers. But, Cambodian sex workers say it’s now time to demand their rights.Hundreds are gathered in the capital of Phnom Penh.They are clapping loudly as the host welcomes the first day of 16 days of activism against gender violence.They are wearing white shirts with the slogan: “United we can end violence against women and bring the peace.” Theme: Human Rights and Law WNU Anti Violence Protest 2011.doc
This article intends to respond to a recent call for more innovative studies and methodologies in order to move beyond the current discourse on human trafficking. We do so by describing three ethnographic fragments on the dynamics of (dealing with) sex trafficking within Europe. The concepts of ‘friction’ and ‘collaboration’ (Tsing Cultural Anthropology 15(3):327–360, 2000, 2005) are used to analyse these fragments. These concepts refer to creative processes that occur as people interact across differences. They give insight into how universal ideas on freedom and justice enable collaboration between parties involved in fighting human trafficking who do not necessarily share
There are many complex and intersecting causes of human trafficking. These “push” and “pull” factors have been described at great length in the literature, although quantitative and qualitative evidence is often lacking. The identified “causes” of human trafficking span gender inequality, social and political unrest, media images of wealth, transition, conflict, weak regulation, the existence of a market for sexual services and real or perceived job availability abroad (Demir & Finckenauer, 2010: 83; Kelly, 2005: 241; Kligman & Limoncelli, 2005: 125–126; Zimmerman, 2007: 147). While I acknowledge these multiple factors, this article focuses primarily on the relationship between women’s ability
Cambodia is internationally recognized for having successfully reduced its HIV prevalence among the general population from about 3% in 1997 to 0.7% in 2009. Sex work played a significant role in the spread of the HIV epidemic during the nineties. Since 1999, HIV prevalence has declined among direct and indirect sex workers, although levels remain high. The 100% condom use promotion strategy has been credited for having played a major role in the decline of HIV. However, positive outcomes could easily be reversed with the introduction of the 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, which
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