Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
in place of the girl she once held in her hands. hidden and clandestine problem”.14 Legislation quoted in kelleherassociates in association with
These older interiors are made of wood. They are in Ireland has mainly focused on removing Monica O’Connor and Jane Pillinger, Globalization, Sex
trafficking and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant
poor interiors, simple and dark, rich in colour, prostitution from the streets, but this represents Women in Ireland, (Immigrant Council of Ireland, April
full of floral fabric in vivid turquoise blues and a particular problem for migrant women who 2009) 11. http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/research-
cochineal pink and blood reds. They seem to be constitute 90% of all women involved in indoor publications/2010/260-globalisation-sex-trafficking-
full of nature. The world outside that encroaches is prostitution.15 and-prostitution-the-experiences-of-migrant-women-in-
ireland (accessed 24 November, 2011).
much nastier and more dangerous. It is a dumping In cases of sex trafficking, these women are
ground of discarded objects. The clinics where primarily perceived as illegal immigrants first, and 7 Siddharth Kara, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of
Modern Sex Slavery, (New York: Columbia University
women receive treatment for sexually transmitted prostitutes second. It is difficult to prove that they Press, 2008)
diseases and psychological disorder appear pale have been trafficked, and not simply ‘willingly’ 8 Cited in kelleherassociates in association with Monica
and wan; the floral fabrics washed out. We see the become sex workers. Most commonly they are O’Connor and Jane Pillinger, Globalization, Sex
cut arm of a girl. Her body covered with a sheet; deported and so end up being returned to their trafficking and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant
only a listless forearm hangs out. There are images country of origin.16 As Popa tells us, the traffickers Women in Ireland, (Immigrant Council of Ireland, April
here of the children born from unwanted sexual are often waiting to collect what they perceive 2009) 11. http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/research-
publications/2010/260-globalisation-sex-trafficking-
liaisons; two boys, twins, one stands wearing a as ‘goods’, rightfully returned to their owners to and-prostitution-the-experiences-of-migrant-women-in-
crudely made paper mask, the other lies on a simply be re-trafficked. Popa’s lens becomes darker ireland (accessed 24 November, 2011).
bundle of blankets on the floor. Hine meets Arbus. here: when she photographs from below deck on a 9 Ariella Azoulay, The Civil Contract in Photography, (New
In another image, a woman’s face is covered by boat in the Bosphorus, the window is smeary, the York: Zone Books, 2008), 17.
her hand; an ill-fitting wig is awkwardly propped sea a filthy grey. And in another shot taken in a 10 Dana Popa, The Telegraph Magazine, 22 November 2010,
above her head. Popa knows the ‘art’ of Arbus and lurid hallway in Soho, harsh neon light illuminates http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8139722/The-women-
Serrano; Sherman and Woodman, but it is a very a chipped yellow metal chair against set against a sold-into-sex-slavery.html (accessed 24 November, 2011).
different politics that animates these images. dirty puce-coloured wall. These images are in stark 11 Since 1999 the Swedish Government introduced a law
that made purchasing, or attempting to purchase, sexual
Like the Israeli writer Ariella Azoulay, Popa contrast to Popa’s use of photography as a means
services a criminal offence, punishable by a six month
asks us to consider how, despite an ever growing towards restorative justice. Here she harnesses fine or imprisonment.
discourse of human rights, two groups in particular the other side of photography’s power: to lay bare, 12 http://www.endprostitutionnow.org
– women and non-citizens – are increasingly to expose, to explicate. The showing of the work 13 kelleherassociates in association with Monica O’Connor
abandoned not simply in social, legal and political in Dublin harnessed the work to public policy. and Jane Pillinger, Globalization, Sex trafficking
discourse, but equally, and perhaps increasingly Here it became part of a far wider programme and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant Women
importantly, in the very media that ostensibly of education and activism involving Taoiseach, in Ireland, (Immigrant Council of Ireland, April
represents them. In her book The Civil Contract in Senators, City Councillors (including the Mayor 2009) 1. http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/research-
publications/2010/260-globalisation-sex-trafficking-
Photography, Azoulay employs the legal concept of Dublin), Trades’ Union Activists, and Health and-prostitution-the-experiences-of-migrant-women-in-
of ‘contract’ (as a binding obligation) in order to Professionals. ireland (accessed 24 November, 2011).
