Narratives of commercial gestational surrogacy (CGS) as ‘baby-selling’ often conflate or interchange the transfer of children born via surrogacy with trafficking in children or the sale of children, two sometimes overlapping but nonetheless distinct offenses. Moreover, anti-trafficking laws have been used to police cross border CGS. But when do CGS arrangements fall within the category of legitimate ‘reproductive tourism’ and when do they amount to child trafficking? In this paper I critically explore intersections between human trafficking laws and CGS, vis-à-vis the child, charting the relevant trafficking laws in the context of international surrogacy, and analysing whether trafficking laws are an appropriate mechanism through which to regulate CGS. I conclude that while child trafficking might occur via surrogacy, CGS in itself is not child trafficking under international law.
What actually works to end modern slavery in the context of markets? In the past decade, we have witnessed a heightened awareness of the risk of modern slavery occurring within global supply chains, with a corresponding increase in regulation, fundi...Read More
This report is the first independent review of the Recovery Needs Assessment, the mechanism through which, since 2019, survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking in England and Wales have their support needs assessed and provided for. Th...Read More
This report reveals the reality of international labor recruitment for low-wage, temporary jobs in the United States, examining recruitment in Mexico, home to the largest number of temporary migrants who labor under H-2 visas in the U.S. The finding...Read More
This edition of the Index highlights how fragile hard-won human rights still are throughout the world, and how in times of crisis — be it the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing climate crisis, or ongoing armed conflict — it is the world’s most vul...Read More
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