Human trafficking was first viewed as a problem of forced prostitution in the early twentieth century. However, it did not garner a lot of attention until the late 1980s. At that time, feminists from around the world began to critique violence against women. This chapter traces the history of how sex trafficking became categorized as a problem of “violence against women.” It also highlights the political gains and losses resulting from the politicization of sex trafficking as primarily a problem of sexual violence, and thus a juridical offense.

With the end of state socialism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet...