The Evolution of the International Anti-Trafficking Framework

The Evolution of the International Anti-Trafficking Framework: The Hermeneutics of Deception

This presentation brings together Professor Jean Allain's Leverhulme research, which focuses on the deceptions that have impeded the development of the contemporary concept of human trafficking. The phenomenon of human trafficking has its roots in the emergence of a campaign to end state-regulated prostitution by Victorian women, led by Josephine Butler. This campaign was initiated in response to the 1885 Maiden Tribute to Modern Babylon scandal and subsequently informed the work of the League of Nations. The League established a system of control over the white slave traffic regime, which it progressively reframed behind-closed-doors. Each moment, in its own way, testifies to crises in testimony.
In all of these instances, which can be seen as the DNA of the anti-trafficking movement, there has been a discrepancy between voluntary testimony intended for public dissemination and statements made in private deliberations and in court documents that revealed deliberate deception. This raises the question of how the international anti-trafficking framework should be interpreted. It is built on shaky ground, its foundations are weak, and its framework is questionable. In this presentation, Professor Allain will seek to elucidate the original intent of anti-trafficking and to salvage its essence from the challenges of its difficult evolution.

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