Marxist Feminism theory
A contemporary theory that can be applied to sex trafficking and prostitution is Marxist Feminism. Marxist Feminism is a sociology theory that follows the beliefs of Karl Marx. The theory can be applied to prostitution in a useful way by exposing the power structures that support sex work.
Marxist feminists claim the source of the oppression of women is capitalism (Tong, 1998). Capitalism is, “an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state” (Capitalism, n.d.). This means that people control the trade and industry aspect of a country and there is little state involvement in regulating those sectors. Karl Marx was one of the
…show more content…
The notion that capitalism exploits women explains the motivation of women who migrate into sex work. Migration into sex work because of poverty is a class issue. Marxist feminist theory also supports the notion that the bodies of sex workers are commodities because as sex workers bodies are for sale (Tong, 1998). Prostitution is based on the sale and purchase of a commodity contingent with the ideal of supply and demand.
Commodities have both a use value and an exchange value. Although some sex workers receive some type of cash value during such exchange, more cases involve sex workers who perform in conditions of slavery, where they are sold and bought as commodities themselves, and then put to work for the pimps (Eglitis, 2005). Furthermore exploitation results from the fact that the sex worker does not own the product of their labor but merely their capacity to labor. Even when the wage is paid at the full value of the labor power, a fair exchange in capitalist terms, the sex worker is still exploited.
Capitalism And
…show more content…
The supply side in most cases involves the movement or migration of people from their countries or places of origin often plagued with several social, economic, political as well as cultural factors that make the victims to the advanced countries vulnerable.
Generally economic factors are the most relevant factor that fosters human trafficking. In fact the economic drive of human trafficking is double edged and plays out in both the demand and supply side of human trafficking. From the supply side in which victims are uprooted to participate in human trafficking are usually from countries where poverty is wide-spread. If people are not vulnerable to be lured, then trafficking would decrease substantially.
The legal avoidance by traffickers also makes the smuggling of natives from underdeveloped to advanced countries more accessible. Corrupt governments in developing countries sometimes aid traffickers which make them harder to detect. Many times victims are given false identities which add to the difficulty in
As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
The way that sexual trafficking is viewed directly affects how it exists because with communities working together to end it there will be no where for it to continue. Certain communities are accepting of this slavery and only care about protecting themselves. If communities like these can be changed, it will allow for them to mitigate the effects of sex trafficking and this will make it simpler for the officials to do their jobs. A major proponent for the end of sexual trafficking believes that “trafficking starts in a community, and can be stopped by a community”(UN Chronicle). Communities influence the people in them and these communities are what allow sex trafficking to exist, but they are also what can end it.
At this point, the difference perspective in ideology and political action has divided the women movement into some feminism types; socialist, Marxist, radical, liberal and many others. While liberal feminist focus their struggle for equality on civil, economic, and political rights, and education, the feminist socialist and Marxist believe women 's oppression is “the product of the political, social and economic structure within which individuals live.” (Tong, 1998: pp.94). Although some other people suppose that the feminist Marxist and socialist is quiet different, but both of them believe the source of women oppression are capitalism and patriarchy. The Marxist feminism is rooted in 19th century thinker such as Marx and Engels, whether
International human rights lawyer Dianne Post has described the institution of prostitution as founded on the principle of “structural inequality by gender, class and race”, in essence painting sex work as the exploitation women of low economic standing merely because they are desperate enough to perform it (Datta & Post 3). Admittedly, sex work is a primarily female profession, though the Internet has lead to growing populations of transgender and male sex workers from the most liberal areas, such as California, to the most restrictive, like South Africa (Minichiello, Victor, Scott, and Callander), but there is simply to little data discussing these population groups to draw any definite conclusions. Where Post loses sight of her larger argument, that women should be treated as equals, is when she decidedly paints women as the victims of prostitution. This argument has blatant hypocrisy in that it ignores the fact that the majority of women participating in sex work are not trafficked sex slaves, but women willingly exchanging money for sexual acts, who are capable of facing the consequences of these actions. In fact, it is an extension of this argument that assumes that women cannot be held responsible for their actions that constitutes one of the primary failings of the Nordic
There are many believed reasons for the increase in trafficking in the last decade. In general, the criminal business feeds on poverty, despair, war, crisis, and ignorance. The globalization of the world economy has increased the migration of people across borders, both legally and illegally, mostly from lower class to high class countries. International planned crimes taken full advantage of the more independent flow of people, money, goods and services to extend its own goal internationally (CRS, 2008). Many abusers are being put into jail for rape and abuse to minors and adults. As a community, it is needed to do more interdisciplinary interventions, just to care for the victims of trafficking, but also to help prevent the cause of it. Popular Defenders, an organization that trains local citizens to interact with victims of gender violence, started a task about female human rights. A way that communities are helping th...
When it comes to the topic of legalizing prostitution, most of us will readily, agree that prostitution is a human right. Where this agreement usually ends, however, in on the question of prostitution being legalized. Whereas some are convinced that it should be legalized, others maintain that it should remain illegal. I agree that prostitution should be legalized. A point that needs emphasizing since so many people still believe that the government should not interfere with their life choices. Considering that it goes against the 1st Amendment, why shall someone not do as they please. A portion of the United States believe that legalizing prostitution would bring down the percentage of people being raped. It can save kids’ lives that are being forced to be
Marx states that the bourgeoisie not only took advantage of the proletariat through a horrible ratio of wages to labor, but also through other atrocities; he claims that it was common pract...
