The United Nations Trafficking Protocol establishes the 'abuse of a position of vulnerability' as one of the means used to traffic persons. This term, however, was not properly defined, leaving it open for multiple interpretations, many of which do not focus on the well-being of the supposedly vulnerable victims. Through a case study of how (potential) Brazilian victims of trafficking are dealt with in Brazil and (to a lesser extent) outside the country, this article focuses on how 'vulnerability' is often interpreted as a synonym of strain which leads to deviant behavior. In this way, the concept is co-opted to enable the punishment or restraint of certain people (particularly women from developing countries) who are considered to be unsuitable to migrate. KeywordsBrazil, human trafficking, strain theory, abuse of a position of vulnerability This is a pre-print version of the published article.Pérez, J.L. (in press). A criminological reading of the concept of vulnerability: A case study of Brazilian trafficking victims. Social and Legal Studies.
Despite the significant emphasis given to the trafficking of Brazilians to the sex industry of the Iberian Peninsula, the concepts of "victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation" used in these three countries vary. This article analyses the positions of Brazil, Spain and Portugal regarding the conceptualisation of "trafficking victim," focusing on their legislation and policies, as well as on relevant narratives which show how these policies are being applied. It showcases how the incompatible definitions being used compromise genuine anti-trafficking actions and may be an indicator that stopping trafficking may not be the primary concern of the policies developed by these governments. KeywordsBrazil; Human trafficking; Portugal; Spain; Trafficking victim; Trafficking policy This is a pre-print version of the published article. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10610-014-9265-3. Pérez, J.L. (2014). Contrasting the conceptualisation of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation: a case study of Brazilians in Spain and Portugal. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. doi: 10.1007/s10610-014-9265-3 Contrasting the conceptualisation of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation: a case study of Brazilians in Spain and Portugal IntroductionBrazil is considered one of the major source countries of women who are trafficked to the European Union (EU) for sexual exploitation. Among the receiving states, Portugal and Spain, countries with which it has strong historical and cultural ties, have held at times some of the largest declared numbers and percentages of its victims (Ministério da Justiça 2011).This noteworthy human trafficking flow has been recognised as a problem by all three countries. It has resulted, from a policy standpoint, in a number of transatlantic meetings, declarations and agreements between the parties to ensure that traffickers are dealt with and victims protected. Considering the prominence given to the issue and the high level of multilateral cooperation involved, it would be reasonable to assume that all three countries would have compatible policies and definitions of human trafficking and that these would be based upon minimum international standards, particularly the United Nations (UN) Trafficking Protocol. 1 We thus turn specifically to the Protocol's condemnation of the "exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" in the framework of human trafficking. The exact same language is used in the two foremost European instruments on the subject, the Council of Europe Trafficking Convention 2 and Directive 2011/36/EU. 3 However, in none of these documents is the term sexual exploitation defined, being left to the discretion of each state. There is thus no guarantee that these three countries use the same definition when considering what constitutes a victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The main objective of this article is thus to assess whether the concepts of (transnation...
Resumo. Países desenvolvidos usam ações e discursos contra o tráfico de seres humanos como uma maneira mais palatável de impor políticas que restringem a migração e o trabalho sexual. Ainda que suas metas e resultados sejam similares, a maneira como Estados individuais elaboram e utilizam suas estruturas antitráfico varia e gera consequentemente repercussões distintas. Podemos considerar, por exemplo, que ainda que as políticas Ibéricas sejam similares, a Espanha tem um sistema mais duramente criticado do que o de Portugal, pois seus métodos violam direitos de maneira mais clara. Palavras
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