University of Stockholm, Institute of Latin American Studies
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University of Stockholm, Institute of Latin American Studies Master’s Thesis in Latin American Studies Title: Whore, mother, citizen? The need for a re-definition of the citizenship of sex workers in Argentina Degree Program: MA in Latin American Studies Name: Suvi Lensu Student ID: 861007-T469 Supervisor: Dr. Maria Luisa Bartolomei The Year of Studies: 2nd Year Submission Date: 30.05.2015 Pages: 66 Whore, mother, citizen? The need for a re-definition of the citizenship of sex workers in Argentina Photo Courtesy: Ammar Argentina. ii ABSTRACT: In the subject of prostitution there has been a growing trend towards a sex work discourse, where the selling of sex and sexual services is regarded as a form of emotional and erotic labor. The discourse emerged in response to the self-organization of sex workers into labor unions and citizenship rights groups. In Argentina the first steps towards self-representation of sex workers’ interests were taken in the early 1990s. Gradually the sex workers’ social movement has grown into the labor union Ammar (La Asociación de Mujeres Meretrices de Argentina), which actively seeks recognition for sex workers’ economic rights, labor rights and social rights. Although the selling and buying of sexual services has been legal since the early 20th century prostitutes’ rights have been suppressed hitherto. In 2008 Argentina enacted the United Nation’s Convention to combat human trafficking, Palermo Protocol, as federal law 26.364. The law re-enforced the state’s abolitionist policies towards prostitution, which consequently further marginalized the sex workers’ plight. Connecting their services with human trafficking schemes heightened the social stigmatization of sex workers. To contest the institutional violence and social discrimination Ammar presented a law proposal in 2013. The reform asks the state of Argentina to recognize sex work as a legitimate form of labor, thus insuring the sex workers’ labor and social rights. This paper contributes to the aforementioned sex work discourse by analyzing the self- agency of Argentine sex workers. Based on qualitative fieldwork studies I conducted in 2014 in Argentina and employing a feminist methodology my object is to study how sex workers’ counter hegemonic movement redefines their citizenship. To construct a theoretical framework for the case study I will utilize Giorgio Agamben’s paradigm of ‘state of exception’ and compliment Agamben’s shortcomings by advancing feminist- and queer theories, which have radically revaluated the concept of citizenship. The conclusion is that, even though Argentinian sex workers’ requirement for equal rights may be embryonic, it addresses an urgent inclusion of different kinds of sexualities and gender balances to the citizenship discourse. Key words: Argentina, female sex work, female prostitution, Agamben, sexual citizenship, feminist theory, queer theory. iii RESUMEN: En el tema de la prostitución, es cada vez más importante la tendencia hacia un discurso sobre el trabajo sexual, donde la venta de sexo y servicios sexuales se consiederan como una forma de trabajo erótico y emocional. El discurso emergió como consecuencia de la organización de las trabajadoras sexuales dentro de sindicatos y grupos de derechos ciudadanos. En Argentina, los primeros pasos hacia la representación de los intereses de las trabajadoras sexuales, fueron a principios de la década de los 90. Gradualmente, el movimiento social de las trabajadoras sexuales ha crecido dentro del sindicato Ammar (Asociación de Mujereres Meretrices de Argentina) que activamente busca reconocimiento por los derechos económicos, laborales y sociales de las trabajadoras. Aunque la compra- venta de servicios sexuales es legal desde principios del siglo XX, los derechos de las prostitutas han sido reprimidos hasta ahora. En 2010, Argentina promulgó el Protocolo Palermo, como ley federal 26.364, en la Convención de las Naciones Unidas, para combatir el tráfico de humanos. La ley reafirmó las políticas encaminadas a la abolición de la prostitución, que sistemáticamente marginalizó la mala situación del colectivo. Relacionar sus servicios con el contexto del tráfico humano ha agudizado la estigmatización social de las trabajadoras sexuales. Para luchar contra la violencia institucional y la discriminación social, Ammar presentó un proyecto de ley el 2013. La reforma pide al Estado de Argentina que reconozca el trabajo sexual como una forma legítima de trabajo, asegurando así, los derechos laborales y sociales de las trabajadoras sexuales. Esta tesis contribuye al discurso mencionado anteriormente sobre el