A book launch and panel discussion will be held tomorrow celebrating the publication of Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights, edited by Kamala Kempadoo, professor of social Science at York .
The event will take place in the Social Science Lounge, 752 South Ross Building, on Tuesday from 4 to 6pm . The event is co-sponsored by the Division of Social Science at York and the York University Bookstore.
The panel discussion, titled "21st Century Myths of Human Trafficking" will highlight current issues and debates around US and Canadian migrant labour, prostitution and anti-trafficking policies. Cynthia Wright, professor in York's School of Women’s Studies, will moderate the discussion among panellists Deborah Brock, professor of sociology in York’s Faculty of Arts, Nandita Sharma, professor in Atkinson’s School of Social Science, Melissa Ditmore, contributing author and research fellow at the Center for the Study of Women and Society, The City University of New York, and Kempadoo.
The panel discussion will be followed by a reception and book signing.
About the Book
Trafficking and prostitution are widely believed to be synonymous and to be leading international crimes. This collection argues against such sensationalism and advances carefully considered and grounded alternatives for understanding transnational migrations, forced labour, sex work, and livelihood strategies under new forms of globalization.
From their long-term engagements as anti-trafficking advocates, the authors unpack the contemporary international debate on trafficking. They maintain that rather than a new 'white slave trade,' we are witnessing today, more broadly, an increase in the violation of the rights of freedom of movement, decent employment, and social and economic security. Critical examinations of state anti-trafficking interventions, including the US-led War on Trafficking, also reveal links to a broader attack on undocumented migrants, tribal and aboriginal peoples, poor women, men and children, and sex workers.
The book sheds new light on everyday circumstances, popular discourses, and strategies for survival under 21st-century economic and political conditions, with a focus on Asia, but with lessons globally.
For more information visit publisher’s Web site here.
About the Editor
Kamala Kempadoo, is a professor in the Division of Social Science, Faculty of Arts. She is also the author of Sexing the Caribbean: Gender, Race and Sexual Labor (2004) and Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition (1998).