Monday, 16 November 2015

Journal study: do definitions matter?

I have read a paper written by Fiona David titled When it Comes to Modern Slavery, do Definitions matter? Fiona discusses the terms used for slavery, trafficking and forced labour. A particular case involving the Indonesian government and the island village of Benjina forms the basis of the reviewed topic. Debating upon terms, seeing from the perspective of the victims and touching upon political views and differences. The case itself is particularly horrific with men being held in cages suffering both mental and physical abuse. Most importantly for me touches upon the general public, their awareness, their possible influence through consumer choices etc. This is one of my primary aims of this project is to invite the reader to consider their own actions in regards to slavery. Fiona David is highly regarded within this field as a lawyer and criminologist, the paper was only published this year highlighting to me that I am dealing with something that is very current and a major issue of our times. The question she asks about definitions seem to have more to do with criminal law practise especially pertaining to international law. In my own opinion the definitions may give guidance into what has happened but any person who has been trafficked, were forced to work or were enslaved are very unlikely to care about how it may be defined. The highlighted paper is shown below.



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