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Justice and Civil Liberties on Sex Work in Contemporary International Human Rights Law

Author

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  • Belinda Brooks-Gordon

    (School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK)

  • Marjan Wijers

    (Department of Sociology, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK)

  • Alison Jobe

    (Department of Sociology, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3HN, UK)

Abstract

To fulfil obligations in international law State parties have to take the issue of human trafficking seriously. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) provides General Recommendations (GR) to member states on the interpretation of the Women’s Convention. In 2018 the CEDAW Committee started to develop a GR on trafficking in women and girls in a process planned to conclude in 2020. The first stage towards this was through the publication of a Concept Note to serve as a basis for dialogue during the two-year international consultation period. The Concept Note is a vital link in a textual chain because it frames the policy problem and actively constructs its own ‘documentary reality’. This article provides a critical analysis of the CEDAW Concept Note on the grounds that such analysis provides an understanding of its discursive construction of trafficking, migrant labour and sex work, by an institution responsible for international jurisprudence on human rights. Analysis of the Concept Note explores the documentary constructions including narratives that merge adult women with girls, the symbolism of exploitation, the silencing of scientific research, the elision of sex worker voices, and sex work as work. The analysis leads us to conclude that the General Recommendation should define what counts as ‘exploitation’, and ‘forced labour’, and address the growing international recognition of best evidence on the wider impact of sex work laws, in order that legal framing and constructions of sex trafficking are not erroneously used to curtail rights of sex workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Belinda Brooks-Gordon & Marjan Wijers & Alison Jobe, 2020. "Justice and Civil Liberties on Sex Work in Contemporary International Human Rights Law," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:9:y:2020:i:1:p:4-:d:307543
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Scambler, Graham & Paoli, Frederique, 2008. "Health work, female sex workers and HIV/AIDS: Global and local dimensions of stigma and deviance as barriers to effective interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1848-1862, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jessica McCann & Gemma Crawford & Jonathan Hallett, 2021. "Sex Worker Health Outcomes in High-Income Countries of Varied Regulatory Environments: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-16, April.

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