trabajo sexual, analizando la agnecia de las trabajadoras sexuales argentinas. Basado en estudios de campo cualitativos, llevado a cabo en 2014 en Argentina y utilizando metodología cualitativa y feminista, mi objetivo es estudiar como el movimiento contra-cultural de las trabajadoras sexuales redefine su ciudadanía. Para construir un marco teórico para el caso de estudio, voy a utilizar el paradigma de Giorgio Agamben sobre el “estado de excepción” y complementar sus aportaciones con teoría feminista, que ha reevaluado radicalmente el concepto de ciudadanía. La conclusión es que, aunque los requerimientos de las trabajadoras sexuales argentinas para la igualdad de derechos pueden ser incipientes, reclaman la urgente inclusión de diferentes tipos de sexualidad y articulación de género al discurso de ciudadanía. Palabras clave: Argentina, trabajo sexual femenino, prostitución femenina, Agamben, ciudadanía sexual, teoría feminista, teoría queer. iv Table of Contents Abbreviations vii CHAPTER I. Introduction 1 1. 1. Rationale 1 1. 2. Objectives, research questions 3 1.3. Structure of the paper 4 1.4. Terminology 4 CHAPTER II. Methodology and Material 7 2.1. Selection of the case study 7 2.2. Qualitative methods 8 2.3. Feminist methodology 9 2.4. Fieldwork 10 2.5. Delimitations 11 CHAPTER III. Reframing the Debate 13 CHAPTER IV. Conceptual Framework 17 4.1. Agambenian notions: citizenship, the state of exception and homo sacer 17 4.2. Citizenship through feminist and queer theory perspectives 18 4.3. Concluding the theories 20 CHAPTER V: Context- the Case of Argentina 24 5.1. Private and public citizenship 24 5.2. Building Argentina: women and citizenship 26 5.3. Trata de Blancas – White slavery and the idea of prostitution 28 5.4. What is Palermo Protocol? 29 5.5 Argentinian federal law 26.364 31 v 5.6. Conclusion 32 CHAPTER VI. Fieldwork Results 34 6.1. Sex worker’s movement in Argentina –Ammar 34 6.2. Institutional violence 36 6.3. Public discourse 37 6.4. Violence against women and social marginalization 39 6.5. Law proposal for regulating independent sex work 42 CHAPTER VII. Discussions 45 7.1. Redefining political citizenship 45 7.2. Redefining sexual and gendered citizenship 46 CHAPTER VIII. Conclusions 48 Final Words & Acknowledgements 50 Work Cited 51 Print 51 Websites 59 Legal references 61 Annexes 62 vi Abbreviations Ammar - La Asociación de Mujeres Meretrices de Argentina (The female sex workers’ association of Argentina) CABA – Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (The capital area of Buenos Aires) CEPOC- Centro de Estudios en Política Criminal y Derechos Humanos Argentina (Center for Studies in Criminal Policy and Human Rights CEDAW - Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina) CTA - Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (The Argentine Workers’ Center) FPV - Frente para la Victoria (Front for Victory, Political party in Argentina) IIEG - Instituto Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género (Institute of Gender Studies) IIGG - Instituto Gino Germani (Institute Gino Germani) IOM – International Organisation of Migration LGBT - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights INECIP - Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales (The Institute for Comparative Studies in Criminal and Social Policies) NGO – Non-Governmental Organization ONCHR - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Palermo Protocol 2000 - Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime RedTraSex – Red de Mujeres Trabajadoras Sexuales de Latinoamérica y el Caribe (The Latin American and Caribbean Female Sex Workers Network) UBA – Universidad de Buenos Aires (University of Buenos Aires) UNODC - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime vii I. Introduction 1.1 Rationale Over the last two decades in Argentina there has been a robust social mobilization of sex workers. In the absence of adequate social, labor, and economic rights, Argentine sex workers founded an organization called Ammar (Asociación de Mujereres Meretrices de Argentina1), through which the sex workers began campaigning for their equal citizenship status (Hardy 2010: 95). In 2008 the marginalization of the sex workers increased further, as a law reform fighting against the trafficking of women was adopted by the state of Argentina. What preceded the reform was that in the early 2000´s cases of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and the disappearances of young girls in the rural provinces of the country had garnered a significant amount of media attention. Campaigns against "trafficking in women" gained a growing amount of support in Argentina and subsequently, a social composition to combat human trafficking