Women's Participation in Chinese Transnational Human Smuggling: A Gendered Market Perspective*

Abstract

Despite extensive sociological research on gender and organizations, criminologists have paid insufficient attention to how organizational context and market demands may shape the extent and nature of women's participation in illicit enterprises. This study uses an organizational framework to examine the case of Chinese human smuggling to the United States. Drawing from interviews with 129 human smugglers, we propose a gendered market perspective for understanding the place of women in the human smuggling enterprise. We argue that the limited place of violence and turf as organizing features of human smuggling, the importance of interpersonal networks in defining and facilitating smuggling operations, gender ideologies about work and caregiving, and the impact of safety as an overriding concern for clients combine to create a more meaningful niche for women in human smuggling operations than is found in other criminal endeavors. Our research suggests that organizational and market contexts are significant explanations for gender stratification in illicit enterprises.

Criminal Trajectories in Organized Crime

“…Moreover, not all crimes are the same, nor are they just symptoms of latent characteristics such as low self-control and a variety of people can become involved in organized crime (e.g. Steffensmeier and Ulmer 2005 ;Zaitch 2002 ;Zhang et al 2007 ). From this point of view, situational factors -instead of personality traits -can explain involvement in organized crime.…”

Chinese organized crime and situational context: comparing human smuggling and synthetic drugs trafficking

“…Generally, migrant communities do not regard smuggling illegal immigrants as a serious offence [41,51]. On the contrary, smugglers are not viewed as criminals but as 'service providers', offering the opportunity to find a better future elsewhere.…”

Female Perpetrators in Internal Child Trafficking in China: An Empirical Study

“…It appears that children are easy targets of human traffickers and the use of physical violence is rarely necessary. Thus, child trafficking does not seem to have "gender barriers" for women (Zhang, Chin, and Miller, 2007).…”

“…As Table 2 illustrates, like that in human smuggling (see, Zhang et al, 2007), services in child trafficking are narrowly defined and can be provided by different individuals. Although nothing should prevent women from entering the child trade at any stage, the female traffickers in this sample appeared to be more frequently involved at the recruitment and transportation stages and typically played more than one role in trafficking operations.…”

“…Chinese women are culturally expected to be caregivers in the family and community (Zhang et al, 2007). Like in many countries, women who have children themselves become perpetrators of crimes against children are often condemned for breaking the law as well as for "breaking every culturally sanctioned code of femininity and womanhood" (Jewkes, 2011, p. 137).…”