Contemporary Slavery and Forced Marriage in War

Event Date: Friday, September 16, 2016

2016-2017 Sociology Colloquium Series

Dr. Annie Bunting

Contemporary Slavery and Forced Marriage in War: The Politics of Advocacy and Research

Over the last two decades, contemporary slavery and human trafficking have emerged as major sources of popular fascination and political preoccupation. This rapid and unexpected promotion to the front ranks of global conversations regarding exploitation and vulnerability has had far-reaching consequences. It is clear, on the one hand, that ‘the cause’ of combating ‘modern’ or ‘contemporary’ slavery – which has come to be chiefly understood in terms of fighting human trafficking – has experienced a remarkable degree of success in terms of popular awareness, institutional integration, and rhetorical support. However, many of the practical interventions that have followed in the wake of this success have been inadequate in addressing the underlying causes of exploitation and poverty and complicit in a series of questionable political and ideological agendas. This paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of contemporary slavery with three interventions – bringing historical, gendered and labour perspectives to bear on the question of contemporary exploitation of women in war.

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Contemporary Slavery and Forced Marriage in War