move us beyond liberal terms such as empathy, We might prefer not to listen, not to hear these 14 kelleherassociates in association with Monica O’Connor
pity or compassion that have organised so much stories, nor to look at these photographs; it is more and Jane Pillinger Globalization, Sex trafficking
empty rhetoric on ‘the gaze’. For Azoulay, and comfortable to turn a blind eye or deaf ear. Popa’s and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant Women
Popa, it is the political sphere of photography that in Ireland, (Immigrant Council of Ireland, April
images, however, are utterly compelling. She
2009), 10. http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/research-
might be reconstructed through the concept of challenges us to think beyond what is contained publications/2010/260-globalisation-sex-trafficking-
civil contract. Parity of participation (which is one within the photograph’s frame and shows us and-prostitution-the-experiences-of-migrant-women-in-
general meaning of justice) is at the heart of their how the local and ordinary lives are linked to a ireland (accessed 24 November, 2011).
arguments. Azoulay puts it like this: global supply that is driven by high ‘consumer 15 kelleherassociates in association with Monica O’Connor
demand’ well beyond the boundaries of the nation- and Jane Pillinger, Globalization, Sex trafficking
“[P]hotographed persons are participant citizens, and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant Women
just the same as I am”.9 (my emphasis) And we, the state. Prostitution is not a career choice. As one
in Ireland, (Immigrant Council of Ireland, April
spectators, are too. Azoulay and Popa challenge us, urge participant at the closing event reminded the 2009), 67. http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/research-
us to move beyond being participant observers and audience, no child has ever uttered the words: publications/2010/260-globalisation-sex-trafficking-
to become members of an active, politically engaged ‘Daddy, when I grow up I want to be a prostitute’. and-prostitution-the-experiences-of-migrant-women-in-
ireland (accessed 24 November, 2011).
community, to join, in Azoulay’s words, a global ‘citizenry
of photography’ that extends far beyond the borders Not Natasha was exhibited in a Pop-up Gallery in 16 The ICI is campaigning to:
*Ensure immediate access to independent legal
of the sovereign nation-state. For Popa, “taking the Creation Arcade, Duke St., Dublin, 7 July - 5 August 2011.
representation for all migrant and trafficked women in
story out into the world once it is finished [plays] an www.danapopa.com the sex industry at the point of contact
important part in the photographic process.”10 www.fomacs.org *Make a renewable reflection and recovery period
available to all trafficked women, including migrant
In Dublin the exhibition became a focal point www.immigrantcouncil.ie
women exploited in prostitution who have been
for a unique collaborative project between www.autograph-abp.co.uk identified as suspected victims of trafficking through an
The Forum on Migration and Communications inter-agency approach
(FOMACS) and the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s Notes *Establish a programme, with clear protocols and
1 I have included this to remind students that they should administrative criteria, through which residence permits
(ICI) campaign Turn Off the Red Light. The ICI is would be granted on ‘humanitarian grounds’ (when
think big. Many excellent projects can begin at this
pressing for legislative change to make purchasing, stage. required) to all victims of crimes committed against
or attempting to purchase, sexual services a 2 Mark Sealy, ‘Beyond the Lens’, Foam, Spring, 2009.
them in the context of prostitution or trafficking
criminal offence.11 (A similar campaign was *Residence permits should also be granted to women
3 Siddharth Kara, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of who have exited prostitution and cannot return to their
launched in Glasgow at the end of 2009.12) The ICI Modern Sex Slavery, (New York: Columbia University countries of origin for reasons relating to their safety,
recognises that sex trafficking takes place both Press, 2008), 115. age, state of health, family situation and other factors
within countries and across borders and indeed it 4 Dana Popa, The Telegraph Magazine, 22 November 2010, relating to their humanitarian or medical needs
is the “demand for a continuous supply of women http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8139722/The-women- Cited in kelleherassociates in association with Monica
to be available for commercial sexual exploitation sold-into-sex-slavery.html. (accessed 24 November, 2011). O’Connor and Jane Pillinger Globalization, Sex
in destination countries provides a highly 5 Interview Siddharth Kara, Columbia University Press, trafficking and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant
http://cup.columbia.edu/static/siddarth-kara-interview Women in Ireland, (Immigrant Council of Ireland, April
profitable market for international traffickers.”13 2009), 14. http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/research-
(accessed 24 November, 2011).
The State’s current response “is complicit with publications/2010/260-globalisation-sex-trafficking-
6 Cathy Zimmerman et al, Stolen Smiles: The Physical
the interests of the trafficker and strengthens the and Psychological Health Consequences of Women and
and-prostitution-the-experiences-of-migrant-women-in-
position of the trafficker in relation to the woman ireland (accessed 24 November, 2011).
Adolescents Trafficked in Europe, (London: London
who is trafficked. This helps to keep trafficking a School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2006)