White Slavery Panics

1. White Slavery Panics History of Term and its relationship to the anti-slavery crusades Link to moral reformers and Victorian sensibilities How real was the early 20th century traffic in women? Who was most concerned about them?

2. White Slavery and Immigration • Fears of white slavery coincided with periods of massive immigration from Europe to the new world as well as to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East • Panic focused on women traveling alone. Who would take care of them? What if they married or had sex with men of other nationalities or races? • Became embedded with the language of nationalism • Caused Europeans to think about the implications of immigration, citizenship, and nationality

3. White Slavery and Legalized Prostitution • After Great Britain ended its regulation of prostitution in port cities, rumors began to spread that British women were trapped in continental bordellos or in foreign countries that had legalized prostitution • Almost all Catholic countries and a number of Protestant countries permitted prostitution, and even Great Britain allowed prostitution in its colonies if not at home • The two world wars caused nations to collapse and reform. Who would protect the women once their nationalities were in question?

4. The League of Nations and White Slavery • After World War I, the League of Nations was created to deal with post-war problems (US did not join) • Predecessor to the United Nations • In the 1920s, the League created a commission initially to investigate claims of white slavery in Latin America, but by the time its report was published in 1927, the report examined both the countries exporting women as well as those with legal houses of prostitution. • After that report was published, a number of reports were written about the rehabilitation of prostitutes, and the spread of prostitution into the Pacific regions.

5. The Problems of Reports • They could only be compiled reliably by cities with legalized prostitution, or by police with active anti-prostitution campaigns—these sources were biased. • One tended to report only registered prostitutes, and the other depended on police estimates. • Public health officials could also estimate, but none of their figures were reliable • Were all people who had VD prostitutes? Could they be transmitted in any other way? • Once women were identified as prostitutes, what would happen to them? • What were the underlying causes of prostitution?

6. Causes of Prostitution • Economic explanations: high costs of living, but few decent jobs for women • Men abandoned families and women had to support children • Males-fathers, husbands, often force women to engage in prostitution. • Young women in urban areas seeking economic and sexual independence in dance halls and bars • Notions of virginity clashed with reality of rape and pre-marital sex • Single mothers often lost their jobs, particularly as domestic servants or factory workers • The double standard that tolerated a male demand for sexual gratification while it stigmatized the women who provided it. • The rise of drug addiction

7. Solutions to Prostitution • Better jobs for women • Increased pressure on fathers to support their children • Drug rehabilitation • Reshaping family attitudes about patriarchy • Reforming the double standard • Acknowledging women’s right to engage in sex work

8. The 21st century Traffic in Women • Often involves women in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa • Partly linked to political instability— • Women taken as sex prisoners during war like the Comfort women during World War II. • Women in refugee camps need to support their families • Partly linked to women’s need to obey male relatives • Particularly true in Asia • If they are turned out of their work in bordellos, they cannot return as honorable women to their families • Partly linked to sex tourism and the desire of American and European men to have sex with foreign women