Bibliographies
Australian materials are indexed in the Australian Family and Society Abstracts Database and are available for loan from the ACSSA collection at the Australian Institute of Family Studies library. Online publications in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Trafficking and Sex Workers: Sexual Assault and Exploitation
New additions to this site
Sex workers and sexual assault in Australia: prevalence, risk and safety. Quadara, Antonia. [added July 2008]
Australian publications
Australian
Government's action plan to eradicate
trafficking in persons.
Australian Government Attorney-General's Department (2004)
Call girls: private sex workers in Australia.
Perkins,
Roberta; Lovejoy, Frances.
Crawley, WA: University of Western
Australia Press, 2007, 177p, tables
This book explores the call girl profession in
Australia, largely ordinary women who consider sex
work as their career. Call girls are private sex workers
who use the telephone to solicit clients, as compared
to prostitutes working for themselves on the street
or in a brothel. The book features interviews with
call girls about how their health, business practices,
and social relationships, and why they entered and
stayed with this career. Interspersed among these stories
are chapters on the history of sex work in Australia;
surveys on prostitutes on their family status, family
background, employment, reasons for becoming prostitutes,
sexually transmitted diseases and condom use, well
being and support, substance abuse, and intimate relationships
and sexual history; surveys on customers on their demographics,
education, employment, and violence; and a discussion
of social attitudes, morality and the law.
Can
a prostitute be raped? Sex workers, women
and the politics of rape law reform. (PDF
204K)
Sullivan,
Barbara
In: Refereed papers
from the 2003 APSA Conference. Hobart, Tas: University
of Tasmania, 2003, 22p, tables, Online
Many
barriers prevent sex workers from pursuing
justice through the legal system: they are particularly
likely not to report sexual assault; sex workers'
complaints of rape run a high risk of not being
taken seriously by police; sex workers who do lodge
complaints risk being charged with prostitution
offences; and until recently in common law jurisdictions
evidentiary rules severely limited the likelihood
of a sexual assault prosecution where the complainant
was a prostitute. This paper examines over 20 legal
reports where evidence of prostitution was presented
in rape trials in the United Kingdom, Australia,
Canada and New Zealand between 1829 and 1999. The
development of the evidentiary rules mentioned
above is examined and their implications discussed.
The paper then examines several recent cases where
sex workers have successfully prosecuted their
rapists. The paper argues that rape law and the
criminal justice system continues to compromise
the citizenship of sex workers and all women.
Combating trafficking in women: where to now?
Maltzhan, Kathleen.
The Brisbane Line Jun
2004: 4p, Online only
Sexual slavery in Australia has
become a significant and very brutal element of the nation's prostitution
industry. The author notes that 'Eighteen months ago the federal
government did not recognise sexual slavery. It is now implementing a $20
million counter-trafficking package. Twelve months ago no charges had
been laid against traffickers. This month Melbourne hosted a committal
hearing for the first trafficking trial.' She provides information about
sexual slavery in Australia, draws attention to issues of violence,
highlights problems with the government's victim support program, and
suggests ways of ending sexual slavery.
Global
action to combat child sex tourism. (PDF 294K)
Flanagan,
Karen.
In: Crime in Australia: International Connections
Conference, Melbourne, November 2004. Canberra, ACT:
Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004, 6p, Online
only
Summary information is provided in this presentation
about the causes, trends and manifestations of child
sex tourism. It also provides information about Child
Wise Tourism, a training and network development program
which was developed to address the role of the tourism
industry in preventing child sex tourism.
Global
actions to prevent child sexual exploitation: the ECPAT
experience
McMenamin,
B.
In: Weeks, W., Hoatson, L. and Dixon, J. eds.
