"Who Says We Do Not Work?"

Sex workers' organisations have argued against trafficking and see it not only as a human rights violation, but also as a threat to their own work and credibility. Often the debate is couched in terms of anti-trafficking lobbying/campaigns. The debate needs to be framed differently. Equating trafficking with sex work does a great disservice to both sex workers and to anti-trafficking campaigns, and only ends up infantilising women. The most powerful weapon to deny sex work the status of work is that of stigma. Stigmatising sex work has ensured keeping sex workers out of the legitimate political space and sections of the left and the women's movement seem to have acquiesced in that.