“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare’s famous line is oft-quoted from Romeo and Juliet but it understates the importance of language. Language matters. Certain words have always been used to demean, to denigrate and to gain power over other individuals. In recent years, there have been several movements aimed at reclaiming words such as “bitch,” “slut,” and “gay.” One lost class of individuals continues to be prostituted persons. The words used for this marginalized group continue to be non-inclusive and put the blame and responsibility on the survivor, who did not choose to enter into the system.
Trafficking of women and girls for sex began to encounter resistance in the 1870s, although the phrase “trafficking” did not develop until much later. In order to bring attention to the practice and to begin combating the issue, what we now know as “trafficking” was typically called “white slavery.” This new phrase replaced the word “prostitute,” which was largely used beginning in the 1730s. Use of the word “prostitute” or “lady of the night” was neutral at the time and usually referred to women in brothels, who were not being transported anywhere. The phrase “white slavery,” however, not only excluded all non-white victims of trafficking, but also appropriated and trivialized the form of slavery that had just been abolished in this country. By the early- to mid-1900s, the use of the word “prostitute” reappeared, although “white slavery” was still widely used and even appeared in the Mann Act in 1910, known as the White Slave Traffic Act.
Today, many terms are used to describe prostituted persons. Some writers believe in using the word “prostitute.” Others use more pejorative terms such as “hooker” or “whore.” Still others find the term “sex worker” to be empowering, specifically when they are the ones choosing to do that work. (For a further discussion as to why the term “sex worker” is inappropriate, see here.) And yet, some continue to use the phrase “white slavery.” All of these terms are highly inappropriate and degrading. These terms, along with others that are commonly and colloquially used, fail to give a full picture of the suffering that women, men, and children go through when they are forced into and kept in the commercial sex industry.
The CSE Institute, as well as other organizations such as Shared Hope International, use the phrase “prostituted persons” and the word “survivors” to emphasize the lack of choice that the women, men, and children in the commercial sex industry face. These terms also help to emphasize and highlight the strength required to survive such dehumanizing exploitation. These phrases illustrate how these prostituted persons and survivors did not choose to become “prostitutes.” Rather, prostitution is something that is being done to them. Shared Hope International, like the CSE Institute, uses the language of “prostituted persons” within their definitions of trafficking terms. The CSE Institute works toward a long-term goal of ensuring that no one will have to become a survivor of sex trafficking. However, in the meantime, we recognize that those who escape the sex trade are, in fact, survivors and so we employ important and affirming language. Further, recognizing by use of this language that the sex trade thrives on exploitation reinforces the misuse and manipulation inherent in the system. The language used by the CSE Institute is accurate, inclusive, and works to highlight the problems and abusive nature of sex trafficking.
As a visitor of this website might imagine, the language used by the Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation begins from that premise—what we are discussing is commercial sexual exploitation. This language has changed dramatically over the past 100 years and continues to evolve. When discussing sex trafficking and its survivors, it is critical to use the proper terminology. Therefore, these bolded words are the ones adopted and promoted by the CSE Institute when engaging in dialogue about commercial sex trafficking.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.
Anna Boyd is currently a first-year law student at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Anna is from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Villanova University. After graduation, Anna hopes to become a corporate attorney specializing in transactional law.