Freakoffs or Trafficking: How the Sean Combs Trial Verdict Impacts Public Perceptions of Sex Trafficking

The Tragedy and Horror of Human Trafficking of Children and Youth

Human trafficking emerged as an important issue in world politics in the I 990s. A wide range of feminist and human rights organizations argued that sex trafficking - the forced migration and labour of women and girls in prostitution - was a growing international problem, a form of 'modern day slavery' that needed urgent international attention. In 2000, after many years of lobbying and debate, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new anti-trafficking protocol - the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. Many countries and regions around the world have since developed extensive regimes designed to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and protect victims. There has also been increasing recognition over this period that trafficking is not confined to sex trafficking, Women and girls are not only subjected to forced sexual labour; they may be trafficked for other purposes, for example, domestic or agricultural work. There has also been increasing recognition that men and boys may be victims of trafficking. Consequently, the language used to discuss trafficking has undergone a shift - from 'sex trafficking' to the more gender-neutral formulation of 'people trafficking' or 'trafficking in human beings'. However, it is clear that gender matters in the trafficking arena particularly in terms of how the problem of trafficking - and the 'solutions' to this problem - have been constructed in recent times. It is still women and sex trafficking that tends to be the primary object of concern, especially for the media, police and law and policy makers. Also, anti-trafficking campaigns may have particularly gendered consequences, While anti-trafficking campaigns have clearly led to the rescue of some women trapped in dire circumstances, they can also have a serious and negative impact on the human rights of migrant women workers who engage in sex work. In this chapter, I first look at how trafficking has been constructed as a problem in world politics and in international law. I then look at research which attempts to ascertain the incidence of trafficking and its causes. Finally, I explore some significant and gendered issues of concern in contemporary debates about the trafficking problem. © 2010 Editorial selection and matter, Laura J. Shepherd; individual chapters the contributors

This article intends to respond to a recent call (e.g., Zhang Global Crime 10(3):178–195, 2009; Brunovskis and Surtees International Migration 48(4):1–38, 2010) for more innovative studies and methodologies in order to move beyond the current discourse on human trafficking. We do so by describing three ethnographic fragments on the dynamics of (dealing with) sex trafficking within Europe. The concepts of ‘friction’ and ‘collaboration’ (Tsing Cultural Anthropology 15(3):327–360, 2000, 2005) are used to analyse these fragments. These concepts refer to creative processes that occur as people interact across differences. They give insight into how universal ideas on freedom and justice enable collaboration between parties involved in fighting human trafficking who do not necessarily share a common goal. We conclude that the presented method of ‘patchwork ethnography’ is useful in studying sex trafficking as it implies a strong focus on connections between ‘sites of diverse knowledge’, without losing sight of individual stories of people making those connections. ‘Patchwork ethnography’ is innovative and it allows researchers to expose and untangle the workings of the supposedly all-powerful phenomenon and the encompassing, uniform, hegemonic discourse surrounding human (sex) trafficking.

Contents: Part I The Global Context: Setting the Stage for Sex and Labor Trafficking: Introduction, Susan Tiano Human trafficking: a perfect storm of contributing factors, Susan Tiano Migration the forgotten link in the nexus between freedom from want and freedom from fear, Sandro Calvani and Olivia Jung (in collaboration with Vittoria Luda di Cortemiglia) Trafficking in women and girls: commodification for profit, Kathryn Farr. Part II Human Trafficking in Mexico: Trata de Personas: Mexico's efforts, Gustavo de UnA!nue Aguirre CorazA^3n Azul: a hope for the vulnerable, Roberto Rodriquez HernA!ndez Sex trafficking in Mexico: the nexus between poverty, violence against women, and gender inequalities, Jenny Clark Assessing human trafficking in Mexico: the American Bar Association rule of law initiative's experience, Brenner Allen. Part III Human Trafficking Along the US-Mexico Border: Human trafficking and the US-Mexico border: reflections on a complex issue in a binational context, Tony Payan The best smugglers in El Paso, David B. Ham Human trafficking through Mexico and the southwest border: accounts from Hidalgo and Cochise counties, Richard J. Schaefer and Carolyn Gonzales Aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: labor exploitation and human trafficking of Mexican nationals to the Gulf Coast, Stephanie Hepburn. Part IV Combating Human Trafficking: Coordinated Responses Across Communities and Borders: Roadblocks to legal help for trafficking victims: T-visas and the Mondragon raid, Lise Olsen A model for coordination in anti-human trafficking task forces: the El Paso, Texas, site protocol, Virginia McCrimmon Combating human trafficking in the US-Mexico borderlands, Moira Murphy-Aguilar and Susan Tiano Index.

