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More Harm Than Good: How Crimialization Hurts Our Efforts to End the Harms of Trafficking
Introduction
More Harm Than Good: How Criminalization Hurts Our Efforts to End the Harms of Trafficking examines how dominant anti-trafficking approaches often cause harm rather than address the conditions that enable exploitation. Renewed public attention to trafficking following the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files has sparked global conversations about power, privilege, abuse, and impunity. Yet despite this heightened attention, many feminist, human rights, and social justice movements have not fully engaged with the broader implications of these debates.
The publication explores how contemporary understandings of trafficking have been shaped by morality politics, colonial legacies, geopolitical interests, and anti-migration agendas. It examines how the widespread conflation of trafficking with sex work and sexual exploitation has shaped global policy responses and public discourse. The publication calls for feminist and human rights approaches that challenge criminalization and instead focus on prevention, structural inequality, and the lived experiences of those most affected by violence and exploitation.
Download the full article (English) Here