Since 2005, the United States’ Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Reports have consistently portrayed Jamaica as having a rampant problem with ‘child sex tourism’ and ‘sex trafficking’ (both of which are now dubbed modern slavery by some NGOs and politicians). Indeed, TIP reports and the media coverage they prompt give the impression that ‘sex trafficking’ in general and ‘child sex trafficking’ in particular are the most serious problems associated with commercial sex in Jamaica. To respond to this, they invariably argue, the Jamaican government must take a stronger stand against the criminals involved.
Few policymakers or journalists take the time to ask sex workers if they agree with the policies created in the name of protecting them. Our recent research suggests they do not. We were privileged and honoured to work with the Sex Work Alliance of Jamaica (SWAJ), a grassroots NGO run by and for sex workers, over the course of this project. We interviewed sex workers about the problems they face when doing their job and whether they believe tougher law and increased law enforcement would solve these problems. SWAJ also conducted a survey of 165 sex workers about the violence they face in the course of their work.
Criminalisation and stigmatisation mean that when people are raped, beaten, cheated or robbed, they cannot turn to the police for protection or justice.
We are still working through our data, but several findings are already clear. The majority of our research participants entered sex work due to economic necessity rather than physical force. They nonetheless routinely experience violence, robbery, and exploitation. For sex workers in Jamaica violence is the norm, not the exception. However, that violence is rarely perpetrated by ‘criminal traffickers’ seeking to push somebody into sex work. Instead, it is meted out by customers, members of the public, and police officers because the person on the receiving end is a sex worker.
