Contentious issues in research on trafficked women working in the sex industry: study design, ethics, and methodology

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2005 by Julie Cwikel, Elizabeth Hoban

Trafficking of women and children for work outside their countries of origin in an increasingly globalized sex industry is a significant issue for public health professionals, international law enforcement and human rights agencies, international labor monitors, and groups concerned with women's and children's welfare (Coalition Against Trafficking Woman [CATW], 2003; Human Rights Watch, 2002; Levenkron & Dahan, 2003; Vanderberg, 1997; Watts & Zimmerman, 2002; Zimmerman & Watts, 2003). There are huge profits gained from women trafficked for sex work (WTSW): the turnover, estimated at between $7-10 billion a year, is seen as the best cost/risk-benefit ratio of all criminal activity (Levenkron & Dahan; USAID Office of Women in Development, 1999; U.S. Department of State, 2003). However, the revenues from trafficking reported are "guestimates," because they are based on estimates of the number of transactions between WTSW, clients, and traffickers. Furthermore, Interpol calls trafficking the fastest-growing crime category today (Sulavik, 2003). The profit from trafficked women is vast compared with the $54 million over two years that the U.S. government invested worldwide to try to stop trafficking (U.S. Department of State).

Moving women between countries for the purposes of work in prostitution dates back to Roman and Biblical times and was a major concern among social reformers of the late 19th century who fought against the "White slave trade." However, the nature of contemporary trafficking enterprises has changed both in volume and method. Growth of the internet has provided new methods of recruiting, procuring, and supporting this clandestine movement of people and expanding the demand for exotic or foreign women for sexual services (von Struensee, 2000). Furthermore, 21st century paraphernalia such as the internet and cell phones facilitate communication and organization between source and destination along the trafficking routes. Like fast food, name-brand soft drinks, and sporting goods, "fast sex" has taken full advantage of the nature of our cyber-world to market women's and children's sexual services by generating a supply of women, generally from economically disadvantaged countries, who work illegally in foreign countries to meet this demand. Thus, the former "White slave trade" today has a wide variety of trafficking routes from diverse source countries and to many destinations, and with various modes of transportation (plane, boat, foot, etc.).

The scope of human trafficking is hard to measure, but it is estimated that from 700,000 to 2 million women (United Nations [UN], 2000), with some estimates as high as 4 million women and children, are trafficked across borders to work in the sex industry each year (Estes & Weiner, 2001; Raymond, 2001; U.S. Department of State, 2002). Estimating the numbers of WTSW is difficult since not all of those trafficked for prostitution were recruited for this occupation. Although most of the women and children are recruited for work in prostitution, sex tourism, or the mail-order-bride business (Watts & Zimmerman, 2002), many are trafficked to work in the garment industry, to join family members, or to work in domestic services; but they may find themselves pressured to provide sexual services as part of their duties (Richard, 1999). At the destination, some women are duped into sex work, and others voluntarily leave low-paying, dead-end jobs for the lure of higher-paying opportunities in prostitution.

Despite the disparities of these estimates, no data source gives details on how these "guestimates" were derived (Kelly, 2002). Accurate estimates are difficult to obtain because the movement of people occurs almost completely in secret. For each person who comes to the attention of border police, immigration, or health or welfare services, there are probably 10 to 20 persons who do not; thus, they remain an invisible labor force. WTSW lack citizens' rights, often do not have passports, and are wary of authorities for fear of deportation (Feingold, 2003). Even when trafficked women are identified, often brothel owners will move them between brothels in order to avoid police intervention and to meet the demand for new and exotic women among the other prostitution outlets under their control. Thus, the determination of the numbers of women and children who are trafficked depends on the definition of trafficking that is used by agencies; problematic access to a mobile population; the data source; and which types of trafficked women are included in the estimates (i.e., only those who know before being trafficked that they are going to work in prostitution, or all illegal residents who work in sex work in destination countries).

The UN Trafficking Protocol defines a trafficked person as someone who is transferred or transported across national and international borders, by means of threat or coercion, for the purposes of economic exploitation in prostitution, forced labor, slavery, or the removal of organs (UN, 2000). Whether or not the trafficked person consented to the transfer is irrelevant if there was any pressure, financial or otherwise, applied to the person or her guardian. The transfer of a child under 18 years for economic exploitation is considered trafficking even in the absence of coercion. All women transported across borders to provide sexual services share experiences such as falling victim to deception and economic indebtedness during the trafficking process. Deceptive tactics may range from outright abduction and kidnapping to enticement through the representation of apparently favorable conditions to deceptive offers of marriage or legitimate employment. It is common for women to enter a "work contract" of six months or a year, and then work without pay for several months or never receive any remuneration if they are resold to new owners or bosses. These contracts are usually verbal accords and often do not articulate the type of work or conditions the women will find at destination. Often the recruiter is someone known or trusted, such as a neighbor, friend, or family member (Raymond, 2001). Although the majority of Soviet women in a study conducted by one of the authors reported knowing in advance that they were going to work in the sex industry, most of them were unaware of the conditions, obligations, and work demands of their prospective employers (Chudakov, Ilan, Belmaker, & Cwikel, 2002).