Introduction 1. Human Sex Trafficking, The Local Situation becomes Global: Laws and Policies Frances P. Bernat (Arizona State University) 2. International News Coverage of Human Trafficking Arrests and Prosecutions Erin Denton (McGill University) A Legal Response 3. Laws against Human Trafficking in 2005 in Japan Minoru Yokoyama (Kokugakuin University) 4. Taking Trafficking to Court May-Len Skilbrei (Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, Norway) Sex Trafficking around the World 5. Victims of Sex Trafficking in Turkey: Characteristics, Motivations and Dynamics Oguzhan Omer Demir (Turkish National Police Academy) and James O. Finckenauer (Rutgers University) 6. Pimp Control and Violence: Domestic Sex Trafficking of Chicago Women and Girls Jody Raphael (DePaul University College of Law), Jessica Ashley and Mark Powers (Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority) 7. Understanding the Complexities of Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation: The Case of Southeast Asia Ashley G. Blackburn (University of North Texas), Robert W. Taylor (Caruth Police Institute) and Jennifer E. Davis (Caruth Police Institute) Solutions 8. T Visas: Prosecution Tool or Humanitarian Response? Joycelyn M. Pollock and Valerie Hollier (Texas State University - San Marcos) 9. Doors Wide Shut: Barriers to the Successful Delivery of Victim Services for Domestically Trafficked Minors in a Southern U.S. Metropolitan Area Joan A. Reid (University of South Florida) 10. Methodological Challenges: Getting Access to Active Sex Trafficking Ring Choo Kyungseok (University of Massachusetts - Lowell) Conclusion 11. Sex Trafficking, The Global becomes Local Frances P. Bernat and Heather Winkler (Arizona State University)

This study describes physical, mental, and socioeconomic health issues of people who have experienced human trafficking. Data was utilized from the electronic medical records of the PurpLE Clinic, which provided primary care for survivors of human trafficking from 2015 to 2019. One hundred and twenty-four patients experienced any sex trafficking (85.5% cisgender women, 13.7% transgender women) and 14 patients experienced labor trafficking only (85.7% cisgender women, 14.3% cisgender men.) Common healthcare issues addressed included blood pressure management (20.2% sex trafficking, 35.7% labor trafficking), musculoskeletal pain (32.3% sex trafficking, 42.9% labor trafficking), and unprotected intercourse (43.5% sex trafficking). Preventative health services survivors engaged in family planning, tobacco cessation, vaccinations, and chronic disease screening. A majority of survivors had moderate-to-severe depression (65.2%) and anxiety (71.2%), and screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (93.9%). Socioeconomic issues included experiencing housing insecurity (50.0%), being undocumented (50.0%), and uninsured (39.9%). Sex and labor trafficking survivors have a range of acute and chronic health issues, including a high prevalence of PTSD, and co- existing socioeconomic vulnerabilities. These findings provide a framework for understanding post-identification care needs of human trafficking survivors in the United States, and highlight opportunities to address long-term health needs of this population.

