Human trafficking as a lever for feminist voices? Transformations of the Danish policy field of prostitution

Abstract

In Denmark, human trafficking has emerged as a central issue within the policy field of prostitution during the last decade. Taking a Foucauldian approach from a historical perspective, understanding the policy field of prostitution as a discursive terrain, the article analyses the thinking that lies behind policies on prostitution by identifying ruptures and discursive struggles which lead to transformations of the policy field. In particular, this article investigates how the problematization of human trafficking has created space for a feminist discourse breakthrough within the policy field of prostitution during the last decade. Asking how/where this ‘problem’ has been produced, what ways of speaking are permissible, and what is silenced, the article discusses limitations and possibilities within this policy field.