Demand for Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation Using buyers’ online reviews to explore perceptions of exploitation. Bryony Cornforth-Camden

Background Scotland Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill under consideration Push to address demand for human trafficking For trafficked prostitution, calls for criminalising purchase of sexual services New Zealand Prostitution decriminalised Debate about the impact on human trafficking

Aim and Research Questions Aim: investigate involving clients in addressing trafficking and other harms in prostitution Research Questions: How do clients perceive human trafficking and exploitation How do clients understand their role What are the policy implications for involving clients in preventing trafficking and exploitation in the sex-industry

Method Clients reviews of sex-workers on prostitution advertising websites Analysed 318 reviews Sourced from the three main prostitution advertising websites in Scotland

Q1: How do clients perceive trafficking and exploitation? Very few references to trafficking or exploitation Only referred to if extreme/obvious Suspicions of trafficking or coercion were easily dismissed Clients were coming into coming into contact with exploitation but drew on a consumer norms discourse

Consumer norms and exploitation Clients were very concerned with a set of factors that made a ‘bad punt’: Controlling pimps; drug abuse; poor hygiene; sex-worker appears unwilling Clients draw on consumer norms in interpreting these situations They want to avoid ‘bad punts’ as the violate clients’ expectations as consumers and result in unsafe or unsatisfactory encounter

‘Romanians’ and ethnic hierarchy Ethnic hierarchy: White UK nationals> Eastern European (Romanian) ‘Romanian’ associated with ‘bad punts’ (pimps, unwilling, ‘conveyor-belt operations’) Clients held derogatory views and tolerated exploitative working conditions for ‘Romanians’ Focus on ‘Romanians’ can be tied to negative media portrayals and political rhetoric on immigration in the UK

Q2: How do clients understand their role and responsibilities? Clients did not see themselves as having a role in relation to exploitation However, clients had a code of practice based on consumer norms which guided them in avoiding ‘bad punts’ Clients are charged with acting as responsible consumers Clients are motivated and skilled at avoiding ‘bad punts’ and, inadvertently, exploitative situations

Q3: What are the policy implications? Potential to responsibilise clients by legitimising and building on their consumer code and responsibilities Clients detect and report exploitative situations Consumer code of practice is built on and expanded to afford rights to sex-workers Tolerance of poor conditions for migrant workers maintains trafficking and exploitation Political actors responsible for protecting workers’ rights

Conclusion Role for clients in preventing and responding to human trafficking and exploitation Role of political actors to promote migrant workers’ rights More research into how political rhetoric, media, public perceptions affect migrants’ working conditions

References Fox, J. E., Moroşanu, L. and Szilassy, E. (2012) ‘The racialization of the new European migration to the UK’, Sociology, 46(4), pp. 1–16. Macarie, I.-C. (2014) Half-in, Half-out: Roma and Non-Roma Romanians with Limited Rights Working and Travelling in the European Union, Integrim Online Papers, [online] Available from: http://www.integrim.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Macarie-half-in-half-out.pdf (Accessed 27 July 2015). Vicol, D. and William, A. (2014) Bulgarians and Romanians in the British National Press: 1 Dec 2012 - 1 Dec 2013, Oxford, The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. First slide image by Grolltech “Shipping routes red black” Thank you to Rotary International and Rotary District 9940 for funding my studies through the Global Grant Scholarship award.

Thank you Bryonycc@gmail.com