Panics Without Borders

Public anxiety about sex trafficking has grown so broad that the term has lost much of its usefulness. Evangelical groups, conspiracy theorists, feminists opposed to prostitution, and politicians with their own agendas have all stretched its meaning. The worry peaks around mega-events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, when claims circulate that as many as 40,000 women and girls will be trafficked for sex.

This study draws on long fieldwork in Brazil and on interviews with sex workers, policymakers, missionaries, and activists in Russia, Qatar, Japan, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Its author finds that the statistics behind these claims have no sound basis, that trafficking does not increase during such events, and that police violence against sex workers does. Advocates have challenged this myth for years, but the author follows the discourse from one host country to the next to ask why the panic takes hold so easily at these moments, which fears drive it, and who benefits from it.

The book also traces how the issue has moved into the realm of spectacle, through street protests, awareness campaigns, telenovelas, social media, and celebrity spokespeople, and how these images spread across national borders. Its central concern is that mega-events take place during waves of nationalist feeling, when suspicion of foreigners and migrants runs high and can be turned to frightening ends.