Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking
EXPLOITATION CREEP AND THE UNMAKING OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING LAW Janie A. Chuang* INTRODUCTION Within the space of only a dozen years, the problem of human trafficking has assumed a prominent place on government and advocacy agendas worldwide. Increasingly referred to as “modern slavery,” the phenomenon has prompted a rapid proliferation of international, regional, and national anti-trafficking laws, and inspired governments to devote enormous financial and bureaucratic resources to its eradication. It has also * Associate Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law; Fellow (2012), Open Society Foundations. Thanks to the Open Society Foundations Fellowship Program for funding the research for this article. I have benefited from the feedback of participants in workshops held at Harvard Law School, Washington College of Law, University of Southern California, and at the annual meetings of the Labor Law Research Network and the American Sociological Association. I am particularly grateful for the thoughtful comments provided by Janet Halley, Anne Gallagher, Ann Shalleck, Chantal Thomas, Jonathan Todres, Brishen Rogers, Daniela Kraiem, Hila Shamir, Dina Haynes, Jamin Raskin, Fernanda Nicola, Alvaro Santos, Heather Hughes, Denise Brennan, Martina Vandenberg, Neha Misra, and Ashley Parrish on drafts of this Article. Thanks to Jennifer Arais Hagan, Ruhee Vagle, and Dana Sarvestani for their excellent research assistance. spawned an industry of non-profits that have elevated its “abolition” into a pressing moral crusade, which anyone can join with the click of a mouse.1 And scholars have jumped into the fray, calling upon governments to marshal human rights law,2 tax law,3 trade law,4 tort law,5 public health approaches,6 labor law,7 and even military might8 to combat this apparently growing international crime and human rights violation.
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