What is sex trafficking? Is it different from prostitution? Is it slavery? Who is involved in sex trafficking? Why does it exist? What does it mean for survivor communities to talk about sex trafficking? While sex trafficking constitutes a relatively small percentage of total estimated human trafficking activity, our collective American preoccupation with sex trafficking seems to be a story unto itself. Evangelical Christians in particular have shown an enthusiastic interest in it, often through anti-trafficking programs focused around the “rescue” of trafficked women. At the same time, many scholars who study trafficking and prevention policies argue that such programs have a destructive influence on overall anti-trafficking efforts. Debates about what causes trafficking, and how best to combat it, are frequent and intense, whether in academia, in policy-making circles, or in churches. This past January, I sat down with Yvonne Zimmerman, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, for a wide-ranging discussion about trafficking, prostitution, theology, and abuse. Zimmerman is a veteran of the sex trafficking debates. Her book, Other Dreams of Freedom: Religion, Sex, and Human Trafficking, examines the influence of conservative Protestant theology on U.S. anti-trafficking policy. Before she ever learned about human trafficking, […]
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