Based on long-term ethnographic research, including documentary research, qualitative interviews and observations made at a Portuguese shelter for “sex trafficked women,” this paper explores the counter-trafficking apparatus questioning who benefits from it. The discussion explores the contrasts between an institutional commitment to constructing this apparatus and the actuality of procedural efforts purporting to support “trafficking victims.” The author argues that the higher goal of building a countertrafficking apparatus — in itself a political objective — limits the rights of “victims,” making processes that claim to be part of their protection de facto neo-liberal anti-political exercises in reenforcing bureaucratic state power.
Global businesses are faced with an increasingly complex and interconnected legal, financial and reputation risk agenda related to involvement in human rights and other responsible business conduct risks like conflict financing, financial crime, m...Read More
Safe accommodation is vital for survivors. Offering safe accommodation enables individuals to find stability to rebuild their lives and plan towards their future. Understanding the role hosting can and does play as an accommodation option for surviv...Read More
At first glance, this research publication may seem niche, perhaps relevant only to “fringe” aspects of international migration. Historically, we know from decades of studies, data collection and analysis that there has been a strong bias toward...Read More
This study examines the inner workings of credit and debt in the sex industry in Ho Chi Minh City, the megalopolis of Southern Vietnam. It argues that credit is widely available to financially excluded sex workers, but that this availability comes w...Read More
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