Month: October 2019

My research question is what explains success or failure in sex worker based activist groups campaigns to decriminalize sex work. The values I will include for my dependent variable is full decriminalization, partial decriminalization (the Nordic Model), and criminalization.  Full decriminalization would be operationalized for success, partial decriminalization would be mixed success, and continued criminalization would be considered failure.

Since I am using legal definitions such as decriminalization to measure my dependent variable, the qualitative data sources I am using to operationalize my dependent variable are focused on legislation. One of the data sources I am using to operationalize my dependent variable is the New Zealand Prostitution Reform Act of 2003[1]. This act authorized the full decriminalization of sex work with the intention of improving the working conditions and health of sex workers.[2] I have also found a news source that confirms that this was a sex worker activist informed piece of legislation.[3]  Catherine Haley, the activist that co-founded the organization New Zealand Prostitutes Collective is featured in the article. I include this information because it helps confirm that decriminalization would be considered a way to operationalize success when measuring the outcomes of sex-worker based activism.

Moving forward I intend to operationalize my dependent variable two ways. First, I will be finding qualitative evidence that illustrates whether there is the presence of criminalization, partial decriminalization, and decriminalization in each of my cases. I will use ratified legislation specifically for cases where there is either full decriminalization or partial decriminalization. In cases where there is failure (continued criminalization), I will include draft decriminalization bills or policy briefs from sex worker based activist groups or NGOs. Secondly, I will seek out qualitative sources such as news articles or blog posts, to find out if sex-worker based activist groups think favorably of laws ratified. I will be doing this because I understand that legislation when implemented may not always align with the intentions of activist groups.

Bibliography:

1. New Zealand Ministry of Justice, Prostitution Reform Act 2003 No 28 (as at 26 November 2018), Public Act Accessed October 26, 2019. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0028/latest/whole.html#DLM197821.
2. Romo, Vanessa. “Queen Honors Activist Who Fought To Decriminalize Prostitution : The Two-Way : NPR.” June 4, 2018 (Accessed October 26, 2019) https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/06/04/616865934/queen-honors-activist-who-fought-to-decriminalize-prostitution.

[1] “Prostitution Reform Act 2003 No 28 (as at 26 November 2018), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation.” Accessed October 27, 2019. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0028/latest/whole.html#DLM197815.

[2] Ibid. Section 3, Articles a-e

[3] “Queen Honors Activist Who Fought To Decriminalize Prostitution : The Two-Way : NPR.” Accessed October 28, 2019. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/06/04/616865934/queen-honors-activist-who-fought-to-decriminalize-prostitution.

I am proposing to research human rights law and feminist theory because I want to find out what explains the variation in response to human trafficking between countries. in order to help my reader, understand what the barriers are to progress for women in the international human rights system.

For my preliminary research I found the United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Series, Waves 1-10, 1970-2006. The entire data set focuses on crime counts and different facets of a country’s criminal investigation and court process.[1] There are also recordings of how many crimes are prosecuted and budgets allocated for policing.[2]  Most variables, including the ones mentioned, are measured on an interval scale in this data set.

One major limitation of this data set is that it doesn’t solely focus on human trafficking so there is no difference made between the different types of human trafficking (i.e bonded labor, prostitution, etc). If those differences were made clear it would be much easier to discuss context, cultural factors, and local histories. Not all forms of human trafficking are the same, thus not all forms will appear in every country at the same rates. I also think another limitation of the data set is that it isn’t very recent. I think the time period is large enough, but it would have been nice if there was survey data collected in the recent past. I think this because I would be able to provide some more insight into what the current trends are and how it relates to past years data.

Bibliography:

United Nations Office at Vienna. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch. United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Series, Waves 1-10, 1970-2006. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-07-22. https://doi-org.proxyau.wrlc.org/10.3886/ICPSR26462.v1

[1] United Nations Office at Vienna. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch. United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Series, Waves 1-10, 1970-2006. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-07-22. https://doi-org.proxyau.wrlc.org/10.3886/ICPSR26462.v1

[2] Ibid