Human trafficking is a phenomenon with a long history during the centuries. In Albania country, human trafficking has existed for a long time, even during the communist period. The post-communist period has been ranked as the top period for human trafficking and human slavery. As a result of the phenomena of the collapse of communism after 1990, in Albanian society happened so many changes in the field of government and political system, the opening of boundaries toward all countries of the world or free movement toward all countries, liberalisation of the economy, social and cultural changes etc. Most researchers evaluated this period as a transition period in political, social, economic and cultural. So this situation created a good field for developing human trafficking within Albania. Although the human trafficking phenomenon has been explored in the post-communist society, in the transition period till nowadays have been growing and extended more. The functioning of the government and low security made it possible for the mafia to be stronger in human trafficking too. So, Albania has been a bridge country for human trafficking from Eastern countries toward Greece, Italy, European Countries and other countries of the world. Women and children were and are still primary victims of sex slavery and are included in varying sexual activities like prostitution, stripping, sex tourism, pornography etc. In this paper, we are going to explain human trafficking as a type of modern slavery that is formed as sex trafficking. In this case, we are going to discuss the psychological trauma that sex trafficking affects Albanian women. Are these victims still able to continue their own lives? Do they fill their selves ignored by the society where they are living? What are their psychological traumas caused in their character and does this trauma affect their life? Also, we are going to discuss for social trauma that is caused in Albanian society during the human trafficking have happened in the post-communist period till today. What are the pathologies that human trafficking (in this case sex trafficking) brings to Albanian society and the different social actors? Received: 2 June 2024 / Accepted: 25 July 2024 / Published: 29 July 2024

Because it commodifies humans and their labor, human trafficking is distinct from other crimes and from other types of trafficking, including drug trafficking, the most frequently-prosecuted trafficking crime. The underlying social networks and organizational structures of these trafficking crimes may also differ, resulting in potentially significant differences among the offenders themselves. Using 21 years of data from the Federal Justice Statistics Program in a quantitative research design, we examined whether significant demographic differences exist between defendants charged with drug or human trafficking, and within human trafficking, between those charged with labor or sex trafficking. Further, because federal statutes differentiate among the severity of sex trafficking crimes, we assessed whether significant differences exist among sex trafficking defendants, depending on the severity of the crime with which the defendant is charged. Results indicate that human trafficking defendants differ in important respects from drug trafficking defendants. When separating human trafficking crimes into labor and lower- and higher-penalty sex trafficking, statistically significant differences among defendants remain. Notably, males and White/White Hispanic defendants in human trafficking cases are most likely to be charged with serious, higher-penalty sex trafficking. Female defendants are more likely to be charged with lower-penalty crimes that do not involve minor victims or the use of force. The networks and opportunity structures necessary to support severe forms of trafficking may therefore be dominated by male offenders. Although recent media attention has focused on female offenders in sex trafficking cases, researchers and policymakers should note that these cases do not reflect historical trends.

Often, human trafficking is only thought of as sex trafficking, and many perceive it as a new term for prostitution; yet, human trafficking includes much more. Police understanding of human trafficking is especially important as police are first responders and serve as gatekeepers to service access for victims or punishment for offenders. Thus, how police define human trafficking and whether they recognize it in their area is an important area of inquiry. Surveying 495 police officers serving at a large agency in the northeastern USA, this study explored police conceptualizations of human trafficking, finding that most officers define human trafficking as sex trafficking. Further, logistic regression analyses show that myths surrounding human trafficking (especially that human trafficking is prostitution) affect officers’ perceptions of whether human trafficking is a problem in their area. Additionally, officer characteristics, such as training, tenure, type of area served, and experience with human trafficking cases, affect officers’ perceptions of human trafficking. These and other findings are discussed in light of the literature.

Charito† dropped out of elementary school to find work in order to help her impoverished family. She worked odd jobs babysitting or working as a maid, and then she met a woman who promised her a good job in a nearby city. It was, however, a lie. At just 14 years old, Charito was trafficked to a large entertainment club in Cebu, Philippines. “They treated us like animals,” Charito said years later, remembering how she was sold for sex night after night. She added, “I never thought it would happen to me.” Human trafficking erodes the dignity God has intended for his children and our communities. God has made us in his glorious image to display his majesty, but human trafficking converts people, the objects of our Father’s affections, into tools for profit and perverted pleasure of the powerful in society. Perhaps the most brutal form of human trafficking is the massive global business of rape for profit called sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, provision, or obtaining of a person in order that a commercial sex act can be induced by force, fraud, coercion, or great vulnerability. Trafficked persons—predominantly women and children—are often targeted because of desperation and tricked with the promise of a good job. Some are kidnapped and drugged only to find out upon waking up that they are trapped in a brothel and forced to provide sex to customers. In some instances, victims are sold by family members in order to pay medical bills or family debts. According to UNICEF, nearly two million children are used globally in the commercial sex trade. My colleague, Sharon Cohn Wu, rightly observes that “more than any other human rights abuse I can think of, forced prostitution—rape for profit—tears down the person completely, [and] just strips away who they are.” Human trafficking also breaks down a community’s sense of the value of human life. In the Philippines, the on-going, open sale of children for sex is both a sign of their broken down lives and of the community’s broken down defenses. This year, the US Department of State correctly observed the sex trafficking situation in the Philippines: “[h]undreds of victims are subjected to sex trafficking each day in well-known and highly visible business establishments that cater to Filipinos’ and foreign tourists’ demand for commercial sex acts.” Over the weeks, months, and years, the public sale of girls and boys and vulnerable women for sex reinforces unspoken beliefs that some people are less worthy of protection, and that some abusers are too strong for the community to stand up against.

