So many questions!

Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking, which is defined by the United Nations (UN), in the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto as:

“the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”. (United Nations 2004).

I was considering broadening my thesis topic to include human trafficking, in the worry that sex trafficking alone will not provide enough data or data sets to complete a thesis on - it really hit me that I am actually researching something, not completing another regurgitating essay, or stating some facts in 2000 words. This has been a source of anxiety over the past few days, because I am not quite sure what I am setting out to achieve. I know I am very interested in this topic. But why?

I am interested in the interconnection between globalisation, economic and sex trafficking, because, in order to understand the issue from an Australian perspective, it is important to have an understanding of it in a global perspective. Understanding what is driving people to become traffickers and for people to be trafficked is an important consideration for developing appropriate laws and policies in Australia. If we are detect trafficked persons and immediately deport them, what does that achieve? As some of the reading stated (damn, this is when I should be referencing!) many women who are trafficked and return home end up being re-trafficked. There are reasons people are willing to travel internationally for work, regardless if they know the conditions or now, people are travelling for a reason. These reasons? Well, that is what I want to study more about. 

• Are the purely economic? Are their socio-economic positions in their countries of origin so low they are required to leave their country and work? These seems to be a very feasible answer to me. Many people outside of the sex industry do it. I have know many people who have come and studied in Australia, with the hope of gaining employment, in order to earn more money and send it home to their families.
• Is there a gender specific reason, why is predominantly women who are trafficked? What is the link between patriarchy and sex trafficking? What is the link between gender specific violence and sex trafficking? Or, should the issue of sex trafficking be viewed a work related issue, an issue of exploitation based on migrating worker's rights? Or, is there a way to analyse this issue from both perspectives.

I am also interested in the response we, as a country and social work as a profession, give to those who are trafficked? What measures do we have in place to support victims? What are our policies? What is the funding available for services who work this area? What level of investigation occurs? And what is achieved through the Australian Federal Police investigating that occurs? Do we simply deport people? Can they reapply for refugee status if a false claim by the trafficker has already been rejected? So many questions. Which, I think... Is a good thing? As it is only week two. Better to have many, many questions, than none at all.

I am still left with the issue - what am I achieving? In what way am I helping the social work profession and marginalised individuals by conducting this research? What EVEN is this research? Am I looking at laws? Am I looking at prevalence? Can I look at all of these things?

Hopefully, in one weeks time I can have an answer. At the moment, I do not.

9/3/2015 - Why is sex trafficking a social work issue?

Why is sex trafficking a social work issue?

Sex trafficking is a highly sensationalised issue, with the media portraying women as deceived, kidnapped or slaves. This detracts from the reality of women who are trafficked for sexual servitude in Australia. A large of majority of women who are trafficked come willingly and with full knowledge they will be sex workers once in Australia. The deception these women face is largely around the working conditions and issues of debt bondage. The women who are trafficked face extremely long working hours, unsafe sex, a lack of or minimal freedom, and even if granted freedom, are faced with threats about going to authorities. In Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales where prostitution is legalised, women who are sex workers should be afforded the same rights  as workers in other industries. Women who are trafficked are working illegally, therefore are not afforded these rights, leaving them in a very vulnerable position. Sex trafficking can be viewed as an issue stemming from inequality, both due to gender and social economic. Intersectional analysis is required to fully understand the reasons for sex trafficking and to help understand the implications for social work. The adoption of neoliberalism has increased inequality on a global scale, both within nations and between nations. Sex trafficking can be understood as a response to this inequality. Globalisation has facilitated sex trafficking. From a social work perspective, identifying sex trafficked women is important to provide the appropriate forms of intervention, which may differ from those provided to other types of sex workers. 

There are other issues present as well, such as feminist and gender issues. Though I need to complete more study on these. A feminist perspective is pertinent in this thesis, as it will help to shape and understand sex trafficking as a feminist issue. Interventions based on feminist theory can also be used to help empower women. Sex work positive literature will be referred to, as it will help to move beyond the notion that these women are completely passive victims, but understand their choice to work as sex workers, and provide the correct interventions to ensure their safety.