What’s Lost in Campaigns Against Sex Trafficking?

In recent years, media and public attention about sex trafficking has grown enormously. Anti-trafficking activism has focused primarily on \u27rescuing¹ women forced into prostitution, (often described as \u27modern-day slavery) as well as increasing criminal enforcement of laws against men who profit from prostitution. What impact has this current wave of activism had on long-standing feminist approaches to ending gender-based violence? What has been the impact when anti-trafficking laws are aggressively enforced? And how does use of the term slavery here relate to the broader histories of white supremacy and racial domination? This talk engages these questions, and considers the race and gender - based effects of anti-trafficking efforts and their implications for the future of feminist organizing around labor rights and sexual violence. About the Lecturers: Priscilla Yamin is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Oregon. Her research and teaching focus on gender, sexuality and race politics in the United States. She recently published a book on marriage politics, American Marriage: A Political Institution. Daniel Martinez HoSang is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon with a joint appointment in the Department of Ethnic Studies and the Department of Political Science. He is the author of Racial Propositions: Ballot Initiatives and the Making of Postwar California and co-editor of Racial Formation in the 21st Century. He writes and teaches about racial politics and racial justice, social movements, labor and gender