NCJ Number
207412
Journal
International Review of Victimology Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 33-47
Date Published
2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article explores the definitions and concepts used to describe the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation.
Abstract
The language used to talk about the trafficking of women is powerful in terms of how trafficked women are viewed and treated. The discourse surrounding the transnational sex trafficking problem is struggling with whether to view trafficked women as migrant sex workers, and therefore open to deportation and other criminal justice responses, or as victims, and therefore eligible for services and compassion. The research literature regarding trafficked women is consistent in its findings that certain women are vulnerable to trafficking due to socioeconomic and cultural factors and that there are multifaceted layers of deceit involved in recruiting and retaining trafficked women. On the other hand, it has been contended that most trafficked women do know that they are entering the sex industry in some form and that trafficking rarely involves outright abduction or kidnapping. Thus, in some instances, it may be difficult to perceive, and to respond to, trafficked women as victims if they are viewed as willing participants on any level. The author argues, however, that trafficked women should be considered and treated as victims of sexual exploitation for several reasons, including the level of deceit involved in recruitment and retention, the fact that trafficked women almost never receive promised payments, and the fact that socioeconomic and cultural conditions have made them vulnerable to the sex trade industry in the first place. Notes, references