Abstract
Both domestic violence and trafficking in humans pose serious problems worldwide. However, there are differences in the ways in which battered immigrant women and trafficked immigrant women are responded to by governmental agencies in Greece and in the USA. Trafficking in humans has been securitized, that is, framed as an issue linked to international security risk. As such, countries that do not take legal action to stop human trafficking could face US sanctions such as loss of United States military and economic assistance. Under significant international pressure, Greece, since 2002, passed a law that criminalized trafficking in humans and took necessary steps for providing protection and assistance to trafficked victims. Nevertheless, domestic violence and battered women remain silent in Greek society, and the availability of services to victims of domestic violence has eroded. We argue that, due to different issue framing of victims of trafficking and battered women, the connection of trafficking in humans to national security fosters different legal protection outcomes. The comparison of battered immigrant women and trafficked victims between Greece and the USA reveals significant differences in protection of battered immigrant women in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area. This article elucidates why there are public policy differences within OECD states that all grant a priority to prevention of human trafficking.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Information based on a field study in Athens Greece during September and October 2009 funded by University of Delaware.
Information based on a field study in Athens Greece during September and October 2009 funded by University of Delaware.
References
Adamson, F.B. (2006). Crossing Borders: International Migration and National Security. International Security 31:165–199
Baldwin-Edwards, M. (2004). Statistical Data in Immigrants in Greece: An Analytic Study of Available data and Recommendations for Conformity with European Union Standards. A study conducted for Migration Police Institute (IMEPO). Mediterranean Migration Observatory, UEHR, Panteion University, Athens, Greece.
Baldwin-Edwards, M. & Apostolatou, K. (2009). Greece. (pp. 235–264). In H. Fassmann, U. Reeger & W. Siever (eds.), Statistics and Reality: Concepts and Measurements of Migration in Europe. Amsterdam University Press, IMISCOE-Reports.
BBC News (2009). Greek Police Flatten Migrant Camp. July 12, 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8146597.stm Accessed 16 April 2010
Bravo, K.E. (2007). Exploring the Analogy between Modern Trafficking in Human and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Boston University International Law Journal 25:207–295
Castles, S., Miller, M.J. (2009). The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World. The Guilford Press, New York
Chatzifotiou, S. & Dobash, S. (2001). Seeking Informal Support: Marital Violence against Women in Greece. Violence against Women 7:1024–1050
Edwards, M. (2004). Civil Society. Cambridge, Polity
EUbusiness (2010). EU report Blasts “Unreliable” Greek Economic Statistics. January, 12, 2010. http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/greece-economy.28d Accessed 20 April 2010
Evans, P.B, Rueschemeyer, D, & Skocpol, T. (1985). Bringing the State Back In. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Express (2009). Reception Centres Key to Immigration problem in Greece. July, 17, 2009. http://www.express.gr/index2.php?option=ozo_content&perform=view&id=190561 Accessed 16 April 2010
Farell, A., Fahy, S. (2009). The Problem of Human Trafficking in the US: Public Frames and Policy Responses. Journal of Criminal Justice 37:617–626
Geddes, A. (2003). The Politics of Migration and Immigration in Europe. Sage, London
Human Rights Watch (2009). No Refuge: Migrants in Greece. Human Right Watch, November, 2. New York, NY, USA
Huysmans, J. (2006). The Politics of Insecurity: Fear, Migration and Asylum in the EU. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York
Karakatsanis, N.M., Swarts, J. (2003). Migrant Women, Domestic Work and Sex Trade in Greece: A Snapshot of Migrant Policy in the making. In: Tastsoglou, E, Maratou-Alipranti, L. (eds) Gender and International Migration: Focus on Greece. The Greek Review of Social Research, National Centre for Social research (EKKE), Athens, Greece, pp 239–270
Katzenstein, P.J. (2005). A World of Regions: Asia and Europe in the American Imperium. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London
Krasner, S.D. (ed) (2001). Problematic Sovereignty: Contested Rules and Political Possibilities. Columbia University Press, New York
Kyle, D., Dale, J. (2001). Smuggling the State back In: Agents of Human Smuggling Reconsidered. In: Kyle, D., Koslowski, R. (eds) Global Human Smuggling: Comparative perspectives. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 27–57
Laczko, F. (2002). Human Trafficking: The Need for Better Data. Migration Policy Institute (MPI). http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=66. Accessed 16 April 2010.
LaPalombara, J. (1965). Italy: Fragmentation, Isolation, Alienation. In: Pye, L.W., Verba, S. (eds) Political Culture and Political Development. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, pp 282–329.
Maroukis, T. (2008). Clandestino Country Report Greece. Undocumented Migration: Counting the Uncountable. Data and Trends Across Europe. http://clandestino.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/greece.pdf Accessed 16 April 2010
Miller, M.J. (2001). The Sanctioning of Unauthorized Migration and Alien Employment. In: Kyle, D., Koslowski, R. (eds) Global Human Smuggling: Comparative perspectives. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 318–336
Miller, M.J. (2006). Trafficking and Slavery (T/S) Systems and the European Union: A First Cut. Unpublished paper prepared for the Conference on Criminal Trafficking and Slavery: The dark Side of Globalization. University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, February 23–25.
Miller, M.J., Gabriel, Ch. (2008). The U.S-Mexico Migration Honeymoon of 2001: A Retrospective. In: Gabriel, Ch., Pellerin, H. (eds) Governing International Labour Migration: Current Issues, Challenges and Dilemmas. Routledge, UK, pp 147–162
Nye, J.P. (2004). Soft Power: the Means to Success in World Politics. Public Affair, New York
Office of the Press Secretary (2003). Trafficking in Persons National Security Presidential Directive. February 25, 2003. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030225.html Accessed 26 April 2010
Papanicolaou, G. (2008). The Sex Industry, Human Trafficking and the Global Prohibition Regime: A Cautionary Tale from Greece. Trends in Organized Crime 11:379:409
Plewa, P. (Unpublished Dissertation). The Ebbs and Flows of Temporary Foreign Workers Policies: Lessons from and for North America and Europe. Summer 2009, University of Delaware, Department of Political Science and International Relations
Pro Asyl & Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants in Athens (2007). The Truth may be Bitter, but it Must be Told: The Situation of Refugees in the Aegean and the Practices of the Greek Coast Guard. Pro Asyl, Frankfurt, Germany.
Sotiropoulos, D., Karamagioli, E. (2006). Greek Civil Society: The Long Road to Maturity. Civicus Civil Society Index Shortened Assessment Tool: Report For the Case of Greece. http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CSI_Greece_Executive_Summary.pdf Accessed 28 April 2010
U.S. State Department (2002). Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State Publication 11407, Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affair
U.S. State Department (2003). Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State Publication 11407, Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affair
U.S. State Department (2004). Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State Publication 11407, Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affair
U.S. State Department (2005). Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State Publication 11407, Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affair
U.S. State Department (2006). Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State Publication 11407, Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affair
U.S. State Department (2009). Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State Publication 11407, Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affair
Van Walsum, S, Spijkerboer, T. (2007). Introduction. In: Van Walsum, S., Spijkerboer, T. (eds.) Women and Immigration Law: New Variation on Classical Feminist Themes. Routledge-Cavendish, New York, N.Y., USA, pp 1–11
Waever, O., Buzan, B., Kelstrup, M., Lemaitre, P. (1993). Identity, Migration and the New Security Agenda in Europe. St. Martin’s Press, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, M.J., Wasileski, G. An Underappreciated Dimension of Human Trafficking: Battered and Trafficked Women and Public Policy. Hum Rights Rev 12, 301–314 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-010-0187-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-010-0187-2