The Eyes that Blind Us: The Overlooked Phenomenon of Trafficking into the Agricultural Sector

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of American anti-trafficking legislation. It documents the level of American preoccupation with trafficking for sex work by using existing data from the Department of Justice to demonstrate just how current anti-trafficking efforts focus their attention on trafficking for sex work, to the detriment of trafficking into other labor sectors. The author offers a critique of this overemphasis, observing how the expectations of the individuals involved in enforcing anti-trafficking laws influence what kinds of cases they consider to be trafficking cases. The article also offers a few modest interventions that might help reallocate some of the energy dedicated to trafficking for sex work on the equally meritorious, but perhaps less titillating, issue of trafficking into agricultural services.