Abstract
The prevalence of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour in the Pacific Northwest has been well documented in recent years. This paper focuses specifically on trafficking for sex work across the British Columbia and Washington State border and seeks to determine whether the border is an effective instrument or tool for the identification and intervention of human trafficking for sex work. We provide an exploration of the legal frameworks and policies on either side of the border and offer an analysis of the cross-border anti-trafficking efforts carried out at the borderlands. The paper concludes that current mechanisms fail to appropriately address and combat the issue of cross-border sex trafficking for several reasons, including the following: a lack of uniform definitions of sex trafficking; the conflation of migrant sex work and sex trafficking, leading to misidentification at the border; and an emphasis on border security measures over victim support. Recommendations for enhanced responses are provided.
Highlights
Few human rights issues have captured the attention of the North American population in the twenty-first century like human trafficking has
The collection of accurate data about the prevalence of human trafficking in North America is significantly impeded by a lack of conceptual clarity, in particular, as pertains to how to distinguish between human trafficking and smuggling, and how human trafficking for sex work is distinct from migrant sex work (Aradau 2003; Farrell and Fahy 2009)
Northwest regions of British Columbia and Washington State, this paper has demonstrated that the current cross-border efforts to fight sex trafficking in the region face significant challenges in providing effective responses to the issue
Summary
Few human rights issues have captured the attention of the North American population in the twenty-first century like human trafficking has. The exploitation of human beings, whether it be for labour or sex, has given rise to a myriad of campaigns spearheaded by federal, municipal, and non-profit institutions in both Canada and the United States. This surge in interest was generated, in large part, by the development of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons in 2000 (UN Protocol), which called for states to increase efforts to fight the problem within their own countries. It is challenging to discuss such an urgent and important subject without directly consulting those affected by it; we acknowledge the need for extensive primary investigation to be conducted in this area, and we hope that the information and recommendations provided in the pages below will lead to further examination of—and response to—these pressing issues
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