Child Trafficking, Youth Labour Mobility and the Politics of Protection

Abstract

translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

The Victim, the Villain and the Rescuer

“…The terms trafficking and slavery are frequently used interchangeably, whether to increase the appeal of contemporary efforts to eradicate the practices or due to confusion over the legal classifications of both. The inevitable consequence of the use of a term that is as morally and politically loaded as the 'modern day slave trade' both promotes and invokes strong emotive responses, within a variety of arenas (Howard, 2016). The powerful appeal of the language of modern slavery frequently relies upon the exploitation of the legacy of slavery inadvertently adopting Kipling's 'White Man's Burden' of a civilising mission (Faulkner, 2017a).…”

“…This construction of the 'victim' also deflects from the structural issues that perpetuate migration, such as poverty, inequality, access to education, lack of opportunities; all of which are issues that disproportionality affect women. The idea of the 'victim' further deflects from the fact that human trafficking is a phenomenon that lies outside of the system, a status which affords a level of protection (Howard, 2016). The consolidation of the core binaries of consent and coercion, freedom and force, legitimate and illegitimate are a discursive representation of reality, creating simplistic assumptions about trafficking and the migration of women generally.…”

Theorising ‘Harm’ in Relation to Children’s Work

“…This point has been forcefully underscored by scholars working in contexts as different as West Africa and South America. In research by one of the present authors, Neil Howard, with young migrant workers from Benin, for example, children who were removed from or denied access to work opportunities furiously accused those responsible of making their lives worse (Howard 2017 In South America, Taft (2013) and Liebel (2004) have documented the anger of working children's movements in relation to the ILO, expressing their concerns over the 'collateral damage of interventions that seek to eradicate child labour on the surface but create more harm by criminalising it'. 3 Misguided interventions designed to address harmful children's work by taking the institutional picture at face value are thus widely critiqued within the anthropological literature, with some claiming that they violate the core humanitarian principle of 'do no harm' (see Hart, forthcoming, for a discussion of institutional failure in this respect).…”

O Serviço Social Embasado em Direitos como Ferramenta para a Realização dos Direitos Humanos das Crianças Migrantes Venezuelanas nos Países da América Latina

“…Entretanto, não se deve negligenciar o fato de que algumas crianças migrantes possam ter mais dificuldades ao lidar com problemas relacionados à migração e podem constituir um grupo mais vulnerável do que outros. E este é o caso da maioria das crianças apátridas (Bhabha, 2009) e das vítimas de tráfico internacional (Howard, 2017). De fato, de maneira geral, as crianças migrantes se encontram em uma posição de maior vulnerabilidade em relação aos adultos, lembrando que vulnerabilidade e agência não são duas características mutuamente excludentes.…”