The History of the Global Anti-Human Trafficking Agenda, with a Focus on Prostitution and Sexual Exploitation

Abstract

Heli Askola examines the early history of international instruments for the suppression of the trafficking in women and children involved in so called ‘white slavery’ as precursors to the more recent developments relating to human trafficking. She challenges the notion of the linear progression in the development of the law and illustrates that the contests between various NGOs and government organizations meant that this development was neither smooth nor uncontested.