Community practices in Australia. Frenchs Forest, NSW:
Pearson Education Australia, 2003, p34-38
The
growth of international travel and tourism, particularly
to third world countries, has resulted in the growth
of child sex tourism. The author discusses campaigns
against child sex tourism, particularly the ECPAT
(End child prostitution in Asian tourism) campaign,
which was officially formed in 1990. She discusses
ECPAT's work in awareness raising, influencing governments,
creating a global network, monitoring trends, law
reform, local child protection laws, law enforcement,
working with police, and travel and tourism industry
Globalized, wired, sex trafficking in women and children.
von Struensee, V.
E
Law - Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law
v.7 no.2 Jun 2000, Online only
The author examines trafficking in women for the
purpose of sexual exploitation, and looks at it as an increasing type of
international crime generating huge profits with low risk for
traffickers. This trafficking of women is symptomatic of the change in
global relationships and the contraction of economies and hyper
inflation. Women are particularly affected by loss of jobs and are lured
by false promises and misled by incorrect information, hoping for work
and a better life. They are brought from developing countries to Western
Europe. Basic human rights are violated. They are exploited in the
labour force legally or illegally, forced to work as prostitutes and in
slave like conditions. The United Nations should take a role to promote
a global legal framework to curb the power and influence of corrupt
governments, multi national corporations and powerful interest groups who
may be involved in the trafficking of women. (Journal abstract)
Human
trafficking to Australia: a research challenge.
Putt, Judy.
Canberra, ACT: Australian
Institute of Criminology, 2007, 6p, figures, tables (Trends and issues in
crime and criminal justice no.338), and Online
The crime
of human trafficking, such as for forced labour or prostitution, has
proved difficult to measure. This paper discusses the issues involved in
measuring the incidence of human trafficking and calculating estimates,
including under reporting by victims, limited detection of offenders, and
poor migration control in some regions. The paper discusses some
international monitoring and measurement efforts, and their implications
for Australia, and research on understanding and addressing the
problem.
Inquiry
into the trafficking of women for sexual
servitude. (PDF 424K)
Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission (2004)
Making sex work: a failed experiment with
legalised prostitution.
Sullivan, Mary Lucille.
North Melbourne, Vic: Spinifex Press, 2007, 413p,
tables
Prostitution was legalised in Victoria in 1984,
after years of hiding behind 'massage parlour' laws. The author examines
the legal, social, and industrial ramifications of this change, asking
how can law regulate an industry based on violence and exploitation and
protect the rights of workers who are trafficked and assaulted. The sex
industry has expanded in this time, and many proponents argue that sex
work can be a legitimate economic choice. The author considers that this
is a myth, and that the Victorian legislation attempts to normalise and
legitimise inequality and male dominance.
Migratory sex workers: observations on anti-trafficking measures and public
health outcomes on the trans-national superhighway.
McMahon, Maria.
Social Alternatives v.24 no.2 Second Quarter 2005: 17-19
Australian anti trafficking actions and immigration policies affect the health and safety of
Asian sex workers in Australia. This article argues that the Australian response
to trafficking positions migratory sex workers as 'sex slaves'. It
discusses the experiences and marginalisation of Asian sex workers and
recommends that anti trafficking measures be developed within a human rights
framework.
Not for sale: feminists resisting prostitution and
pornography.
Whisnant, Rebecca, ed.; Stark,
Christine ed..
Melbourne, Vic: Spinifex, 2004,
445p
The essays collected in this volume, bring together
research, testimony, and theory on the sex industry from a feminist
perspective as well as radical critiques of racism, poverty, militarism,
and unbridled corporate capitalism, to show how the pornography and
prostitution industries cause grievous harm to those within them while
undermining the possibilities for gender justice, human equality, and
truly diverse and joyful sexual relationships.
Zhou, Hui; Woods, Shirley; Costello, Georgina; Maltzahn, Kathleen.
Collingwood, Vic: Project Respect, 2004, 48p, tables
The details of approximately 300 cases of sex trafficking victims are presented in tabulated form in this report. The research into these cases was carried out over a six week period, from 1 February to 13 March 2004. The report is prefaced by a description of the research process, the trends that emerged from an analysis of the data, and a set of recommendations. The researchers note the difficulties in identifying and accessing information about victims of trafficking, and suggest that the numbers given in the report represent less than one third of the real annual number of women trafficked to Australia for prostitution.
