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.
The ECPAT Summary Papers explore what we've learned over 30 years of working to protect children from sexual exploitation. The papers offer a stocktake of what has changed in the way the crimes are committed, how our understanding has developed, and...Read More
British survivors of modern day slavery are not being adequately listened to or heard in the antislavery sector, let alone across the UK. Yet they are the now the largest cohort in the Government’s annual modern slavery referral data. This evasion...Read More
This note provides preliminary guidance for practitioners and policy makers on key issues to consider in ensuring access to justice in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. It is divided into three sections, Preparation, Response and Recovery. While t...Read More
This toolkit, jointly developed by STOP THE TRAFFIK and Shiva Foundation, seeks to provide practical guidance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on how they can prevent modern slavery in their business operations. We recognise that many u...Read More
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