Sex trafficking is a global issue that involves a form of coerced sexual exploitation, which is not limited to prostitution. Victims of sex trafficking are stripped of their basic human rights and forced to live a life of modern slavery. The U.S. State Department (Stop Child Trafficking Now, 2012) has stated that human trafficking is “one of the fastest growing crimes in the world.” It it hard to put a number on how on many people are living inside the sex trafficking industry for many reasons, one being that not all victims come forward. It is estimated by the U.S. State Department (Stop Child Trafficking Now, 2012) that every year “600,00-800,000 people will be trafficked across international borders, 80% being women and children.” This
“Injuries of human dignity and Human rights of a globalized society. Nobody may be held in slavery or peonage; Slavery and slave trade are in all forms forbidden”. These are the words of the Universal declaration of human rights (United Nations, 1948).Human trafficking is just another name for modern-day slavery, where the victims involved are forced and deceived into labor and sexual exploitation. Exploitation referring to using others for prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, or the removal of organs. The numbers are scary. Almost 600,000 to 800,000 women and children are annually trafficked across national borders. This does not count for the numbers that are trafficked within their own countries. Human trafficking is very much hidden and accurate data and the extent of nature of human trafficking are hard to calculate. Trafficked victims are often in dangerous positions and may be unwilling and too scared to jeopardize their lives to report or seek help from authorities. Victims live daily with emotional and physical abuse, inhumane treatment, and threats to their families, like they are going to torture...
There is an extensive variety of crimes occurring internationally, and human trafficking is one of many severe crimes that cannot be stopped. Human trafficking is the form of modern day slavery, and is one of the largest and most crucial crimes on the globe. Without having an actual date of when it started, human trafficking has been going on for centuries. This crime involves sex exploitation, which exposes the victim to diseases such as HIV or STD’s, and in some cases unwanted pregnancies. Human trafficking also entails forced labor such as work in factories, agriculture, and at restaurants. The forced labor that is being involved in this crime is one of the main concept that ties in with slavery. Human trafficking also includes the
Females are targeted more than males due to their vulnerability, position as being lower than men, and the sexual preferences of society. Many cultures view woman as a possession used for sex and they do not have sexual rights to her own body. “Exploitative employers prefer to use trafficked women—traditionally seen as submissive, cheap, and pliable—for simple and repetitive tasks in agriculture, food processing, labor-intensive manufacturing, and domestic servitude” (US Department of State).
Little do most know, but on “[a]verage [prostitution] arrest[s], court and incarceration costs amount to nearly $2,000 per arrest. Cities spend an average of 7.5 million dollars on prostitution control every year, ranging from 1 million dollars to 23 million dollars.” Prostitution is the oldest known profession. Currently in 49 countries and counting prostitution is legal. Here in America there is a stigma following the label prostitute. We would rather resort to underground markets of sex labor. Endangering health, rights, and economics. Legalizing prostitution can reduce health hazards by giving heath care, also by giving rights to those that choose prostitution as their profession. In the long term this
Since human trafficking is a lucrative business there is big money to be made. The women victims are not making the money, it is the pimps and the prostitution industries that are seeing high profits. According to Sexual Trafficking, it is a different type of profit than the profit a drug seller would see because that profit is dependent on the drugs which are sold and used once. The women become dependent on their source to provide for them food, clothing and shelter on a continuous basis. Human traffickers seek out the most vulnerable individuals. They look for the women who are in poverty, socially deprived, illiterate and even with physical disabilities (Hodge, 2008). The lure is that they are providing for them a better life. Many women are coerce by employment opportunities, modeling and marriage agencies and once in they accumulate debt by being passed from organization to organization. This is termed “debt bondage”, they have to repay debt accumulated out of future earnings because traffickers paid for them transportation and other fees necessary to get them established (Hodge,
The first reason is that women are notorious for having a more difficult time finding a unchanging and well-paying occupation. The lack of employment opportunities for women in poorer countries causes some women to be more desperate for financial improvement and stability (Farr 72). Secondly, women are emotional creatures. Traffickers use women’s emotions against them in order to lure them into their trap. An example of this is how traffickers will use a women’s poor self-esteem and insatiable desire to be loved as a way into their life (Kara 9). The final reason traffickers target women is that women are high in demand. Individuals who purchase services from trafficked women desire new, fresh, exotic women, so traffickers have to meet these demands (Farr
Those who have truly experienced human trafficking are the ones who most cope within the majority of society. Socially, human trafficking affect’s the victim’s. “With sex trafficking, victim’s face threats of violence from many sources, including customers, pimps, brothel owners, madams, and corrupt law officials and with labor trafficking” (George, 2012). Victim’s face threats from business owners, and sad to say, modern day, “Slave Owners or Masters”. Trafficking victims are also exposed to different psychological stresses. “Victims suffer short-term psychological impact like social alienation, stigmatizing, social exclusion, and tolerance” (TRCTP, 2011). Some victim’s suffers from long term psychological like Stockholm syndrome and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “Stockholm syndrome is capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors” (TRCTP, 2011). Some other long term psychological impact is HIV/AIDS and STDS. “Although 98% of the sex trade is composed of woman and girls there is an effort to gather empirical evidence about the psychological impact on abuse common in sex trafficking upon young boys” (McCarthy, 2010). Being a female, “the susceptibility of a trafficking woman to HIV/AIDS is higher than that of a person who engages in sex workout of