“Exploitation Creep” and Development: A Response to Janie Chuang

Aziza Ahmed

doi:10.1017/s2398772300009399

Abstract

In her article Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking Law, Janie Chuang insightfully describes transformations in the discourse on trafficking as it shifted from sex trafficking to human trafficking, and as human trafficking came to be understood as forced labor, and now modern day slavery. With each of these transformations, the United States government, self-anointed “global sheriff” of anti-trafficking efforts, deepened its emphasis on a prosecution-oriented strategy focused on individual perpetrator accountability. As an alternative trajectory, Chuang identifies and convincingly argues for a labor-rights approach that takes into consideration the structural causes of exploitation in the labor market, including poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and conflict.

Highlights

In her article Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking Law,[1] Janie Chuang insightfully describes transformations in the discourse on trafficking as it shifted from sex trafficking to human trafficking, and as human trafficking came to be understood as forced labor, and modern day slavery
In this invited response to Chuang’s article, I examine how the carceral “modern day slavery” (MDS) abolitionist feminist project concerned with sex-trafficking travelled with a larger set of neoliberal prescriptions for development, including efforts to address violence against women as a means to promote women’s participation in markets
By the mid-1990s, the ongoing failure of the Washington Consensus[6] to bring economic growth and stability brought renewed attention to what law professor Kerry Rittich calls “second-generation” reforms. These reforms shifted from a narrow economic focus to a broader consideration of the “social, structural, and human dimensions” of development[7] including gender, health, and education

Summary

Introduction

In her article Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking Law,[1] Janie Chuang insightfully describes transformations in the discourse on trafficking as it shifted from sex trafficking to human trafficking, and as human trafficking came to be understood as forced labor, and modern day slavery. In this invited response to Chuang’s article, I examine how the carceral “modern day slavery” (MDS) abolitionist feminist project concerned with sex-trafficking travelled with a larger set of neoliberal prescriptions for development, including efforts to address violence against women as a means to promote women’s participation in markets.

Results

Conclusion