Moving beyond contemporary discourses: children, prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking

The relationship between prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking is much debated in the academic literature. By contrast, discussion of children’s involvement in prostitution as a form of modern slavery and human trafficking constitutes a silent consensus. Drawing on the findings of a participatory study with girls and young women in Malawi, we prize open that consensus, illuminating the poverty of contemporary discourses that link children’s involvement in prostitution with modern slavery and human trafficking, and identifying a series of tensions that confound the development of conceptual clarity. We develop our argument by exploring the potential of the capability approach, rooted in principles of social justice and human rights, to offer an alternative understanding of children’s engagement and ongoing involvement in prostitution, and a critical lens through which to reframe the relationship between children, prostitution, modern slavery and human trafficking.