problem of gender discrimination in China.In addition, China's long history of gender inequality and human trafficking is a unique factor to China, and therefore will also be taken into consideration alongside the other factors.Given the scale of sex trafficking in China, both domestic (trafficking within a China) and transnational (trafficking across China's international frontiers), a close study of its conditions will illuminate the dynamics that foster the problem. Sex Trafficking in China -A Case StudyChina is an excellent case study because not only does it have one of the highest volumes of sex trafficking in the world, China also illustrates many of the causal factors and social conditions that ultimately drive and sustain the sex trafficking market worldwide.The 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report indicates that "Instances of trafficking are pronounced among China's internal migrant population, estimated to exceed 236 million people" (United States Department of State 2014, 1).According to the United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in 2013 "1949 people were arrested, 2395 prosecuted, and 1978 convicted for the crime of trafficking in women and children For the crime of forced prostitution, 1042 persons were arrested, 1219 prosecuted, and 1109 convicted" (UNODC 2014, 6). 2 Moreover, according to the United Nations Inter-Agency Project (UNIAP), "China is both a source and destination country for human trafficking, and trafficking occurs mainly in the context of large-scale migration within the country, which is increasing" (Feng 2008, 1).Kneebone (2012, 155) also states that, "The focus of trafficking in China is on women and children trafficked for prostitution, marriage and illegal adoption."For domestic trafficking, "Analysis of 301 trafficking cases reported by

Purpose Protecting society from sex offenders has presented a challenge for state legislatures. Recent decades have seen a significant increase in sexually motivated crimes, especially sex trafficking. Effectively combatting sexual exploitation demands a range of legal strategies. As of 2012, 20 states have passed sexually violent predators (SVP) legislation. Human traffickers may exhibit the same deplorable characteristics as SVPs and should be subject to civil commitments. Traffickers are extremely skilled at exploiting their victim’s psychological pressure-points; knowing which cultural or personal experiences they can prey upon to extract compliance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the overlapping predatory nature of sex traffickers and SVPs; the creation and purpose of sexual predator civil commitment statutes; and to dissect two cases which could give grounds for civil commitment. Design/methodology/approach Legal research and analysis. Findings Repeated human sex traffickers may suffer from an underlying mental illness which would render them a continued danger to society when released from jail. They should be evaluated and civility committed if medically appropriate. Practical implications A potential increase in civil commits. Social implications Keep society safe from repeat sexual predators. Originality/value The authors have vast experience in the field of human trafficking and this topic will be a pioneering initial discussion.