Organised
crime and people smuggling / trafficking
to Australia.
Tailby, Rebecca
Australian Instiute of Criminology,
Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice
No. 208, 2001
Within Australian law enforcement
agencies, the crime of people smuggling
receives more attention than that of people
trafficking, which may be for purposes
of sexual servitude. Increasingly, organised
crime groups are being implicated in the
smuggling and trafficking of persons around
the globe. This paper discusses recent
changes in Australian law relating to these
offences, reviews the evidence on those
responsible, and evaluates the involvement
of organised crime in these activities.
Policing
trafficking in women for prostitution.
Maltzahn, Kathleen.
Third Australasian
Women and Policing Conference: Women and Policing
Globally, Canberra, October 2002
Trafficking in women for prostitution
is a huge international issue which, to date,
has received relatively little attention in
Australia. Police are one of the few agencies
who have access to trafficked women, and as
such are in a unique role. This paper discusses
similarities between sex trafficking in women
and issues such as domestic and sexual violence
generally, and what police can learn in this
area from other work with women experiencing
violence.
Prostitution and the cycle of abuse.
Court,
John.
Australian Family v.25
no.1 Mar 2004: 26-35
The
author discusses prostitution in the historical context
of Kinsey, an early campaigner for 'victimless crimes',
and the more contemporary contexts of child sexual
abuse and AIDS. He argues for strong legislation against
prostitution in order to end the serious health consequences,
exploitation and cycle of abuse of prostitution.
Sex
trafficking: a new agenda.
Segrave, Marie; Milivojevic, Sanja.
Social Alternatives v.24 no.2 Second Quarter
2005: 11-16
The Australian Federal Government
developed the Commonwealth action plan to eradicate
trafficking in persons in 2003. This article explores
the ideological divisions between feminists and activists
and considers how they have contributed to a failure
to develop a more comprehensive critique of responses
to trafficking. It outlines international and national
responses to trafficking and considers alternative
approaches. The article discusses globalisation,
labour
patterns and migration from a gendered perspective;
migration, labour, need to listen to the voices of
women who have been trafficked for sex.
Sex
trafficking of foreign women to United States military
camp towns in South Korea.
Yea, Sallie.
Melbourne,
Vic: Project Respect, 2004, 163p, tables,
ill
This
study investigated the trafficking of
foreign women, particularly from the Philippines,
Russia and Commonwealth Independent States,
to United States military base areas in South
Korea for sexual exploitation. This report
discusses: the South Korean trafficking context;
the Philippines situation; the Russian situation;
characteristics of study participants; motivations
for migrating to South Korea; recruitment,
auditions and contracts; routes and networks;
managers and club owners; club services and
duties; salary, debt and penalties; hours of
work, days off and free time; living conditions;
demand; GI customers and GI boy friends; non
GI customers; health checks, sexually transmitted
infections and abortions; alcohol and substance
abuse; club punishments; violence, rape and
abuse; leaving and running away; factory work;
marriage and de facto relationships; suicide,
self harm and depression; life after trafficking;
what constitutes trafficking; and government
action and reaction. The report contains case
studies.
Sex
workers and sexual assault in Australia: prevalence, risk and
safety. new
Quadara, Antonia.
Melbourne, Vic: Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual
Assault, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2008, 39p (ACSSA issues
no.8), and Online
This paper examines the nature and
extent of sexual assault against sex workers in Australia within their
work context. It reviews contemporary research on the prevalence of
sexual assault, perpetrators of sexual assault, risk factors, legal
contexts, occupational health and safety protocols, prevention
strategies, public attitudes to sex work and sex workers, and inequality
and discrimination. It examines the conditions that make sex workers
vulnerable to sexual assault, the barriers to disclosure and accessing
support services faced by sex workers, and strategies that may help to
prevent sexual assault against sex workers.
