Neutralizing Their Involvement

Techniques of Neutralization

Sykes and Matza’s (1957) theory of delinquency extends Mills’s (1940) position that neutralizations are culturally created and socially transmitted. The theory posits that individuals compensate for criminal behavior and minimize social control by evoking forms of socially acceptable excuses and justifications called techniques of neutralization. In this perspective, norms and values are not unconditional imperatives, but flexible patterns for behavior with varying levels of applicability depending on location, social circumstance, and historical period (Sykes & Matza, 1957). Sykes and Matza (1957) identified five techniques of neutralization used to rationalize delinquency: denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemning the condemners, and appealing to high loyalties. Other scholars have expanded on Sykes and Matza’s (1957) set of neutralizations, identifying nine additional techniques (Maruna & Copes, 2005): the defense of necessity (Minor, 1981), appealing to biological drives (Scott & Lyman, 1968), metaphor of the ledger (Klockars, 1974), denial of necessity of the law and claim of entitlement (Coleman, 1994), claim of relative acceptability and claim of individuality (Henry & Eaton, 1999), and justification by comparison or postponement (Cromwell & Thurman, 2003).

An analysis of available literature on sex traffickers’ discursive accounts uncovered the widespread use of neutralizations including denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemning the condemners, and defense of necessity in India, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Greece, the United States, in the Bosnian conflict, and in Japan during World War II (WWII; Allen, 1996; Antonopoulos & Winterdyk, 2005; Boazman, 2010; Friedman, 1996; Human Rights Watch, 2002; Kara, 2009; Molland, 2010; Raphael & Myers-Powell, 2010; Salzman, 1998; Tanaka, 2003). Prior to continuing, general descriptions of specific neutralizations used by sex traffickers are warranted. By using the denial of responsibility neutralization, an offender attributes their crime to an accident or forces beyond their control. Denial of injury neutralizations center on minimizing the perceived extent of harm caused. Neutralizations focused on denial of the victim lessen the perceived wrongfulness of a crime in light of the circumstances or claim the harm was deserved. By condemning the condemners, offenders criticize and shift the focus to those who reject their actions (Sykes & Matza, 1957). Through using defense of necessity neutralizations, individuals negate guilt by focusing on the necessity of the crime (Minor, 1981).

This article contributes to the sex trafficking and neutralization literatures through emphasizing how neutralizations are impacted by the intersecting identities of victims and traffickers and creating a critical framework for comprehending sex trafficking and sex traffickers. The varied historical and social contexts in which sex traffickers use neutralizations illustrate their diverse utilization to construct victimization and agency in complex ways to deflect criminal actions and reaffirm social constructions.

Intersectional Feminist Perspective

Prior to analyzing sex traffickers’ neutralizations, a critical review of the intersectionality literature and the intersectional nature of vulnerabilities to sex trafficking is necessary. Samarasinghe (2008) and Daly and Chesney-Lind (1988) highlighted the role of gender construction and relationships in shaping behavior and social institutions by proscribing social, political, and gender norms. Collins (1998) also posited that socialization provides individuals with an understanding of racial, gender, ethnic, sexuality, social class, and national hierarchies through gendered cultural norms.

With regard to sexuality, cultural constructions of femininity and masculinity create a dichotomy of male sexual self-indulgence and female chastity and sexual purity, forming a base for the social acceptability of prostitution and sex trafficking (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; Kane, 1998; Samarasinghe, 2008). These constructions create a terrain for the sexual exploitation of women by viewing them as sexual objects. This dichotomy also creates the categories of pure and sexually available women in the construction of what Munro (2008) referred to as “undeserving” and “deserving” victims of trafficking.

Social constructions of gender and gender relationships also subordinate women, but are not the sole factor in their social status, life experiences, or victimization. Intersections of gender, ethnicity, immigration status, class, and poverty increase girls’ and women’s vulnerability to sex trafficking. In research on violence against women, Crenshaw (1991) advanced the theoretical concept of intersectionality and proposed the analysis of the connection between race, ethnicity, immigrant status, and class of victimized women to gain a better understanding of these crimes.

