ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the rise to prominence of the "voluntary" versus "forced" model of sex worker experience, and the implications and consequences of this rise for sex workers' rights. Early attempts to deal with prostitution internationally were heavily influenced by nineteenth-century feminist activism. It was women like Josephine Butler who first brought the issue of the "white slave trade" to international attention, via a campaign to protect morals of both men and women. After the 1949 Convention was adopted, both feminist and international concern for prostitution and the traffic in women abated for a time. The abolitionist viewpoint has defined the terms of the international discourse on prostitution for almost 100 years. This discourse is being challenged by those who see sex work as a legitimate occupation. Modern abolitionists, ironically, criticize the Trafficking Convention for making a distinction between "voluntary" and "forced" prostitution.
