The Ordinary As Space, Methodology and Response: Ordinary Vulnerabilities in Sex Trafficking

Theorising upon sex trafficking as something merely eventful bracketed within exploitation periods does not take into account the complex temporality and social entanglement of the experience in different lived realms, including home and family, neither does it effectively acknowledge the entanglement between trafficking and domestic violence. This article works on the ordinary as a space for and of violence, but also as a theoretical methodology towards vulnerability research. The concept proposes a contribution and response to established categorisations and definitions of trafficking vulnerabilities, as by UNODC and ICAT. Two blank spaces were noticed: a) the temporal complexity of trafficking and respective vulnerabilities ranging from pre to post-exploitation that often interplay on a long-term basis, and b) the impact of ordinary factors on a micro-scale, especially in everyday domestic and interpersonal contexts. It's claimed that the role of family, friends, partners and community in the articulation of vulnerability in all temporalities of trafficking is key to understanding how sex trafficking operates and how it reverberates into post-trafficking experiences and rehabilitation. In understanding ordinary vulnerabilities as a fundamental part of human experience, as by the concepts of care, we grasp how human life is based on a network of interactions and dependencies between individuals and collectives. It's not obscure, but a vital part of daily social life and interactions, shaped by collective and individual contexts. While ordinary vulnerabilities towards trafficking on the micro-scale can include the direct impact of interpersonal relationships, such as the absence of a parent or familial carelessness, it can interplay with macro-factors. Ordinary vulnerabilities stem from the impact of particular circumstances and environments, such as crises. The article discusses the theoretical argument, exemplified by categorised findings from a field study conducted in Mexico with survivors.