ABSTRACT

Trafficking stories are causal stories, representing a problem and implying a solution through the depiction of familiar characters. Villains in the trafficking narrative come to symbolise the cause of the problem; however, the narrative placing of blame can misrepresent some villains, while overlooking others who may be at fault. This chapter examines the depiction of villains in trafficking stories in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, demonstrating the persistent characterisation of the trafficking problem as caused by foreign organised crime groups, pimps and brothel managers and men who buy sex – ‘johns’. I argue that despite some challenges to this dominant characterisation, the problem of trafficking is externalised, depicted as brought to countries of the Global North by foreigners, socially maligned communities or importers of foreign practices. I specifically investigate the villainising of the entire sex industry, and the categorisation of johns as active abuser, accidental villain or potential hero. These villain depictions imply solutions of law enforcement and border security, while concealing more systemic causes of the trafficking problem.