Abstract
This article looks at debates over human trafficking by considering the linkages between federal funding, media myths, and non-governmental organization (NGO) activities and by examining the textual and visual content of NGO websites. By highlighting the ways in which NGOs echo government communication strategies, we argue that these debates are constrained not only by the current political terrain, but also by an ingrained and problematic anti-trafficking discourse. Further, we interrogate the language and emotive appeals of NGOs that receive federal funding for anti-trafficking programming through the exploration of counter-discourses developed by both scholars and independent organizations that are critical of dominant narratives and policies. We conclude by suggesting that alternative narratives and media strategies are needed for the development of more nuanced and authentic conceptions of labour, migration, and sex work
Highlights
Concern over human trafficking has seen a strong resurgence in recent years
We begin this article with an analysis of the construction of the human trafficking problem in Canada by looking at some of the broader narratives and myths circulating in the media. we examine the federal government’s approach to information management and their funding of anti-trafficking non-governmental organizations (NGos). in the subsequent section, we examine the extent to which government conceptions of “human trafficking” and “trafficking victims” match those found in the textual and visual content of the websites of eighteen NGos that receive federal funding to engage in anti-trafficking programming. on this basis, we argue that there is a strong correlation between the two, and that together they generate a powerful set of trafficking images and narratives
By configuring trafficking as a form of slavery, by demonizing the trafficker, and especially by conflating trafficking with prostitution and women with children, organizations produce a sense of crisis and of a vast and growing problem. the corresponding media coverage is plagued by an exaggerated focus on the sex trafficking of women and children, despite the Trafficking Protocol’s reference to all forms of labour as potential sites of trafficking (Cheng, 2008; Public Safety Canada, 2012)
Summary
AbStRACt This article looks at debates over human trafficking by considering the linkages between federal funding, media myths, and non-governmental organization (NGO) activities and by examining the textual and visual content of NGO websites. KEYwoRDS Mass media; Human trafficking; Discourse analysis; Policy analysis; Visual communication; Anti-trafficking myths; Federal communication strategy. En analysant la façon dont les activités des ONG reflètent les stratégies de communication du gouvernement, nous soutenons que ces débats sont limités non seulement par le terrain politique actuel, mais aussi par un discours anti-trafic enraciné et problématique. Nous interrogeons le langage et les appels émotifs des ONG qui reçoivent des fonds du gouvernement fédéral pour la programmation pour la lutte contre la traite à travers l’exploration de contre-discours développés par les universitaires et les organisations indépendantes critiques de récits et politiques dominants. MotS CléS Médias de masse; Traite des êtres humains; Analyse de discours; Analyse politique; Communication visuelle; Mythes anti-traite; Stratégie de communication fédérale
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