The following report describes the process by which the thesis documentary film, Complicit, was made by Michelle Nehme. The film is about domestic sex trafficking in the United States and centers around the story of one American-born survivor. The film also includes testimony from anti-trafficking leaders in Austin, TX. The report discusses the issue at large, the process behind researching, pre-production, production and post-production of the film, and the creative choices made around the film. The original treatment is included, as well as the script written for the narrative strand. The report also discusses the struggles the filmmaker faced with the dark themes and the complexity of the issue during the course of making the film. / text

Thesis advisor: Lisa Dodson / In the United States, the majority of youth who become victims of sex trafficking are U.S. citizens. Most "at-risk" are those involved in the foster care system, the sexually abused and/or those surviving without stable housing- otherwise known as the homeless. Through in depth interviews with homeless teenage mothers, this study analyzed the connection between housing vulnerability and sex trafficking. The major finding of this study suggests that young girls are pushed into homelessness and sexually exploitative situations when they experience a loss of familial support. Without familial support, young, homeless girls are forced into a patriarchal street economy that limits their options for economic opportunity: men sell drugs, women sell their body. Participants also discussed the perceived effectiveness of structural interventions, including welfare, housing shelters and educational programs. By exploring the intersection of homeless teenage mothers and domestic sex trafficking, this study adds to a stronger dialogue between the homeless and human trafficking fields. Additionally, this study brings attention to the fact that young, American girls are just as vulnerable to sex trafficking as the international victims highlighted in most of the popular media and literary scholarship. Lastly, several interventions are proposed for working at the intersection of homeless youth and sex trafficking. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Master of Science / Family Studies and Human Services / Sandra M. Stith / The purpose of this thesis is to learn from human trafficking survivors about how service providers can better help female victims of human trafficking. The paper is guided by two theories, i.e., Attention Restoration Theory (Hartig, Evans, Jamner, Davis, & Galing, 2003) and The Holistic Process Theory of Healing (Ventegodt, Andersen, & Merrick, 2003). In this paper, I refer to the participants in my research as survivors and individuals who have been or currently are victims of human trafficking as victims. To utilize the common language used by the participants of this study, sex trafficking will be referred to as the “sex industry”. The purpose of the study was to gain the perspectives of women in the process of exiting from the sex industry to answer the overarching questions of how service providers can better help women who are on the path to restoration and recovery, as well as to help service providers better identify female victims and their needs. A combined approach of Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis and Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg and Bertsch’s (n.d.) Listening Guide was used to analyze the transcribed interviews for a better understanding of the narratives of the participants and the themes that emerged from their narratives.

The core intent of this study is to learn about the challenges faced by women survivors of sex trafficking in Nepal after their return. The study has attempted to answer questions about challenges survivors face, how they cope with the challenges, and resources available to these women to cope with the trauma and move ahead in life. In doing so, the study first considers demand and supply theory examining the influences of patriarchy, structural violence, the feminization of poverty and the social practices that support sex trafficking. The study also considers basic needs theory, increased opportunities to empower women, enhance participation and ensure their basic human rights. Despite all the hardships, survivors’ determination to rise from the ashes demonstrates courage and resilience. Throughout the study, empowerment is recognised as the driving force for these women to survive and thrive post-return. Economic independence, family’s love and acceptance, support and care from non-governmental organizations, and breaking silence regarding the ordeal these women survive foster empowerment. The study stresses the need to increase public awareness about sex trafficking in order to enable a respectful and dignified environment for the survivors. Survivors and NGO workers’ insight and experiences emphasize that for plans and policies to work effectively, the government bodies should work hand in hand with non-governmental organizations and increase the involvement of survivors throughout the reintegration process. / October 2015

Sex trafficking is a grossly misconstrued and increasing issue within the United States. The purpose of this study was to extend current knowledge regarding the public’s education on domestic sex trafficking and perceptions of domestic sex trafficking victims. The public’s awareness of domestic sex trafficking and perceptions of domestic sex trafficking victims were examined through the utilization of a 31 closed-ended question survey. The survey included questions about domestic sex trafficking and prostitution myths, domestic sex trafficking victim characteristics, domestic sex trafficking legislation, law enforcement’s involvement in domestic sex trafficking cases, and demographics. The sample consisted of 195 Criminal Justice and Criminology students at East Tennessee State University, located in Northeast Tennessee. The results showed that, despite having a mostly empirical based view on domestic sex trafficking, students misconceived domestic sex trafficking victims when comparing the age of victims, such as child victims versus adult victims.

