ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on government agendas and the misuse of anti-trafficking legislation to target both illegal migration and sex work. Vanessa Munro has described trafficking for sexual exploitation as a contemporary battle-ground for competing agendas on issues as diverse as globalization, migration, labour relations and the regulation of sexuality. The chapter examines that battleground and identifies the sources and vested interests of relevant groups. It demonstrates the diversity, but also interrelatedness, of the positions presented in the literature on trafficking. Academic discourse with respect to human trafficking is multi-disciplinary. The phenomenon of trafficking spans such fields as sociology, human and labour rights, criminal law and criminology, international relations along with feminist theory. Pro-sex work feminists argue that sex work is not inherently bad for women; if legalised, or at least, decriminalised, the rights of sex workers can be better protected and those engaging in the profession de-stigmatized.
