ABSTRACT

In recent decades, in many countries including Portugal, human trafficking has become an important issue on political agendas, attracting increased investment of financial and human resources, and the growing involvement of civil society organizations. Employing a historical perspective, this article analyses the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the counter-trafficking field, in particular, in the conceptualization of human trafficking, the elaboration of counter-trafficking policies and practices, and NGOs’ potentials and limitations in challenging them. Using data obtained through prolonged empirical research, the article argues that in contexts characterized by a high level of institutionalization and structural weakness in organized civil society, NGOs have little chance to assume a role beyond serving as a long arm of the neoliberal state apparatus. Both the outsourcing of certain counter-trafficking services to NGOs and the controversial yet undisputed national security-focused approach to trafficking represent integral parts of the practical logics of the counter-trafficking field, which remains largely unquestioned by counter-trafficking NGOs. These logics include the silencing of any debate about prostitution, at least within the Portuguese counter-trafficking apparatus.

摘要

近几十年来，在包括葡萄牙在内的许多国家，贩卖人口已成为政治议程上的一个重要问题，吸引了更多的财政和人力资源投资，以及越来越多的民间社会组织参与。本文从历史的角度分析了非政府组织 (NGO) 在打击人口贩运领域的作用，特别是在人口贩运的概念化、打击人口贩运政策和实践的制定以及非政府组织的潜力和挑战他们的局限性。文章使用通过长期实证研究获得的数据，认为在有组织的公民社会高度制度化和结构薄弱的背景下，除了充当新自由主义国家机器的长臂之外，非政府组织几乎没有机会发挥作用。将某些反人口贩运服务外包给非政府组织，以及有争议但无可争议的以国家安全为重点的人口贩运方法都是反人口贩运领域实践逻辑的组成部分，反人口贩运领域的非政府组织在很大程度上仍然没有质疑这一逻辑。这些逻辑包括停止任何关于卖淫的辩论，至少在葡萄牙的反人口贩运机构内是这样。这在很大程度上仍然不受反人口贩运非政府组织的质疑。这些逻辑包括停止任何关于卖淫的辩论，至少在葡萄牙的反人口贩运机构内是这样。这在很大程度上仍然不受反人口贩运非政府组织的质疑。这些逻辑包括停止任何关于卖淫的辩论，至少在葡萄牙的反人口贩运机构内是这样。