Familiar trafficking? Forced marriage in the UK

Marriage Trafficking: Demand, Exploitation, and Conducive Contexts—A Study in China–Vietnam Border Areas

“…Second, the results point to the need to raise awareness of the uniqueness of the exploitative elements embedded in marriage trafficking and suggest that it makes sense to distinguish the exploitative elements of marriage trafficking from sex and labor trafficking. This is consistent with Quek's theory that marriage trafficking contains a matrix of violence that encompasses both sex and labor trafficking and includes more severe and complex forms of exploitation (Quek, 2018). Three forms of exploitation are identified from the interviews: domestic violence (sexual and physical violence), labor exploitation, and reproductive exploitation.…”

“…Interviews also show a link between men's marital and social status, with being married symbolizing the material and social power they have acquired; some men's inability to marry will worsen their already low social status. This finding resonates with Quek (2018), who emphasizes the importance of considering the practical and symbolic effects of marriage when discussing marriage trafficking, including how marriage affects an individual's material and legal status, and how it reinforces or instantiates patriarchal social norms or ideological values. The findings suggest that men who are unable to marry are perceived as deprived of the benefits to which married men are entitled, and that the demand for marriage and its impact on social status are likely to drive men to seek women in the marriage trafficking market.…”

“…This echoes Quek's theory that patriarchal traditions and gender norms have shaped the traditions associated with marriage to include some of the characteristics of marriage trafficking. Moreover, the underlying premises that enable trafficking are often implicit in the perceptions or practices associated with the institution of marriage (Quek, 2018).…”

“…It distinguishes marriage trafficking from sex trafficking, where women are generally not expected to provide domestic services or earn income for men, whereas, in the case of marriage trafficking, the harm to women almost always involves forced labor. Quek argues that marriage trafficking can be identified as an overlap between sex trafficking and forced domestic labor (Quek, 2018). My research supports her theory and further reveals a double burden borne by trafficked women, who are not only responsible for domestic work but also participate in agricultural labor, and sometimes even become the main labor force and source of income for the household.…”

“…Inspired by Quek's theory, this study utilizes feminist concepts associated with marriage to consider and examine the impact of the institution of marriage on marriage trafficking and subsequent exploitation. Quek argues that marriage trafficking should be understood as involving both sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking, as it involves a more complex and multilayered matrix of abuse, encompassing sexual exploitation, reproductive slavery, and forced domestic servitude (Quek, 2018). This study examines the exploitative dimensions of marriage trafficking and, like Quek's study, focuses on the variety of different forms of exploitation that victims of marriage trafficking experience—i.e., domestic violence (sexual and physical), labor servitude (agricultural and domestic), and reproductive exploitation.…”