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Framing the Mother Tac: The Racialised, Sexualised and Gendered Politics of Modern Slavery in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • P. G. Macioti

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK)

  • Eurydice Aroney

    (Department of Journalism, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia)

  • Calum Bennachie

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK)

  • Anne E. Fehrenbacher

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK
    Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA)

  • Calogero Giametta

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK
    Department of Sociology, LAMES, Aix-Marseille University, 13007 Marseille, France)

  • Heidi Hoefinger

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK
    Department of Political Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, NY 10019, USA
    Department of Science, Berkeley College, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Nicola Mai

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK)

  • Jennifer Musto

    (Department of Criminology and Sociology, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK
    Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA)

Abstract

Centred on the slavery trial “Crown vs. Rungnapha Kanbut” heard in Sydney, New South Wales, between 10 April and 15 May 2019, this article seeks to frame the figure of the “Mother Tac” or the “mother of contract”, also called “mama tac” or “mae tac”—a term used amongst Thai migrants to describe a woman who hosts, collects debts from, and organises work for Thai migrant sex workers in their destination country. It proposes that this largely unexplored figure has come to assume a disproportionate role in the “modern slavery” approach to human trafficking, with its emphasis on absolute victims and individual offenders. The harms suffered by Kanbut’s victims are put into context by referring to existing literature on women accused of trafficking; interviews with Thai migrant sex workers, including Kanbut’s primary victim, and with members from the Australian Federal Police Human Trafficking Unit; and ethnographic field notes. The article unveils how constructions of both victim and offender, as well as definitions of slavery, are racialised, gendered, and sexualised and rely on the victims’ subjective accounts of bounded exploitation. By documenting these and other limitations involved in a criminal justice approach, the authors reveal its shortfalls. For instance, while harsh sentences are meant as a deterrence to others, the complex and structural roots of migrant labour exploitation remain unaffected. This research finds that improved legal migration pathways, the decriminalisation of the sex industry, and improved access to information and support for migrant sex workers are key to reducing heavier forms of labour exploitation, including human trafficking, in the Australian sex industry.

Suggested Citation

  • P. G. Macioti & Eurydice Aroney & Calum Bennachie & Anne E. Fehrenbacher & Calogero Giametta & Heidi Hoefinger & Nicola Mai & Jennifer Musto, 2020. "Framing the Mother Tac: The Racialised, Sexualised and Gendered Politics of Modern Slavery in Australia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-19, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:9:y:2020:i:11:p:192-:d:436100
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sine Plambech, 2017. "Sex, Deportation and Rescue: Economies of Migration among Nigerian Sex Workers," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 134-159, July.
    2. Nicola Mai, 2016. "‘Too Much Suffering’: Understanding the Interplay between Migration, Bounded Exploitation and Trafficking through Nigerian Sex Workers’ Experiences," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(4), pages 159-172, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Calum Bennachie & Annah Pickering & Jenny Lee & P. G. Macioti & Nicola Mai & Anne E. Fehrenbacher & Calogero Giametta & Heidi Hoefinger & Jennifer Musto, 2021. "Unfinished Decriminalization: The Impact of Section 19 of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 on Migrant Sex Workers’ Rights and Lives in Aotearoa New Zealand," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.

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