Trafficking
and the sex industry: from impunity to protection.
Carrington, Kerry & Hearn,
Jane.
Department of the Parliamentary
Library, Current Issues Brief no. 28, 2002-03
Trafficking in people: the Australian
government's response.
Steele,
Sarah.
Alternative Law Journal v.32 no.1 Mar 2007:
18-21
Since 1999 the Australian government has progressively
redefined people trafficking as an organised criminal
activity through legislative and policy packages. This
article asks whether Australia's locating of human
trafficking within the organised criminal framework
is appropriate. It outlines the various legislative
and policy developments since the late 1990s, and then
examines the shortfalls of the current criminalisation
approach. It argues that although the criminalisation
of human trafficking has enhanced the government's
response to international obligations, the narrow focus
of legislative and policy reform has been taken at
the expense of the prevention of people trafficking
in the region. The article suggests that a multifaceted
approach to address the preconditions, act and outcomes
of people trafficking is required.
Trafficking
in women.
Moyle, Sally
Stop the Traffic
Symposium: Addressing Trafficking in Women
for Prostitution, Melbourne, February 2002
Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation.
Fergus,
Lara.
Briefing: Australian Centre for the Study
of Sexual Assault no.5 June 2005: 1-42, and Online
Trafficking in human beings is large-scale and growing. It is a human
rights abuse as well as a crime crossing international, national and
regional jurisdictions. Trafficking is used for a wide variety of
purposes, such as domestic, agricultural or sweatshop labour, marriage
and prostitution. Australia is a destination country for victims of
trafficking, and evidence suggests the majority are women trafficked into
debt-bonded prostitution. Recent years have seen many changes in
international and national responses to, and legislation on, trafficking
in persons. In this paper we review some of the theoretical approaches to
trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, as well as examine
the current legislative, policy and service responses. We aim to provide
an overview of recent developments and navigate the varied and often
opposing modes of analysis surrounding the issue. Overall, ACSSA intends
this paper to serve as an informative resource for services, policy
makers and researchers on the subject of trafficking in women for sexual
exploitation in Australia.
Trafficking in women for prostitution.
Maltzahn, K.
Women Against Violence - An
Australian Feminist Journal no.11 2001 - 2002: 61-65
The
author draws attention to the plight of women who are brought into
Australia for prostitution; to the lack of government commitment to ending trafficking for prostitution; and to the lack of response to the
issue by women's organisations in Australia, suggesting an out-of-sight,
out-of-mind attitude, largely brought about by the acceptance by
feminists that women in brothels are unreachable, be they trafficked or
not, in legal brothels or illegal ones. Even if we put trafficking aside,
the author argues, there are real reasons for women's services to
prioritise women in the sex industry for their services.
International publications
Anti-trafficking
programs in South Asia: Appropriate activities,
indicators, and evaluation methodologies.
(PDF 216K)
Huntington, Dale.
Population Council, 2002
Collateral Damage : The Impact on Anti-Trafficking
Measures around the World.
Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women,
2007
ECPAT
Report on the Implementation of the Agenda
for Action against the commercial sexual
exploitation of children 2002-2003. (PDF
3.4M)
ECPAT International.
Stockholm, Sweden: ECPAT International,
2004, 229p, Online
This collection of conference papers from the 7th ECPAT
Report on the Implementation of the Agenda for Action
2002-2003 is an urgent appeal for coordinated global
action to combat the commercial sexual exploitation
of children. There is little indication of consistent
improvement in the situation, and millions of children
continue to be victimised worldwide. This report draws
attention to current gaps in implementing the Agenda
for Action adopted by 122 governments at the First
World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation
of Children in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1996. It makes
recommendations on how to close these gaps in order
to combat gross violations of children's rights more
successfully.
