Representations of trafficking

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“Human trafficking’ and ‘modern slavery’ have fared well in this fierce competition between causes. Over the last two decades, human trafficking has secured a remarkable level of both popular and official recognition, resulting in a state of affairs where most people now have at least a passing familiarity with this general topic. While ‘modern-day abolitionists’ routinely lament how little the general public knows about their cause, many campaigners working on other issues would count themselves lucky if they secured even a fraction of the publicity and investment that trafficking now receives. This recent success is not simply because trafficking is ‘more deserving’ or ‘more urgent’. It can instead be chiefly traced to the strong popular appeal of representations of human trafficking as an exceptional problem involving ‘innocent’ victims and rapacious villains, along with the numerous ways in which the issue of trafficking has helped to advance the strategic interests of governments seeking to control, discipline, and/or limit the mobility of certain populations.

The recent political success of anti-trafficking has come at a considerable price. In order to help get their message out, activists and officials have repeatedly turned to a range of simplistic and misleading images, dubious ‘statistics’, and self-serving narratives. Even the history of slavery and abolition has been selectively mined to support contemporary causes, while more challenging questions regarding the limitations of anti-slavery activism and the enduring legacies of historical slave systems remain neglected. Although most people have now heard about human trafficking as a form of modern slavery, they frequently have a very limited understanding regarding the specific issues at stake. Much of what people think they know about trafficking and slavery is inaccurate, incomplete or unfounded.”

Introduction: moving beyond popular representations of trafficking and slavery, by Prof. J. Quirk and Prof. J. O’Connell Davidson, 11 January 2015, opendemocracy.net

Full article

 

 

Liefde

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Sekswerkers hebben niets aan ‘hulp’ van Gert-Jan Segers, door Meredith Greer

Had al een mediacrush maar ben nu officially fangirlverliefd op Meredith Greer. Dit stuk… Ze heeft geluisterd en gefactcheckt en toen in heldere woorden opgeschreven wat de deal is. HOE AMAZING IS DAT. (En ze schrijft zo scherp en taalwijs en funny <3)

 

Sun-Lit // TRENCHCOATx

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“…the rolling haze and warmth that comes from so much closeness of skin and of breath in the space of two sheets…” – Kayden Kross

 

TRENCHCOATx is een fijn Amerikaans productiehuis + VOD platform. De Sun-Lit Serie is een goed voorbeeld van het mixen van mainstream LA stijlkeuzes met camming/indie porn trends zoals lots and lots natuurlijk licht, natuur en happy cuteness. Zie je steeds meer, I like it.

https://twitter.com/TRENCHCOATx/status/988855323631980545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvlaskam.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2F07%2Ftrenchcoatx-sun-lit%2F&tfw_site=wordpressdotcom

https://twitter.com/TRENCHCOATx/status/992569719134801920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvlaskam.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2F07%2Ftrenchcoatx-sun-lit%2F&tfw_site=wordpressdotcom

https://twitter.com/TRENCHCOATx/status/991078975509155840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvlaskam.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2F07%2Ftrenchcoatx-sun-lit%2F&tfw_site=wordpressdotcom

 

No research at prostitutionresearch.com

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Because I saw some folks thinking this was a website of a research project, a little disclaimer: it is not. It’s just a website of a couple of antiprostitution activists (the creepy extreme ones imho) trying to pass off their views as science.

You’ll find similar websites by US conservative christian ‘researchers’ showcasing the ‘harm of homosexuality’, the ‘threat’ of trans women or whatever anti-lgbti political goal is en vogue that week. You’ll find similar websites ‘proving’ how terrible and violent refugees behave in Europe, building elaborate narratives based on made-up news reports. Don’t forget anyone can publish nonsens on the internet.

That includes me, so don’t take my word for it – always be mindful of your sources. What are your source’s source? Do the research methods measure what the writer claims they measure? Are we talking about things we know or things we guess? Are you using first-hand or second-hand info? Is an ‘academic artice’ really published in a legitimate academic journal via a process of peer-review? Etc etc etc

Counting what counts: EU trafficking statistics

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Van Dijk et al. (2014). Counting what counts; Tools for the validation and utilization of EU statistics on human trafficking. Final report of the TrafStat research project.

“In recent year several authors have critiqued the release of unfounded estimates of theglobal number of trafficked persons for sexual exploitation (United States Government Accountability Office, 2006; Jordan, 2011). Exaggerated estimates can, it is argued, trigger se n- sationalist media stories provoking policy responses that are more emotions -driven than evidence -based and that can lead to mistaken policy decisions.

Against the background of this ongoing debate, it was to be expected that the launch of the first Eurostat report on THB statistics would be critically assessed (Vogel, 2014). It has been pointed out that al t- hough the statistics on the numbers of identified victim s in the Eurostat report are duly surrounded with methodological caveats, the official press release nevertheless noticed an “alarming upward trend” and a preponderance of women and minors among its victims.

During our seminars with invited experts , many of them expressed concerns about the possible political use of THB statistics for other purposes than the protection of the human rights of victims. Statistics on THB could, for example , be misused for the promotion of ultimate political agendas such as those on more stringent migration policies or the abolition of all forms of prostitution.

Examples given include proposals for more stringent screening or refusal of visa applications of nationals of certain countries as a prevention measure of h u- man traffick ing. A case in point is the moral panic about the expected ten thousands of tra f- ficked persons on the occasion of the 2006 World Soccer Cup in Germany triggering calls for more stringent visa screening of potential sex workers (Jordan, 2011). In the event, no surge in human trafficking for sexual exploitation materialized.”

Together against trafficking in human beings

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“Ultimately, sex worker rights organisations are not so different from anti-trafficking organisations. Just like anti-trafficking organisations, sex worker organisations provide information about rights and working conditions, and where to seek help in cases of rights violations. In anti-trafficking lingo this is called prevention of trafficking, awareness-raising, or empowerment.

In cases of rights violations, like anti-trafficking organisations, sex worker organisations offer assistance with filing complaints and dealing with the police, courts and immigration authorities, meeting basic needs, psychosocial counselling, family mediation and return to the community, and help with finding a new job. In anti-trafficking programming all these are broadly referred to as reintegration or social inclusion services.

Despite this important work, sex worker rights organisations are largely unrecognised and even vilified by the anti-trafficking community. In some of the research countries, we found that the contribution of sex worker organisations for anti-trafficking work was recognised by at least certain individuals in the local police or anti-trafficking unit. However, we also documented several cases where sex worker organisations had tried to join their national anti-trafficking task force or NGO network, but were either not allowed to or had to withdraw due to hostility.

We have seen the same exclusion and hostility at the EU level too. Several GAATW members and partners, who are either sex worker rights organisations or anti-trafficking organisations with a strong pro-sex worker rights position, were rejected from the EU Civil Society Platform against trafficking in human beings. Although the official grounds for the rejection had nothing to do with sex workers’ rights, this is most likely the reason, given the current climate in the EU and the vilification of sex worker rights supporters at the highest political level.

If the EU is serious about combating human trafficking, especially the trafficking of women and girls in the sex industry, as it claims, it can’t keep ignoring, and actively excluding, those organisations whose first and foremost priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved in prostitution. On the contrary, it needs to recognise sex workers, and the organisations that represent them, and consult them in the development of policies and implementation of initiatives that may affect their lives, as recommended earlier this year by the EU-funded research project DemandAT.  After all, sex worker rights organisations have the most interest in keeping the industry free of coercion, violence, exploitation, and human trafficking.”

New EU Priorities on Trafficking in Human Beings: Time to recognise the contribution of sex worker rights organisations, GAATW, 2018