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Frontline ReportsFull AccessPsychiatrists’ Involvement in a Public Health Response to Human TraffickingRachel Robitz, M.D., Priti Ojha, M.D., Steve Koh, M.D., M.P.H.Rachel RobitzSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Priti OjhaSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Steve KohSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., M.P.H.Published Online:18 Oct 2022https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20220430AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Human trafficking is increasingly being viewed through a public health lens, which allows us to address it as an issue that affects health. With this approach, psychiatrists can focus on preventive measures and on the health care needs of individuals who have experienced trafficking. Psychiatrists in San Diego have partnered with the local community to address trafficking through clinical services and development of policies for identification and appropriate care of trafficking survivors.Clinical work began when a University of California, San Diego (UCSD), family medicine–psychiatry resident (R.R.) with an interest in working with this population developed relationships with community organizations. Many organizations used therapists to provide behavioral health support, but they were unable to access trauma-informed psychiatric services in a timely fashion. To improve access to high-quality care, the resident began seeing patients via both residential and outpatient programs for sex trafficking survivors, initially within a self-designed elective rotation and then during formal rotations through UCSD’s community psychiatry program.The clinical sites included a federally qualified health center and a county-funded specialty clinic that together have served more than 100 patients who have been trafficked for sex. All women at a residential treatment program for survivors of sex trafficking were enrolled as patients. They received their primary care from family medicine residents trained by the family medicine–psychiatry resident in providing care for survivors of human trafficking, and they received psychiatric care from psychiatry residents. The primary psychiatrist (R.R. or P.O.) maintained regular contact with treatment program staff, when patients gave consent to do so, to ensure a unified treatment plan. Patients received group and individual trauma-based therapies through the residential treatment program as well as educational, life skills, and arts-based group sessions. Most women remained in the program for 6–12 months. The county-funded specialized clinic provided services to youths who experienced or were at risk of commercial sexual exploitation. Services included case management and individual and group psychotherapy. The psychiatrist (P.O.) collaborated closely with therapists and case managers, who often attended sessions to enhance the trauma-informed approach.UCSD also formed a multidisciplinary committee, now cochaired by a community psychiatrist (P.O.), comprising UCSD faculty, nurses, social workers, medical trainees, and community partners. The committee developed and implemented a policy and screening protocol with guidance from a protocol development tool kit from HEAL Trafficking and Hope for Justice. The protocol includes guidance on how to assess patients for signs of human trafficking, steps for providing a trauma-informed response, and an overview of how and when to engage law enforcement or child protective services. Additionally, the committee hosts an annual human trafficking awareness event to educate health system staff and encourage collaboration. Tools to educate health system staff about both human trafficking and trauma-informed care are being developed.There were several barriers to developing psychiatric services for this population. Few psychiatrists have expertise in working with this population, and the original work in San Diego County was completed by a resident with limited topic-specific supervision. Clinical barriers included occasional difficulties in communication because of a lack of a centralized area for exchange of medical information. Also, psychiatrists often lack awareness and knowledge about human trafficking and how to address it in clinical settings. Many other programs in the area also had funding restrictions, which limited services to certain age groups or types of trafficking. These barriers limit access to needed services for several populations, including survivors of labor trafficking and male survivors of trafficking.Psychiatry has a critical role to play in the public health response to human trafficking. Because this is a relatively novel area of medicine, there is ample room for expansion. We continue to develop educational tools and evaluate and expand our protocol. This early work has focused on sex trafficking. However, we must also consider the needs of labor trafficking survivors, who are rarely offered treatment and have frequently experienced trauma. Overall, these activities demonstrate that psychiatrists can be involved in a multipronged approach to addressing human trafficking as a public health issue.Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Sacramento (Robitz); Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla (Ojha, Koh).Send correspondence to Dr. Robitz ([email protected]).The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests. FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 74Issue 2 February 01, 2023Pages 212-212 Metrics KeywordsPublic healthAdministration and managementTraumaWomen’s healthPDF download History Published online 18 October 2022 Published in print 1 February 2023

