Sex Trafficking: Towards a Social and Economic Justice Approach

• In Event: Understanding the Commercial Sex Market in New York City

Abstract

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age. This paper details the rates and kinds of trafficking among the 300 adults in NYC who trade sex, including by age of first trading experience, and experiences of force, fraud, and coercion. Further, it explores the challenges that arise from person-centered definitions of trafficking and from a victim/criminal binary. Highlighting the systemic forces that impact pathways into the sex trades underscores the importance of a social and economic justice approach to designing policies and programs for this population.

Authors

• Janell Johnson-Dash, Center for Court Innovation

• Rachel Swaner, Center for Court Innovation