#62 - The Political Agenda Behind Anti-Human Trafficking Laws w/ Dr. Tamara O'Doherty of SFU's School of Criminology - a podcast by STEPHANIE SIA

from 2021-03-07T08:00

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I am very excited to bring on Dr. Tamara O'Doherty of Simon Fraser University's School of Criminology. SFU is my alma mater and is the #1 school in the nation (Canada) for Criminology so I was super stoked to invite Tamara onto the show to share her expertise, research and findings on the topic at-hand this week.

As sex workers, we are are deeply affected by the anti-human trafficking laws the were enacted by governments around the world. We've mentioned this particular topic a countless number of times on the podcast and it continues to be brought up due to its negative impact on sex workers. In Canada, Tamara and I speak about Bill-36 which was enacted in 2014 by Stephen Harper and the Conservative government, dissecting on how confusing the verbatim and title were as well as the political agenda behind it. On a parallel note, we discuss the USA's SOSTA/FESTA which was enacted in 2016 by the Trump administration (and even earlier by the Bush administration) and the cuts it has made on the sex industry. In addition to this, we speak briefly about the Nordic model or "asymmetrical criminalization" of sex work and what that means for sex workers.

As a former graduate of SFU's School of Criminology, I value Tamara's expert opinion, research and advocacy on the topic. I will be guest lecturing in her class on April 5th, 2021 - stay tuned for a future bonus episode!