From Human Trafficking to Human Rights: Reframing Contemporary Slavery

277 Pages·2012·2.295 MB·English

by  Alison Brysk, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick

From Human Traffi cking to Human Rights
PENNSYLVANIA STUDIES
IN HUMAN RIGHTS
Bert B. Lockwood Jr., Series Editor
A complete list of books in the series
is available from the publisher.
From Human Traffi cking
to Human Rights
Reframing Contemporary Slavery
Edited by
Alison Brysk
and
Austin Choi- Fitzpatrick
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
PHILADELPHIA
Copyright © 2012 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used
for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this
book may be reproduced in any form by any means without
written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104- 4112
www .upenn .edu/ pennpress
Printed in the United States of America
on acid- free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
From human traffi cking to human rights : reframing
contemporary slavery / edited by Alison Brysk and Austin
Choi-Fitzpatrick. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Pennsylvania studies in human rights)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 8122- 4382- 6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Slavery. 2. Human traffi cking. 3. Forced labor.
4. Human rights. I. Brysk, Alison, 1960– II. Choi
Fitzpatrick, Austin. III. Series: Pennsylvania studies in
human rights.
HT867.F676 2012
306.3'62—dc23
2011030588
Contents
Introduction: Rethinking Traffi cking 1
Alison Brysk and Austin Choi- Fitzpatrick
PART I. FROM SEX TO SLAVERY
1. Rethinking Traffi cking: Contemporary Slavery 13
Austin Choi- Fitzpatrick
2. Uncomfortable Silences: Contemporary Slavery and the
“Lessons” of History 25
Joel Quirk
3. Representing Traffi cking: Media in the United States,
Great Britain, and Canada 44
Girish J. “Jeff ” Gulati
PART II. FROM PROSTITUTION TO POWER
4. Rethinking Traffi cking: Human Rights and Private Wrongs 73
Alison Brysk
5. Th e Sexual Politics of U.S. Inter/National Security 86
Laura Hebert
6. Rethinking Gender Violence: Battered and Traffi cked Women
in Greece and the United States 107
Gabriela Wasileski and Mark J. Miller
vi Contents
7. Peacekeepers and Human Traffi cking: Th e New
Security Dilemma 121
Charles Anthony Smith
8. Th e Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Assessing the Impact
of the OAS and the UN on Human Traffi cking in Haiti 137
Heather T. Smith
PART III. FROM RESCUE TO RIGHTS
9. Making Human Rights Accessible: Th e Role of Governments
in Traffi cking and Migrant Labor Exploitation 157
Christien van den Anker
10. Human Rights and Human Traffi cking: A Refl ection
on the Infl uence and Evolution of the U.S. Traffi cking
in Persons Reports 172
Anne Gallagher
11. Th e Anti- slavery Movement: Making Rights Reality 195
Kevin Bales and Austin Choi- Fitzpatrick
Notes 217
Bibliography 225
List of Contributors 259
Index 261
Ac know ledg ments 267
From Human Traffi cking to Human Rights
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Introduction
Rethinking Traffi cking
Alison Brysk and Austin Choi- Fitzpatrick
Over the last de cade, the problem of modern slavery has moved from being a
marginal concern to a mainstream issue, with signifi cant advances in levels of
public awareness, offi cial engagement, and specialized research. Traffi cking in
persons for the purposes of forced prostitution has been the primary focal
point of this renewed interest in questions of human bondage. From 1865
through 1990 slavery suff ered from issue depletion, only to be rediscovered
as human traffi cking and successfully adopted as a cause célèbre. Scholars,
activists, policy makers, and the general public have found the plight of mil-
lions to be a departure point for larger conversations about globalization,
prostitution, and a host of other issues. While all of this attention is critical,
we believe too much of this conversation has been superfi cial, incomplete,
or distorted— leading to a tragically inadequate response. Th e contributions
in this volume stem from a frustration with the status quo understanding of
smuggling and outmoded debates around the legalization of prostitution.
Our research has shown us new dimensions of the issue that give us the op-
portunity to push the discourse into original, progressive analysis of rights,
slavery, power, and emancipation. Our aim is to move the conversation from
sex to slavery, from prostitution to power, and from rescue to rights.
Understanding the Problem
Many advocacy groups cite fi gures of more than 27 million people world-
wide exploited in contemporary forms of slavery, with several million of