Reviewed by: The Seductions of Quantification: Measuring Human Rights, Gender Violence, and Sex Trafficking by Sally Engle Merry David Cingranelli (bio) Sally Engle Merry, The Seductions of Quantification: Measuring Human Rights, Gender Violence, and Sex Trafficking (University of Chicago Press 2016), ISBN 978-0-226-26128-7, 249 pages. Sally Engle Merry’s The Seductions of Quantification: Measuring Human Rights, Gender Violence, and Sex Trafficking describes and critiques the process of producing and analyzing numerical indicators of human rights, gender violence, and sex trafficking. She believes that the [End Page 239] process of quantification is highly political and ideological, and that quantitative measurement systems constitute a form of power, incorporating theories about social change in their design. She emphasizes that measurement systems are developed by powerful organizations, and the organizational value biases behind those systems are rarely explicit. Quantification itself contributes to a “myth of objectivity,” meaning that the truth of most things can be found in numbers. One of the main problems with quantification, she contends, is that the production of quantified measurements is not as open and transparent as it should be. If it were clearer, we would be able to see that it is shaped by “ideology, inertia, social and political influence, inadequate data, and the pragmatic compromises that poor data require.”1 In several chapters, she provides examples showing that what is measured and how it is measured usually depends upon the preferences of powerful organizations. As a result of this bias and other problems detailed in her book, she concludes that “[n]ot all that should be counted is counted, nor does counting itself necessarily provide an accurate picture of a situation or its explanation.”2 In the interest of full disclosure, the reader should know that I have spent most of my professional life quantifying cross-national variations in government respect for a variety of human rights such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and press. So I personally have contributed and continue to contribute to the “seduction of quantification” the author describes. Therefore, I began my reading of this work with a great interest in her subject and a bias against her argument. I also read this book with great respect for the views of this particular author. She is an acknowledged expert on evaluating the performance of respect for human rights and other aspects of good governance. She has written several previous books and articles on related subjects, and this book is filled with interesting examples drawn from her personal experiences. She discusses her active participation helping intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations develop creative ways to evaluate progress in human rights, including reducing gender violence and sex trafficking. Overall, I agree with the author’s diagnosis of the problems presented by quantification, and with her assessment that there is a trend towards producing more numerical scores designed to capture complex human rights and governance concepts. She accurately describes the strong trend towards greater use and increasingly uncritical and naïve use of those scores by scholars and policy makers. She does a good job of explaining the reasons for this trend, or, as she refers to it in her title, the reasons for “the seductions of quantification.” I also found her book to be very readable despite the fact that the discussion sometimes addresses technical subjects and provides detailed accounts of the politics behind the development of numerical indicators. Her book is well organized and well written. It is composed at a level appropriate for advanced undergraduate college students. I will probably assign the first two chapters and the conclusion to the book as required [End Page 240] reading for my undergraduate seminar on measuring human rights. The book contains an excellent, up-to-date review of the relevant literature. It is a must read for scholars, policy makers, and policy analysts who produce or use these types of quantitative indicators and for policy makers who want to learn more about the pitfalls of evidence-based governance. Less sophisticated readers (those not directly involved in the knowledge production and consumption process) probably will not fully appreciate the nuances of this account. In the remainder of this essay, I provide a brief description...

Migrant Asian massage workers in North America first experienced the impacts of COVID-19 in the final weeks of January 2020, when business dropped drastically due to widespread xenophobic fears that the virus was concentrated in Chinese diasporic communities. The sustained economic devastation, which began at least 8 weeks prior to the first social distancing and shelter in place orders issued in the U.S. and Canada, has been further complicated by a history of aggressive policing of migrant massage workers in the wake of the war against human trafficking. Migrant Asian massage businesses are increasingly policed as locales of potential illicit sex work and human trafficking, as police and anti-trafficking initiatives target migrant Asian massage workers despite the fact that most do not provide sexual services. The scapegoating of migrant Asian massage workers and criminalization of sex work have led to devastating systemic and interpersonal violence, including numerous deportations, arrests, and deaths, most notably the recent murder of eight people at three Atlanta-based spas. The policing of sex workers has historically been mobilized along fears of sexually transmitted disease and infection, and more recently, within the past two decades, around a moral panic against sex trafficking. New racial anxieties around the coronavirus as an Asian disease have been mobilized by the state to further cement the justification of policing Asian migrant workers along the axes of health, migration, and sexual labor. These justifications also solidify discriminatory social welfare regimes that exclude Asian migrant massage workers from accessing services on the basis of the informality and illegality of their work mixed with their precarious citizenship status. This paper draws from ethnographic participant observation and survey data collected by two sex worker organizations that work primarily with massage workers in Toronto and New York City to examine the double-edged sword of policing during the pandemic in the name of anti-trafficking coupled with exclusionary policies regarding emergency relief and social welfare, and its effects on migrant Asian massage workers in North America. Although not all migrant Asian massage workers, including those surveyed in this paper, provide sexual services, they are conflated, targeted, and treated as such by the state and therefore face similar barriers of criminalization, discrimination, and exclusion. This paper recognizes that most migrant Asian massage workers do not identify as sex workers and does not intend to label them as such or reproduce the scapegoating rhetoric used by law enforcement. Rather, it seeks to analyze how exclusionary attitudes and policies towards sex workers are transferred onto migrant Asian massage workers as well whether or not they provide sexual services.