Trafficking: a demand led problem? A multi-country pilot study
Author(s): B. Anderson J. O'Connell Davidson
Human trafficking is a widely discussed issue. In particular, the demand side of human trafficking has received much attention in academic research and public debates. However, this report by critically analysing the demand side of trafficking raises two sets of problems. First, definition of the term “trafficking” needs to be consistently reviewed. Different groups such as governments, feminist “abolitionist” NGOs and migrant workers’ along with labour organisations, child rights’ NGOs, sex workers’ rights activists, and other human rights agencies identify trafficking as a problem for very different reasons and often have very different political agendas with regard to the issue. Second, questions about supply and demand cannot be separated in the analysis of any given market, nor can markets be discussed in abstraction from the broader social, economic, political and institutional context in which they operate. Moreover, the state plays a crucial role in shaping what is bought and sold and by whom, and on what terms. The main conclusion of the report is that the issue of trafficking leads to a broader question of international consensus as to how, if at all, the various areas of social and economic life within which trafficking and related abuses occur should be regulated by the state, or whether market relations should apply in these areas. Policy makers need to be much clearer about their own objectives and priorities with regard to trafficking. Another conclusion can be drawn that if the primary policy objective is to prevent migrants (and others) from ending up in exploitative situations from which they cannot freely retract, then policy makers will need to enter into dialogue with, and listen seriously to, the concerns of a rather wide range of interest groups than are currently included in debates on trafficking.