Women rescued from traumatic experiences need empathy and emotional support. Too often, what they receive instead is moralising judgement and a lack of care.
The arbitrary and controversial categorisation of people as modern slaves in need of rescue does not reflect the complex reality and expectations of many who fall foul of it.
Raid and rescue operations are widely portrayed as heroic efforts to save the innocent from the evil. But, as this BTS series makes clear, the reality is not so clear-cut. Español
The dividing line between consent and coercion, freedom and force, is far blurrier than many of us tend to think.
Accompanying a raid and rescue operation poses difficult questions for those involved, pushing the boundaries between victim and non-victim.
Many anti-trafficking oragnisations prioritise donor preferences over actually improving the lives of 'vitcims'.
Raid and rescue relies on a simplistic understanding of violence and vulnerability. If we are serious about ending gender-based violence, we need to get intersectional in our diagnosis and our response.
For some sex workers subjected to forced ‘rescue’, the line between care and harm is very thin. What anti-trafficking often looks like is a form of ‘humanitarian trafficking’, not protection.
