Forced Migrations, Humanitarianism, and Sex Trafficking

This chapter illustrates how in the early 1920s Ottoman Greek refugees became a target for sex traffickers and investigates how humanitarian organisations endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to put an end to sex-related trafficking. By drawing on archival material from the Save the Children Fund and the League of Nations Anti-Trafficking committees , the chapter shows how the humanitarian language of anti-trafficking framed refugees as miserable, vulnerable, and passive subjects. The chapter casts light on the international practices and discourses, which illustrate the civilisational hierarchies underpinning the logic of the anti-trafficking measures proposed for Greece. Our overarching argument is that the question of sex trafficking in Greece was perceived from two opposing angles. On the one hand, some Western humanitarians connected the phenomenon of displacement with the potential upsurge of sex trafficking cases. On the other hand, a coalition between the Greek government and the League of Nations challenged these claims by enforcing techniques of surveillance, control, and investigation, relying on ‘hard’ evidence and facts. Overall, these rivalries fostered an atmosphere of moral panic in relation to sexuality.