Punished for Strength: Sex Worker Activism and the Anti-Trafficking Movement

Authors

  • Ava Rose

Keywords:

Sex work, Human trafficking, Canada

Abstract

 

Abstract

This article is a reflection on my work as a sex worker and activist amid the global concern over human trafficking. I highlight the challenges that sex workers can experience as we attempt to position ourselves within discursive frameworks that define us by our injuries. I contend that the focus on injuries risks obscuring the varied experiences of performing sexual labour, the contributions to knowledge made by sex working people, and the solidarity within sex working communities.

 

Résumé

Cet article est une réflexion sur mon travail comme tra­vailleuse du sexe et militante au sein de la préoccupation internationale au sujet de la traite des personnes. Je sou­ligne les défis que peuvent rencontrer les travailleuses du sexe lorsqu’elles tentent de se positionner au sein de cadres discursifs qui les définissent par les préjudices qu’elles subissent. Je soutiens que l’accent mis sur les préjudices risque d’obscurcir la variété des expériences du travail sexuel, les contributions aux connaissances faites par les travailleuses du sexe et la solidarité au sein des communautés du travail du sexe.

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Author Biography

Ava Rose

Ava Rose is a sex worker and author based in Toronto, Canada.

References

Bruckert, Christine and Colette Parent. 2004. Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in Canada: Tracing Perceptions and Discourses. Research and Evaluation Branch, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa. Available at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/PS64-1-2004E.pdf

Doezema, Jo. 2001. “Ouch: Western Feminists’ ‘Wounded Attachment’ to the ‘Third World Prostitute’” Feminist Review. 67(Spring).

Farley, Melissa. 2006.“Prostitution, Trafficking, and Cultural Amnesia: What We Must Not Know to Keep the Business of Sexual Exploitation Running Smoothly” Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. 18(109).

Galloway, Gloria. “Human-Trafficking Crackdown Seen by Some Sex Workers as Bullying Tactic.” Globe and Mail, January 27.

Gunilla Ekberg. 2004 “The Swedish Law that Prohibits the Purchase of Sexual Services: Best Practices for the Prevention of Prostitution and Trafficking in Human Beings” Violence Against Women. 10(10).

Hughes, Donna. 2000. “The ‘Natasha’ Trade: The Transnational Shadow Market of Trafficking in Women”Journal of International Affairs. 53(2).

Jeffreys, Elena. 2011. “Why Feminists Should Listen to Sex Workers.” The Scavenger June 11. Available at: http://www.thescavenger.net/feminism-a-pop-culture/why-feminists-should-listen-to-sex-workers-732.html

Kempadoo, Kamala. 1998. “Sex Workers’ Organizations: Introduction,” in Kamala Kempadoo and Jo Doezema, eds., Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, Redefinition. New York: Routledge.

Kempadoo, Kamala. 2005. Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.

Koyama, Emi. 2011. War on Terrorism and War on Trafficking: A Sex Worker Activist Confronts the Anti-Trafficking Movement. Portland, Oregon: Confluere Publications.

Poulin, Richard. “Globalization and the Sex Trade: Trafficking and the Commodification of Women and Children.” Canadian Woman Studies. 22(3/4).

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Published

2016-07-13