Levka(. . .)
Introduction and Literature
Review
Sex Work and Labor Trafficking
We begin from this premise: under capitalism, all labor is vulnerable to hyper-exploitation. The risk of exploitation is increased in criminalized economies that lack labor protections, such as sex work. Many individuals who
have traded sex live at the intersection of marginalized identities and may
have limited access to other sources of income or employment due to stigma, discrimination, and lack of social support. In this way, sex workers face
a similar risk of exploitation, as do undocumented laborers who perform domestic and agricultural work.
(. . .)
The United States government has attempted to protect individuals from sexual exploitation through anti-trafficking legislation. In the United States,the Federal Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 defines trafficking as 'the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.'
The TVPA does distinguish this from 'severe forms of sex trafficking' by stating that it is '(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced
by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or (B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of aperson for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for
the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.'
Under these two definitions, any and all persons who trade sexfor money may be considered 'trafficked,' irrespective of the circumstances under which they engage in this work. In addition, any individual under the age of 18 who is involved in commercial sexual activity is defined as a victim of sex trafficking, regardless of how the individual defines their experience.
Many individuals who have histories of trading sex as a minor do so to acquire needed resources and to escape abusive living situations, facing an explicit external force, fraud, or coercion, other than the need to survive. LGBTQ youth, who often face housing insecurity due to familial rejection,are seven times more likely to have experiences of trading sex for a place to stay than their heterosexual counterparts. These individuals are labeled trafficking victims by the state and processed through the criminal justice systems or family court systems under the 'safe-harbor' laws. The singular focus of the anti-trafficking lobby on sex trafficking has been criticized for ignoring the complex forms of labor trafficking that occur in other labor sectors that outnumber cases of sex trafficking. The fact that those experiencing labor trafficking in any industry are also more vulnerable to sexual abuse, with no legal recourse, is also highly overlooked.
https://hackinghustling.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Erased_Updated.pdf
