“Forced prostitution” in the case of Nepal: Distinguishing between “sex work” and “sex trafficking” in conditions of poverty and violent conflict

Sex trafficking from Nepal to India is a recognized problem. Since the civil war in the mid-1990s, domestic sex work has increased in Nepal. Anti-trafficking agencies attribute this rise on “internal trafficking.” This study investigated the relationship between war, trafficking, and sex work in Nepal. It examined how approaches to control cross-border trafficking and “internal trafficking” interplay with notions of women's agency and underlying assumptions about sex work. Thirty-one semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with staff of NGOs, UN and donor agencies, and the Nepali government, and over 200 anti-trafficking documents were reviewed. Although 80% of domestic sex workers in Nepal are migrants, conditions for domestic sex workers differ from conditions for those trafficked to India. For example, domestic sex workers in urban Nepal see an average of 4 clients per week and HIV prevalence is 2%. In contrast, women and girls in Indian brothels see an average 30 clients per day and HIV prevalence is over 90%. The majority of anti-trafficking organizations fail to recognize these distinctions, however, treating women who engage as dancers or escorts identically to those who are sold to brothels in India. Present anti-trafficking strategies undermine women's agency and could pose a danger to women in the domestic sex industry through driving it further underground. Policy and programming should shift from addressing “trafficking” to helping women in India or Nepal who, 1. have no freedom of movement, 2. experience violence or the threat of violence, and 3. are uncompensated.