Trafficking in People, 20 Years On: Sex, Migration and Crime in the Global Anti-Trafficking Discourse and the Rise of the ‘Global Trafficking Complex’

Abstract

Trafficking in people has been at the forefront of international, regional and bilateral intervention in the global north for over two decades. During this time, the issue has been profoundly explored, researched, theorised and analysed (for an extensive literature review, see Segrave et al 2009; Lee 2011; Schauer and Wheaton 2006). The body of literature on the topic is so vast that it is almost impossible to keep up with the burgeoning works that emerge from a range of sources; academics, politicians, policy-makers, law enforcement analysts, human rights advocates and activists are relentless in dissecting the issue and offering best-practice intervention that will protect victims and punish offenders. Such unprecedented interest in the topic has only sporadically been accompanied by rigorous investigation and critical research to assist us to better understand the trafficking phenomenon and, importantly, to consider the factors that have driven and sustained trafficking as a key focus of criminologists, sociologists and policymakers.