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Moving beyond contemporary discourses: children, prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking

Charnley, Helen; Nkhoma, Pearson

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Authors

Pearson Nkhoma



Abstract

The relationship between prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking is much debated in the academic literature. By contrast, discussion of children’s involvement in prostitution as a form of modern slavery and human trafficking constitutes a silent consensus. Drawing on the findings of a participatory study with girls and young women in Malawi, we prize open that consensus, illuminating the poverty of contemporary discourses that link children’s involvement in prostitution with modern slavery and human trafficking, and identifying a series of tensions that confound the development of conceptual clarity. We develop our argument by exploring the potential of the capability approach, rooted in principles of social justice and human rights, to offer an alternative understanding of children’s engagement and ongoing involvement in prostitution, and a critical lens through which to reframe the relationship between children, prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking.

Citation

Charnley, H., & Nkhoma, P. (2020). Moving beyond contemporary discourses: children, prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking. Critical and Radical Social Work, 8(2), 205-221. https://doi.org/10.1332/204986020x15945756343791

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Aug 3, 2020
Publication Date 2020-08
Deposit Date Aug 4, 2020
Publicly Available Date Aug 3, 2021
Journal Critical and Radical Social Work
Print ISSN 2049-8608
Electronic ISSN 2049-8675
Publisher Bristol University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 8
Issue 2
Pages 205-221
DOI https://doi.org/10.1332/204986020x15945756343791

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Copyright Statement
This is a post-peer-review pre-copy edited version of an article published in Critical and radical social work. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Charnley, Helen & Nkhoma, Pearson (2020). Moving beyond contemporary discourses: children, prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking. Critical and Radical Social Work 8(2): 205-221 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1332/204986020X15945756343791




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