bold

There has been a flurry of legislative action at the international and regional levels to address the global problem of trafficking in persons, which victimises epidemic-proportions of individuals and generates one of the largest proceeds of organised crime. The harmonisation of national legal responses based on minimum standards around prevention, prosecution, and protection as espoused by those international and regional instruments is a prerequisite for effective and wide cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination. However, the reluctance of states to lift to the lofty heights of international consensus the contentious policy issues surrounding trafficking, including prostitution, has resulted in the adoption of rather ambiguous anti-trafficking norms and obligations, which allow states to individually determine what constitutes 'trafficking in persons' within their own jurisdictions. The subsequent divergence in national responses reveals that legal harmonisation has not taken place. The mechanisms of enforcement, which attach directly or indirectly to those international and regional instruments, therefore, have the formidable task of assisting states in the implementation of the substantive content of anti-trafficking norms and obligations through their monitoring and reporting mandates. However, their work remains a neglected area of academic research, compared to writings on the ambiguity of the international anti-trafficking framework. The challenge to international regulation of the trafficking problem, as identified in this thesis, relates on a fundamental level to the systemic limitations of the formal processes of law based on state consent and respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Through a comparative legal analysis of international and European legal responses to sex trafficking in women, this thesis illuminates the main systemic challenges to combating trafficking in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania, and Sweden, and how the work of those enforcement mechanisms remedies some of those challenges.

Targeted U.S. domestic sex trafficking of Native peoples has been documented since the time of Custer (Deer 2010, Smith 2005, Smith 2003). According to a few, geographically specific studies this practice continues today (Juran, et al 2014, Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition 2011, Pierce and Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center 2009). The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), its subsequent reauthorizations and the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) 2013 reauthorization have encouraged activists in Indian Country, defined broadly, to believe that a change is possible within the system if they continue to raise the issue. But what if that strategy is flawed? Despite increasing awareness, it is clear that the United States policy environment has not yet experienced any significant change since the introduction of anti-trafficking law in 2000—especially for Native America. Using a tribal, feminist, critical race perspective alongside Native Nation (re)Building theory and a grounded, interdisciplinary focus, this study explores prominent public policy perceptions about how widespread the targeted domestic sex trafficking of Native peoples is in the United States. The first of its kind, this study reaches across broad geography and perspectives to locate synergies and ruptures that may also present opportunities for Native self-determination in creating effective Indian Country solutions. It also offers United States public policy suggestions helpful in addressing anti-trafficking legislative inefficiencies beyond Indian Country generally.

In this qualitative research, Turkey's nationaJ policy and practice against sex trafficking is explored by looking at the interactions between sex trafficking, prostitution and migration regimes. Turkey has adopted definitions and legislation from the UN Protocol and this research focuses upon how international discourses have been understood and practised in a local context. I refer to feminist critiques of the UN Protocol, and show how Turkey'S national counter-trafficking rhetoric is heavily influenced by prostitution regime based on 'public health' and moral concerns as well as 'irregular' migration on the basis of national security and 'illegal' working. Findings indicate that the framing of sex trafficking as a problem of organised crime rather than as a type of migration obscures the strong connection between sex trafficking and migration. Furthermore, the definition of the phenomenon apart from prostitution obscures the connection between the prostitution regime in Turkey and its effects on sex trafficking. This tendency is especially visible in national legislation and law enforcement, where attempts to distinguish between forced and voluntary prostitution can 're-victimise' trafficked women in different stages of identification and protection mechanisms. Therefore, this study focuses on sex trafficking by showing how prostitution and migration regimes inform and affect the policies and practices against sex trafficking within local settings. It argues that those regimes play an important role in policy and practice against sex trafficking; they weaken the protection system which may cause 're-victimisation' of 'victims' of sex trafficking. This research challenges institutional responses to sex trafficking and makes policy recommendations founded on empirical research. It adds to our understanding of the prostitution regime in Turkey, its effect on trafficking and the needs of trafficked women. It has wider policy implications for other migrant groups, such as migrant domestic workers, who suffer from the same policies and practices in Turkey and the findings are transferable to other countries.

No description available.