Denise Brennan on Human Trafficking, Oct. 7

[Kim Forde-Mazrui]

The Center for the Study of Race and Law is 
pleased to co-sponsor the following event:

***************
“Beyond the Hype: Trafficked Persons to the United States Rebuild Their Lives”

Dr. Brennan, a cultural anthropologist at 
Georgetown, presents her research on human 
trafficking, migrant labor, and contemporary 
servitude (forced labor) in the United States.

Friday, October 7th
1pm ­ 3pm
Kaleidoscope Center for Cultural Fluency
(3rd floor of Newcomb Hall)

Dr. Brennan’s talk will be followed by a 
reception hosted by the Studies in Women and 
Gender (SWAG) Program. The reception will also be held in the Kaleidoscope.

This program is co-sponsored by the Anthropology 
Department, American Studies Program, Center for 
the Study of Race and Law (UVA School of Law), 
Studies in Women and Gender Program, and the Women’s Center.

For more information, please contact Pensri@virginia.edu

Abstract of Dr. Brennan's paper follows:

Denise Brennan
Georgetown University
<mailto:brennade@georgetown.edu>brennade@georgetown.edu


     Beyond the Hype: Trafficked Persons to the 
United States Rebuild Their Lives

     This paper examines how individuals held in 
forced labor or servitude in the United States 
rebuild their lives. I argue that the living 
conditions and work lives of men and women who 
qualify as “trafficked” under the TVPA (the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000), 
often do not look much different (after leaving 
conditions of servitude) from other migrants who 
do not qualify as trafficked. Life after 
trafficking – particularly after the first year 
or so – is similar to the life of any other 
migrant who is struggling to recreate home in a 
new country. The story of life after trafficking 
often mirrors many stories migrants tell about 
the challenges of the daily, mundane struggles to 
build a new life in a new place. It is an ongoing 
story, less finite and much less flashy than the 
story more often told in the media – one of 
trafficked person’s escape or rescue.
     Although there has been a lot of media 
attention to trafficking, often these discussions 
seem disconnected from discussions on migrant 
labor – particularly when “trafficking” becomes 
synonymous with “sex trafficking.” As a 
corrective, this paper situates stories of 
trafficking – of women and men into all forms of 
labor – as part of a larger discussion on the 
exploitation of migrant workers. Since the TVPA 
is based on a binary conceptualization of labor 
in which one is either trafficked or not, this 
project, instead, takes a broader view of 
exploitation. Rather, it seeks to spotlight a 
more nuanced understanding of the kinds of work 
sites in which a spectrum of abuse exists and in 
which slavery can flourish. Contemporary 
servitude exists because a range of other 
exploitative labor conditions exist, and, 
consequently, I argue that successful strategies 
for both studying and combating trafficking only 
can emerge by placing slavery practices on a continuum of labor exploitation.


_____________________________________________________
Kim Forde-Mazrui
Professor of Law & Justice Thurgood Marshall Research Professor
Director, Center for the Study of Race and Law
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903-1789
Phone: (434) 924-3299
Fax: (434) 924-7536
E-mail: kimfm@virginia.edu
Faculty homepage: www.law.virginia.edu/fac/kf9j
Center for the Study of Race and Law website: www.law.virginia.edu/race
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