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Human Trafficking HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A Comparative Analysis of Why Countries with Similar Characteristics have Different Situations By Ana R. Sverdlick A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program, Division of Global Affairs Written under the direction of Professor James O. Finckenauer and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ Newark, New Jersey January 2014 © 2013 Ana R. Sverdlick ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A Comparative Analysis of Why Countries with Similar Characteristics have Different Situations By Ana R. Sverdlick Dissertation Director: Professor James O. Finckenauer Numerous factors which promote human trafficking have been examined by many scholars, yet little attention has been placed on the role of adolescent single mothers as a significant factor that increases the vulnerability of these young women to trafficking. This study aims to understand and explain why two countries with similar characteristics in geography, political and socio-economic systems present a very different picture in their sex trafficking patterns and challenges. This is a case study that compares Argentina and Brazil along a variety of indicators relevant to human trafficking. Although similar with respect to several characteristics analyzed in their incidence of sex trafficking, Argentina and Brazil do differ in one major factor that on its face could account for the differences in their sex trafficking practices --birth rate among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19. This rate is higher in Brazil than that in Argentina. This study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. - Does this difference account for the difference in sex trafficking practices and if so, how? 2. - Is this difference explained by something else (e.g. other than birth rate)? ii 3. - What other factors might contribute to the difference in sex trafficking practices? Two main sources of information were used in this comparative analysis: (1) data collected from reports, databases from intergovernmental organizations, governmental agencies, NGOs, and academic literature; and (2) court sentences from both countries, to both flesh out the factors identified, and more importantly, to support or refute the assumption with respect to the role of adolescent birth rates. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were employed. This study reveals four main differences between Argentina and Brazil that collectively, indeed, shed light on their sex trafficking differences: 1) methods of recruitment, 2) “modus operandi” and government complicity, 3) gender inequality and 4) the incidence of teen single motherhood as a vulnerability factor to trafficking. Findings in this study suggest that matrifocality, the woman-centered family, is a key component in understanding how and why Brazilian adolescent single mothers are an easy target for traffickers. iii AKNOWLEDGMENTS This journey has been a challenge in so many ways, and thanks to the support and encouragement of so many people I was able to find the focus, determination and the strength to finish this dissertation. I would like to express my appreciation to the faculty members of my Committee. First of all, I would like to thank the chair of my Dissertation Committee, Professor Finckenauer. He was the one who encouraged me to think beyond borders, first in his class Comparative Criminal Justice System and then with Organized Crime. His expertise and experiences in transnational crimes issues inspired me to conduct research on sex trafficking in a global context. As an advisor, he was very supportive during the process, he believed in my ideas, and always pushed me to finish my work even when I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Professors Samuels, Chin and Zhang: you have all been wonderful to me by providing invaluable comments which undoubtedly improved my work. At Rutgers University, I wish to extend a special thanks to Professors Alex Hinton and Nela Navarro, Director and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide, Reconciliation and Human Rights for placing your trust in me and for being supportive of my research projects. Thanks to you, I was granted partial tuition remission that covered the doctoral program. Beyond the University, there are so many people that I wish to express my deep gratitude, but I will only mention some of them. I have no doubt that without all of you, my life would be different. Thanks to my mom and my siblings for continually supporting me. Thanks to my nieces and nephew for taking care of my kids when I was working. Thanks to Iris and Robert Oliva for your immeasurable iv support since my move to the United States, and for your important comments and feedback on my work. Thanks to my colleagues and friends from Argentina Dr. Marta Nercellas and Mariano Fridman for supporting and helping me in making my transition to the United States. Thanks to my friends who always reminded me that finishing is the only option. My deepest thanks from the bottom of my heart is for my husband Rabbi Claudio Kogan who was the one person who has believed in me since the beginning of this process and encouraged me to start the doctoral program and to finish it even when I didn’t have the strength and motivation to do it, and for my adorable children who never understood why I spent so many hours in front of the computer. I love you so much! You teach me every day how to be a better person. Thank you! I dedicate this work to all the women and girls who have been treated as mere commodities. I hope this study will serve to encourage us to think more deeply about the root causes of sex trafficking in Latin America and to develop and implement better policies to combat human trafficking. As Abraham Lincoln said: “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.”1 1 Abraham Lincoln, letter to A. G. Hodges, Apr. 4, 1864. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................ii AKNOWLEDGMENT................................................................................................iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...........................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATION....................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................xii INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.................................4 Defining Human Trafficking ........................................................................... 4 The Status of Sex Trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean ............... 8 CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN....................................................................... 17 Goals and Methodology................................................................................. 17 Limitations of the Study................................................................................. 21 Policy Implications..........................................................................................22 Overview of the Study.....................................................................................22 CHAPTER III: COUNTRY NARRATIVES ............................................................ 25 The Context in Which Sex Trafficking Take Place.........................................25 CHAPTER IV: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................. 37 Background of the Problem ............................................................................37 Perspectives on Trafficking ............................................................................41 The Victims ........................................................................................41 Traffickers and Methods of Recruitment ...........................................49 Trafficking Flow..................................................................................53 Organized Crime or a Crime That Is Organized ............................... 55 CHAPTER V: A CULTURE OF TOLERANCE......................................................60 Introduction....................................................................................................60 History of Prostitution, Organized Prostitution and White Slavery...............60 Argentina.............................................................................................65 Brazil...................................................................................................72 Legal Provisions on Human Trafficking.........................................................77 vi Argentina............................................................................................. 77 Brazil.................................................................................................... 83 Comparative Analysis of legal provisions, TIP Reports...................... 89 The Impact of the ICT on Sex Trafficking...................................................... 91 Digital Media: The Internet................................................................
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