This line of theory focuses on the interconnected nature of status, power hierarchies, and cultural norms in constructing group and gender identities, experiences, and life chances (Henderson & Tickmyer, 2009), which form a matrix of domination (Collins, 1990). As such, Collins (2009) posited that intersectional analyses are essential to creating frameworks for understanding inequality, poverty, educational deficiencies, and violence, which specifically form the underpinnings of sex trafficking. By connecting the intersectional identities of trafficked sex workers to traffickers’ neutralizations, this analysis contributes to the understanding of a previously unexplored dimension of sex trafficking and the actors involved.

Intersecting Identities and Vulnerabilities to Sex Trafficking

Numerous scholars have applied an intersectional lens to the study of sex trafficking. Bertone (2000) highlighted the utility of intersectional analysis to determine the intersection of race, gender, and class as foundations of power, privilege, and structures of domination in the lives of trafficked women. Ekberg (2004) focused on the finding that traffickers knowingly exploit the gendered vulnerabilities of their victims related to poverty, unemployment, labor practices, gender disparities, and gendered violence. The role of the feminization of poverty, recognition of sex work as a genuine type of labor, and drive for cheap labor in sustaining the sex trades was the focal point for Munro (2008).

Sex trafficking operates by exploiting the intersecting gender vulnerabilities brought on by a lower social position within familial and cultural contexts, highlighted by the high numbers of trafficking victims from poorly educated, impoverished ethnic minorities, and marginalized populations (Todres, 2006). Within these contexts, sex traffickers exploit the sense of desperation often created by economic vulnerability (Kane, 1998; Kara, 2009; Long, 2004; Todres, 2006). Increasing poverty and a lack of traditional employment can compel families to send their children into sex work for financial support (Skeldon, 2000), despite restricted abilities to send remittances home (Kane, 1998; Long, 2004; Todres, 2006). Dowry practices impact sex trafficking enterprises as increasing numbers of daughters are sold into sex work when families are unable to afford the culturally proscribed dowry (Kara, 2009; Long, 2004). Within these contexts, parents and traffickers draw on gendered cultural norms to regain power in lives defined by economic hardship.

Sex trafficking is not only gendered exploitation, but also class, culture, race, and age-based exploitation at its core. For example, Nigerian girls and women are specifically targeted to be trafficked into Italy and greater Europe (Kara, 2009). In Southeast Asia, girls and women from the Dalit caste (the untouchables) comprise a sizable percentage of trafficked sex workers in Nepal and India (Human Rights Watch, 2001; Kara, 2009). The Badi, another lower caste in the Southeast Asian hierarchy, is also commonly referred to as the “prostitution caste” due to the high numbers of trafficked Badi sex workers (Human Rights Watch, 2001).

In addition, youth also increases vulnerability to sex trafficking. The U.S. Department of State (2005) estimated that half of the women trafficked for sexual exploitation are under the age of 18. Young girls are often targeted due to high rate of AIDS among older sex workers and an Asian cultural belief that sex with virgins can cure disease or rejuvenate (Friedman, 1996; Jeffreys, 1999; Kara, 2009; Samarasinghe, 2008).

Social upheaval brought on by political or economic transition, war, and genocide also increases sex trafficking (Long, 2004; Skeldon, 2000; UN Women, n.d.), although this specific context of sex trafficking is only now receiving scholarly attention aiming to unpack trafficking occurring during times of mass harm. ¹ During WWII, the Japanese military forcibly and coercively trafficked thousands of girls and women to provide sexual services to military personnel and prevent the spread of venereal diseases (Tanaka, 2003). Also, during the war and genocide in Bosnia in the early 1990s, thousands of women were trafficked to provide sexual services for the military in “bordello camps,” transported to ethnic cleansing “rape camps,” or sexually exploited in detention centers (Allen, 1996; Salzman, 1998). These instances of sex trafficking occurred within larger ethnic cleansing campaigns as the Serbian military used mass killings, forced rape, and forced impregnation to muddy ethnic bloodlines and destroy opposing groups. Thus, the Serbian forces used a number of strategic techniques within their larger genocidal plan to disperse rival ethnic groups including displacement, detention, and forcible removal to traffic girls and women for sexual exploitation (Allen, 1996; Stiglmayer, 1994).

