The Sexual Politics of Anti-Trafficking Discourse

Almost twenty years since the adoption of the Palermo Protocol on Trafficking, anti-trafficking law and discourse continue to be in a state of tremendous flux and dynamic evolution. Three major approaches namely the criminal justice, human rights and labour approaches compete with each other in the way that they frame the underlying problem and the corresponding regulatory response.

With the eradication of trafficking now becoming a sustainable development goal in the form of target SDG 8.7, a development approach to trafficking is emerging. Yet the sexual politics of this shifting terrain of anti-trafficking discourse is under-theorised. Drawing on struggles over a newly proposed anti-trafficking legislation is India, my talk will map how the sexual politics of anti-trafficking discourse are changing worldwide yet how they often end up reinforcing an exceptionalist understanding of sex work.