Human trafficking

Emily Clifford

Chapter 26 in Handbook on Gender in World Politics, 2026, pp 165-171 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This short chapter addresses human trafficking by tracing the politics of its definition. I begin by problematising the institutionalisation of anti-trafficking advocacy, documenting the negotiated efforts to conceptualise trafficking on a global stage. These efforts contribute to a ‘rescue industry’ in which sex work is moralised and made exceptional to conceal the violent inequalities of neoliberal development. I then follow a social and legislative shift towards the language of modern slavery. I argue that the historicization of human trafficking as modern slavery further reinforces the fantasy of neoliberal politics by promising salvation to the exploited. By drawing attention to the politics haunting efforts to understand and confront human trafficking, I challenge its gendered and racialised logics. These logics narrow impressions of victimhood, justify the intensification of border controls, and absolve the international community of responsibility for creating the conditions for exploitation.

Keywords: Human Trafficking; Modern Slavery; Rescue Politics; Sex Work Exceptionalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781803923765
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781803923772.00033 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:21594_26

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().