POV #1
A continuous debate in sexual slavery and trafficking involves the actual definition of trafficking and the laws that come along with it. Laws aimed at protecting children and people in general from being exploited end up being limiting, because the laws punish those who transfer children to different places (whether in-state or around the world). The criticism comes when these laws only punish the trafficking itself and not the abuse that is imposed while children are enslaved. Furthermore, organizations that are also aimed at preventing child trafficking and exploitation sometimes contradict each other. Melissa Farley, author of Prostitution, trafficking, and cultural amnesia: What we must not know in order to keep the business of sexual exploitation running smoothly, states, "although their names are similar, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW) promotes prostitution as sex work, while the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) promotes the abolition of prostitution" (Farley, 2006). Such contradictions make it difficult for people to get involved in campaigns; additionally, it is also sometimes difficult for the government to make laws, since they get pushed by different human rights groups that are not in agreement of the correct legal language to codify.