Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Around the World: Law, Ideology, and the Experiences of Sex Workers and Clients

Sex work is often called the oldest profession in the world. It manifests itself in a plethora of forms. A move to private locations is now taking place: contacts are established via the Internet and meetings take place at appointed places. This makes it more difficult to monitor forced work, and exploitation therefore risks remaining undetected.

This book presents empirical findings regarding exploitation in various countries, considering sex workers, traffickers and clients, and the fight against human trafficking. Countries differ vastly in their legislative approaches, ranging from highly repressive to very liberal. This volume asks whether the ongoing process of making and changing laws is sufficiently effective in fighting human trafficking. Other interventions could obtain better outcomes, such as promoting more independence among women and helping trafficked individuals to get out. Less ideology and more attention to the facts of exploitation and sex work might help to achieve these aims.

Marijke Malsch is a professor of Empirical Legal studies, Open Universiteit Netherlands, and fellow at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR). Janine Janssen is a professor of Legal Anthropology at Open Universiteit Netherlands, professor of Violence in Relations of Dependency at Avans University of Applied Sciences and at the Police Academy.