Postwar Bosnia also became a key destination for sex trafficking in Eastern Europe. The convergence of class and ethnic issues; poverty; economic instability; continued power struggles; and an influx of male international peacekeepers, police, and civilians to the area increased sex trafficking in Bosnia (Allen, 1996; Human Rights Watch, 2002; Kara, 2009; Long, 2004; Nikolic-Ristanovic, 2002; Salzman, 1998; Tallyrand, 2000). Despite the large number of local traffickers, many international workers assisted in providing transportation, warning brothels of raids, and supplying fake documentation (Human Rights Watch, 2002). Human Rights Watch (2002) found that international workers made up a significant portion of those involved in sex trafficking and procuring services from trafficked women in the area, in some estimates making up 30% of the buyers of sexual services. The involvement of international workers in this instance was significant and worthy of study as they make up a unique subset of sex traffickers.

Sex trafficking and other associated crimes have a complicated nature and involve a divergent set of actions ranging from transporting, harboring, and recruiting individuals. The practice can occur within a variety of sociohistorical contexts, including in conjunction with larger harms such as war and genocide. The co-occurrence of sex trafficking and mass harm is presently being debated within the scholarly and advocacy communities as previously mentioned. The individuals using neutralizations in these historical locations are included in this analysis, because their actions transporting and harboring women for sexual exploitation comply with the United Nations’ definition of sex trafficking. ²

This analysis seeks to expand sex trafficking research by examining how intersectionality influences the practice and traffickers’ neutralizations across historically situated circumstances. By asserting that traffickers utilize techniques of neutralization based on vulnerabilities exacerbated by social influences, cultural norms, and globalization, this article offers additional support for this line of theorizing. The next section will situate sex trafficking and sex traffickers’ accounts within the framework of gendered neutralizations to analyze the global commonalities in sex traffickers’ neutralizations in different historical and sociocultural contexts.

Denial of Responsibility Neutralizations

Sex traffickers and madams have used denial of responsibility neutralizations to emphasize others’ agency and minimize personal agency in the trafficking of young girls and women for sexual exploitation. Silpa, a mamasan (madam) in India interviewed by Kara (2009), emphasized parental agency in bringing young girls into the sex trades by stating “my girls are here to earn money . . . their parents desire this” (p. 52). Salim, another trafficker in India, similarly pointed to parental agency and negated his role in the exploitation by stating that he “had no moral qualms because many parents approached him to send a child for work” (Kara, 2009, p. 64). Paul, a Greek trafficker interviewed by Antonopoulos and Winterdyk (2005), claimed “I have no responsibility if anything bad happens to the girls . . . I just get the papers” (p. 143). He negated his responsibility by discursively bracketing himself off from those who physically traffic others and minimizing his role in the exploitation. These neutralizations emphasize how traffickers recognize the role of poverty and gendered social circumstances in fueling sex trafficking, yet show no true concern for their victims.

Politicians in India have also denied individual responsibility for preventing sex trafficking by framing it as someone else’s responsibility. Murli Deora, a Mumbaiite politician interviewed by Friedman (1996) about the government’s involvement in antitrafficking campaigns stated, “It’s a cop’s job, not a politician’s, to root out crime and corruption” (p. 18). In a different context, Bosnian soldiers involved in trafficking women to “rape camps” and “bordello camps” also used the denial of responsibility neutralization by claiming to be only following orders and that “their President had ordered them to do this” (Salzman, 1998, p. 359). Yet the Serb military chose to only traffic vulnerable young Muslim girls and women which they deemed less human and worthy of sexual exploitation. By deflecting responsibility for their crimes or neglecting to intervene, individuals distance themselves from the criminal act while recognizing the harm involved.

Denial of Injury Neutralizations

Sex traffickers have also used the denial of injury neutralization in their claims to assist girls and women in finding a means of survival. They choose to traffic vulnerable, poor young girls and women and often acknowledge the role poverty and low social position play in the lives of those they traffic. Kham, a Thai recruiter/trafficker, glorified the financial benefits of sex work and minimized harm by stating, “these girls are poor, but after they have worked for a while they get used to it, and they can earn much more money than staying home” (Molland, 2010, p. 223). Kham reduced the experiences of trafficking victims to ones which an individual could become accustomed or appreciate as an escape from poverty. Another Thai madam exhibited a self-serving sense of pity for the poverty-ridden situation of many sex workers by stating, “sometimes, if she is very poor, I’ll employ her. I feel sorry for them” (Molland, 2010, p. 211). Despite claiming to be assisting these sex workers, sex traffickers profit greatly from the vulnerable, impoverished, and desperate situations these victims live in.

