NEWS COVERAGE OF SEX TRAFFICKING IN THE US: THE PORTRAYAL OF SEX TRAFFICKERS by NGAN TA A THESIS Presented to the Department of International Studies and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts September 2014 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Student: Ngan Ta Title: News Coverage of Sex Trafficking in the US: The Portrayal of Sex Traffickers This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of International Studies by: Kathie Carpenter Chairperson Yvonne Braun Member Kristin Yarris Member and J. Andrew Berglund Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2014 ii © 2014 Ngan Ta THESIS ABSTRACT iii Ngan Ta Master of Arts Department of International Studies September 2014 Title: News Coverage of Sex Trafficking in the US: The Portrayal of Sex Traffickers This thesis is a content analysis of news about sex trafficking published in the US from 2001 to 2013. The focus of the research is the portrayal of sex traffickers in the news. The project discovered that in the news, the public image of sex traffickers is overwhelmingly people of color who are described to be violent, deceptive and forcible. In addition, sex traffickers are portrayed to make sense of the simplistic representation of powerless female trafficking victims. The portrayal of sex traffickers in the news is simplistic and is driven by the state’s response to sex trafficking: punishment of sex traffickers. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Ngan Ta GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene An Giang University, An Giang, Vietnam DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts, 2014, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, 2004, An Giang University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Gender Development Prostitution Sex Work Human Trafficking Sex Trafficking PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Communication Officers, Alliance Anti-Trafic, 2010-2012 Research Assistant, Alliance Anti-Traffic, 2008-2010 Teacher, An Giang University, 2004-2009 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Fulbright Student Program, 2012 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to Professor Kathie Carpenter, my advisor, for her non-stop support. Without her, my completion of this program and this thesis would not be possible. I also would like to thank Professors Yvonne Braun and Kristin Yarris, my committee members for their insightful and invaluable comments for this research project. I would like to thank the staff of the Department of International Studies for their support and friendliness, especially Ms. Hope Marston – the Graduate Programs Coordinator. I would like to thank the Graduate School for the one-year tuition award which has made it possible for me to pursue my degree in University of Oregon. I am grateful to the Fulbright Program for the scholarship, for the wonderful experience I have had and for wonderful people I have met during the two years I participated in the scholarship program. I would like to thank the program’s staff in Vietnam and in the US for their logistic arrangements and other invaluable support. I would like to thank my wonderful friends in Eugene for their lovely camaraderie and for having made Eugene such a great place to live, learn and grow. I wish to express my gratitude and love to my families in Vietnam and in the US for their unconditional love, encouragement and prayers. I would like to thank all of whom I have met and worked with because I am aware that I have carried what I have learned from you; I would not be where I am today without having met, studied and worked with you. vi For Eric, my encouraging and inspiring life partner, who has been with me through rainy and sunny days in Eugene. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Justification ............................................................................................................ 1 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 15 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 16 LexisNexis Database and Data Collection ...................................................... 16 News Quantity ................................................................................................. 18 Delimitations .................................................................................................... 24 II. CONTEXTUALIZING SEX TRAFFICKING AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................... 27 "The White Slave Traffic" ..................................................................................... 28 Trafficking in Women and Children ...................................................................... 30 Immigration...................................................................................................... 30 Feminism.......................................................................................................... 31 Development in Third World Countries .......................................................... 32 Human Trafficking and the US Government ........................................................ 32 Trafficking in Persons Reports (TIP Reports) ................................................. 34 Sex Trafficking in the US ...................................................................................... 37 Definition of Sex Trafficking........................................................................... 41 Feminist Perspectives on Sex Trafficking and Prostitution ................................... 42 Sex Is Women’s Oppression ............................................................................ 42 Women’s Oppression Is Not in Their Sex ...................................................... 43 Consent and Choice ......................................................................................... 44 viii Chapter Page Prostitution and Sex Trafficking ..................................................................... 46 Migrant Workers and Sex Workers Rights ...................................................... 47 Agency and Victim’s Representation .............................................................. 48 III. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 51 The Public Image of Sex Traffickers: Sexually and Physically Violent, Deceptive and Coercive ......................................................................................... 52 Child Sex Trafficking and Teen Sex Trafficking ........................................... 52 Traffickers’ Genders ........................................................................................ 53 Traffickers’ Age ............................................................................................... 54 Traffickers’ Races ............................................................................................ 54 Traffickers’ Ethnicity and Nationality ............................................................. 54 Sex Traffickers Are Brutally Violent ............................................................... 55 Sex Traffickers Are Manipulative ................................................................... 57 Sex Traffickers Use Force ............................................................................... 58 Sexual Assaults and Rapes............................................................................... 59 The Portrayal of Black Male Traffickers and Female Traffickers ......................... 61 Black Male Traffickers .................................................................................... 63 Gang Members ................................................................................................. 65 Traffickers’ Photographs ................................................................................. 66 Female Sex Traffickers .................................................................................... 67 How Did the Portrayal of Sex Traffickers Make their Victims Appear More Vulnerable and Helpless? ...................................................................................... 68 The Knowledge about Sex Traffickers .................................................................. 73 ix Chapter Page Law Enforcement’s and Judiciary’s Voices (Governmental Officials’ Voices) ............................................................................................................. 73 Victims’ Voices ............................................................................................... 76 Traffickers’ Voices .......................................................................................... 77 Defense Attorneys’ Voices .............................................................................. 78 Summary ................................................................................................................. 79 IV. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 82 Blind Spot of the Critiques about Sex Trafficking Discourse ..............................