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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
The neat transition of the colonial-era “white slave traffic” regime into the trafficking in human beings (THB) regime has gone under-interrogated in international law scholarship. In seeking to correct for that gap, this paper makes three overarching arguments. ... read moreFirst, multi-lateral instruments countering THB emerged out of colonial-era gender- and race-relations. Second, ambiguity was designed into the regime such that it entrenched systemic and epistemic violence towards sex trafficking “victims,” sex workers, and migrants. Third, a more nuanced approach to countering THB is needed in order to decolonize the “white slavery”/THB regime. This paper analyzes the genealogy of the “white slavery”/THB regime to conclude that for the regime to be effective while centering human dignity, 1) a radical reimagining of international law is required that identifies when the absence of law is most useful; 2) in the interim, a harm-reductionist, sex worker-led THB framework must be championed on the international stage; and, 3) international law must actively dismantle the imperial and colonial roots of many of its regimes in order to truly foment progressive global governance.read less
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