Paul, the Greek trafficker interviewed by Antonopoulos and Winterdyk (2005), also highlighted the increased income and sexual freedom involved in sex work by claiming, “Everyone is getting money . . . don’t the women get money too? And they enjoy sex as well” (p. 144) and “they [trafficked sex workers] have money, they live in good houses, they have their clothes . . . and they pay nothing for them” (p. 143). Here, Paul espoused a culturally based conception of a sexualized and objectified female. Silpa, a madam involved in trafficking in India, denied harming sex workers in her brothel and claimed to be protecting them from abuse. She stated, “the girls are safer here than in their homes . . . No harm can come to them unless they misbehave” (Kara, 2009, p. 52). Despite her claims of providing a safe work environment and a refuge for these girls and women from lives wrecked by poverty and vulnerability, sex work decreases life expectancy due to the violence and disease associated with the practice.

A similar finding emerges from Raphael and Myers-Powell’s (2010) research on former Chicago pimps who transported sex workers to avoid detection and ensure dependency. These pimps claimed to assist struggling sex workers by providing them with a means of survival. One claimed, “I helped girls who no one else would. I picked up throwaways and runaways and dressed them up and taught them how to survive” (Raphael & Myers-Powell, 2010, p. 5). They acknowledged the marginal status of sex workers, who often have histories of abuse and violence, in their neutralizations while exploiting these vulnerabilities for personal gain.

Denial of Victim Neutralizations

Sex traffickers also use denial of victim neutralizations to dehumanize young sex workers. Tibor, a sex trafficker in the Czech Republic, told a BBC News reporter in a detached and cold voice that the trafficked sex workers under his control were “more like things that I own” than employees (Boazman, 2010, para. 26). A DynCorp military contractor assisting in the rebuilding of postgenocide Bosnia also exhibited a sense of ownership over trafficked sex workers by stating in a court deposition that “it is good to have a sex slave at home” and “they can be yours, and they can be your hoes” (Human Rights Watch, 2002, p. 66). These dehumanizing neutralizations draw attention to a male-dominated cultural mentality, the subordination of women, and a disregard for human sovereignty.

During the Bosnian genocide, Serb military leaders dehumanized girls and women of opposing ethnicities prior to prostituting them to soldiers in “bordello camps” or transporting them to “rape camp” during ethnic cleansing campaigns. These girls and women, chosen specifically because of their youth, lower social position, vulnerability, and ethnicity, are seen only as pawns in a military plan. A Yugoslav National Army document declared, “morale, desire for battle, and will could be crushed more easily by raping women, especially minors and even children” (cited in Salzman, 1998, p. 356). Another official Serbian military document highlighted the need to traffic sex workers to satisfy soldiers’ sexual desires by stating, “It is established that a certain number of young women . . . will be transferred . . . for the needs of the Serb forces” (cited in Allen, 1996, p. 60).

Condemning the Condemners Neutralizations

Sex traffickers have also neutralized their actions through condemning the condemners. Silpa, a mamasan in India interviewed by Kara (2009), complained of corruption and the lack of government intervention in sex trafficking, despite housing trafficked sex workers in her brothel. Responding to a question about police searches for underage sex workers, Silpa complained of constant police harassment that “require[s] a hundred rupee bribe per prostitute per month” (p. 51) because they [the police] “are most corrupt in India” (p. 52). Her statement exemplifies a common dichotomy created by sex traffickers who condemn corrupt governments while simultaneously excusing their personal involvement in exploitation. Paul, a Greek sex trafficker, also exemplified this dichotomy in his statement, “Everyone is bribed . . . And the police not only take money, but they also have sex for free” (Antonopoulos & Winterdyk, 2005, p. 145).

Former pimps in Chicago, interviewed by Raphael and Myers-Powell (2010), rejected criticism and pointed to societal complicity in furthering the sex trades. One pimp stated, “I see no one trying to stop this lifestyle, so why condemn the people who survive doing this? Don’t knock a woman who is struggling” (p. 7). Another claimed, “If people want someone to blame for this, they need to look in the mirror. We all contribute to this one way or the other. If we didn’t there wouldn’t be so much money to be made” (p. 7). They highlighted the societal complicity in prostitution and trafficking, despite showing little concern for their role in contributing to the plight of sex workers. Across the world, Paul, the Greek trafficker, also condemned society for defining his actions as criminal when he felt that 100% of Greek men enjoyed the services of trafficked prostitutes (Antonopoulos & Winterdyk, 2005). By condemning the condemners, traffickers minimize their criminal activity and exploitation by stressing society’s role in the continuation of sex trafficking.

