The idea that these circumstances are synonymous with those of women forced into selling sex under direct threat by a trafficker is plainly absurd. We should point out that such conflation is disrespectful to the horrific lived reality of trafficking, an experience that should never be instrumentalised for the ideological ends of a broad anti-sex work agenda.
When arguing against this conflation we must avoid being misunderstood as representing its crude opposite: the ‘happy hooker’ narrative that sees no problems in sex work and frames all those selling sex as choosing to do so in total freedom without any constraining factors. Instead, we should inject realism into this contentious debate by introducing the concept of a ‘continuum of choice’. This recognises a spectrum of experiences, ranging from freely chosen sex work as one viable economic option amongst many, through a range of circumstances with varying degrees of alternative options and constraints, to forced sex work, including those trafficked into it, at the sharp end.
We all want to end trafficking for sexual exploitation. Whatever our personal views on sex work in general, no one thinks one person forcing another to provide paid sexual services is acceptable.
Plant a flag on overlapping interests
Now that we have clarified that all sex work is not trafficking, and that we are also not apologists for a problematic sector, we can locate our common ground. I’ve often noticed sex worker rights activists advocating to anti-trafficking actors on the basis of the rights of sex workers in general. It’s a strategy that makes sense from the former’s perspective but doesn’t ring true with an audience whose day-to-day work is focused on the sharp end of that continuum. Agreeing to shared ground that’s specific to anti-trafficking itself would be more effective. Our starting agreement should be this: ‘we all want to end trafficking for sexual exploitation. Whatever our personal views on sex work in general, no one thinks one person forcing another to provide paid sexual services is acceptable.’
