Amnesty International’s recent publication of a draft policy recommending the decriminalization of sex work has been received positively by sex workers, advocates, researchers and many feminists, academics, medical experts and human rights groups. [...] Anti-trafficking organisations have been successful in garnering celebrity endorsement, with sometimes disastrous consequences for rational debate.

Human trafficking and its connection to sports events have been discussed since the World Cup 2006 in Germany. Big and costly media campaigns warned of the rising problem of human trafficking of adult women in the sex industry. Since then, media and NGO campaigns became particularly visible before and around the World or European Cup, the Olympics and the Super Bowl. What can we learn from past experiences and research about this connection? 

Under the guise of improving laws against trafficking, states around the country are pushing policies that raise penalties for patronizing prostitution. This January, Human Trafficking Awareness Month, it’s time we faced the facts that these efforts will ultimately fail to protect trafficking victims. First, let’s consider the complex definition of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a scheme where a perpetrator compels another to work against her will through force, fraud or coercion.