Defense of Necessity Neutralizations

During WWII, Japanese military commanders felt the need to provide sanctioned and controlled sexual services for soldiers to curb sexual assaults and used defense of necessity neutralizations in their military plans. One senior Japanese officer stated,

I have heard . . . that some of our soldiers wander around seeking women. Such a phenomenon is hard to prevent . . . therefore the establishment of appropriate facilities must be accepted as a good cause and should be promoted. (Tanaka, 2003, p. 10)

In 1938, the same officer issued the following official instruction to unit commanders, “Facilities for sexual pleasure [should] be established promptly, in order to prevent our men from inadvertently breaking the law due to the lack of such facilities” (Tanaka, 2003, p. 16). These practices created a culture condoning trafficking and sexual exploitation of vulnerable women deemed “sexually available,” instead of soldiers unable to control their sexual desires assaulting “pure” women.

This theoretical analysis contributes to the understanding of the cultural and social underpinnings of sex trafficking and highlights how the intersection of economic vulnerabilities, social status, and gendered cultural norms provide traffickers with a neutralization framework. By explicating how the intersection of cultural, social, and economic vulnerabilities operate in the thoughts and verbalizations of sex traffickers, this neutralization framework is critical to this previously unexplored line of research.

Knowledge Gaps and Policy Implications

Knowledge gaps still remain concerning sex traffickers’ motivations and perceptions of their crime and victims. Investigating how layers of oppression and efforts to define oneself in particular ways operate in traffickers’ motivations and discourses can provide invaluable insights. This line of investigation will highlight how traffickers consciously traffic others and speak about oppression with active agency. Further qualitative research can inform more effective sex trafficking policy and guide investigations into victimization, victim agency, and coercion within the many contexts of sex trafficking (including political conflict, war, genocide, etc.).

Additional qualitative research is needed to provide further support for the neutralization framework outlined in this article. Specific lines of investigation need to be explored to uncover the discursive role of gender constructions and norms in sex traffickers’ reasons for involvement, conceptions of their crime, and accounts as put forward by Antonopoulos and Winterdyk (2005). Investigations into the demographic characteristics of sex traffickers, including race, age, gender, and nationality, are also necessary to determine the influence of culture and social status on sex traffickers’ actions and mind-sets. These inquiries are essential to addressing knowledge gaps and gaining a deeper understanding of sex traffickers’ states of mind, personal constructions of their activities, perceptions of agency, and combating the crime.

This analysis has highlighted how sex traffickers’ discourses are based on cultural gender constructions and expectations along with the intersectional vulnerabilities of victims. To combat sex trafficking, we must address the intersectional vulnerabilities of victims and the cultural norms which sustain them. An understanding of the sociocultural influences on the use of neutralizations can be used in law enforcement training to help identify incidences of trafficking through the statements of suspected pimps and traffickers, suspicious sex work circumstances, and exploitation of vulnerable populations. In addition, this line of research can inform future legislation to more effectively combat sex trafficking.

Public information campaigns may also be beneficial to promote awareness of sex trafficking techniques, domestically and internationally, specifically in postwar and economically unstable areas. Ekberg (2004) highlighted the success of a public awareness campaign in Sweden focusing on buyers of sexual services. Such public information campaigns can critique and refute sex traffickers’ neutralizations similar to other domestic violence and sexual assault campaigns. In addition, these campaigns would distribute information on sex trafficking recruitment techniques, the vulnerable populations exploited, and the psychological and physical effects of sex trafficking victimization to the general public. An increased reporting of suspicious sex work activity to law enforcement and resistance to recruitment techniques by potential victims could result from this increased awareness and knowledge.

The participation of international peacekeeping forces and militaries in international sex trafficking calls attention to a need for further accountability, oversight, and regulation by the international community and individual governments in times of conflict. National laws must be amended to include jurisdiction over international workers to appropriately deter and punish these traffickers. International organizations such as the United Nations, which fund many international missions, must strengthen their investigations into these crimes. In addition, there is a need for increased military investigations into suspected trafficking activities. Moreover, it may be beneficial to also promote these public awareness campaigns to peacekeeping forces and militaries to increase awareness of the victimization, negative health effects, and exploitation associated in the practices.