Human
Traffficking Special Collection
VAWnet (National Online Resource Center on
Violence Against Women - the online resource
for advocates working to end domestic violence,
sexual assault, and other violence in the
lives of women and their children), has
added a new Special Collection on Human
Trafficking which aims to illuminate
different forms of, and perspectives on,
human trafficking and to provide relevant
resources to help guide more informed and
critical advocacy, research, and thought.
Integration
of the human rights of women and a gender perspective. (PDF 96K)
Huda, Sigma.
Commission on Human Rights, February 2006
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human
rights aspects of the victims of trafficking
in persons, especially women and children.
Sex traffic : prostitution, crime,
and exploitation.
Monzini, Paola; translated
by Patrick Camiller.
London : Zed Books, 2005.
The trafficking of women and girls for prostitution
is big business. This book focuses on the experiences
of migrant women and girls who have very little
choice or control over their lives ... This book
examines the techniques of recruitment, methods
of transportation, and forms of exploitation abroad,
and focuses on women's own experiences of migration.
It explains the mechanisms of supply and demand
and assesses attempts at controlling trafficking
and strategies for resistance and change.
Sex trafficking : the global market in women and children.
Farr, Kathryn.
New York : Worth Publishers, c2005.
This book describes the global industry of sex
trafficking; its victims, its buyers, the economic
conditions that effect supply and demand, and the
international networks. Sub-topics include organised
crime, buyer profits and victim "debts", and the
relationship between prostitution and the military
- with wartime rape and the growth of the sex industry
near foreign military bases.
The "Natasha" trade:
transnational sex trafficking. (PDF
40K)
Hughes, Donna M.
National
Institute of Justice Journal, January 2001
Turning Pain into Power: Trafficking Survivors' Perspectives on Early Intervention Strategies
(PDF 624K)
Family Violence Prevention Fund. 2005
This report examines the health care system as an ideal place to focus education and intervention efforts on victims of trafficking, modern day slavery. Through interviews with trafficking survivors themselves, this report illustrates their recommendations on how to direct future intervention and policy efforts.
Trafficking and the global sex industry.
Beeks, Karen; Amir, Delila. eds.
Lanham, MD : Lexington Books, c2006.
This book focuses on the international
trafficking of women and children for forced
labor and prostitution. This ... anthology
takes a broad geographical and economical perspective
while also dealing with the specificities of
the sociopolitical background, poverty, opportunity
structure, legal conditions, the role of the
state, gender structure, and the organization
of the trafficking business ... this collection
gives the reader a clearer understanding of the
problem of human trafficking and the actions being
taken to combat it.
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection
Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report.
US Department of State (2004)
Victimisation among those involved in underage
commercial sexual activity.
Saphira, M. and
Herbert, A. Herbert.
Women's Studies Journal,
19(2), 2005, pp. 32-40.
This study, conducted
in New Zealand, examines rates and experiences
of childhood sexual abuse and violence in
people who were underage when they began working
in the sex industry. It looks at incidents
involving verbal abuse and physical assault,
place where sexual assault occurred, and the
relationship between current sexual assault
associated with sex for money and prior childhood
sexual abuse.
Victims
of trafficking for forced prostitution:
protection mechanisms and the right to
remain in the destination countries.
(PDF
368K)
Simic, Olivera.
Geneva, Switzerland : Global Commission
on International Migration, 2004.
This study explores the right of trafficked victims of forced prostitution
to remain in destination countries through the application of legal
standards and victim protection mechanisms found in national, regional and
international law. It highlights the importance of State recognition that
trafficked persons are victims of serious human rights abuses, and
contends that states need to safeguard the legal rights and protective
needs of trafficking victims. The study further considers the feasibility
of the position that trafficked persons should have the right to temporary
residence and work permits, thereby enabling trafficked persons to recover
and rebuild their lives, and facilitating the effective prosecution of
traffickers by encouraging victims to report to the authorities and to act
as witnesses. Also under examination is the thesis that trafficked persons
should be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence permits
under national and international laws.