Cities as a micro space of women’s self-reform
When viewed under a criminological and moral social lens, human trafficking can become a blurred societal issue. As such, it can trap women into the confines of stereotypes which inhibit their personal empowerment. In answer to this, the EU-funded UNBOUND 23 project sought a new model of social solidarity that reaches beyond the welfare state and surpasses the urban-social dichotomy. This entailed viewing women beyond the boundaries of victimisation as a result of human trafficking and examining the broader issue of violence against women. It also meant rethinking the notion of empowerment by focusing on cities as spaces of women’s self-reform. Fieldwork was divided into two cities Chicago, Illinois in the US and cities in Sicily, Italy for one year each. In Chicago the focus was on US sex workers, Latino workers and international refugees, investigating personal experience of violence and self-reform. By contrast, Senegalese female street vendors and how they manage their situations within a certain time and space was the focus of the study in Sicily. Viewing cities as spaces of empowerment for women, the project uncovered ways to rethink moral and political limitations of urban policies against human trafficking. Furthermore, the boundaries between welfare, labour and migration issues can be interlaced fostering new ways to share knowledge between policy makers and the public.
Keywords
Human trafficking, women, violence, empowerment, self-reform
