Amie Lennox Townsend

Citation

Thesis Title
Human trafficking in Mindanao: personal narratives and local perspectives

Recent attention to the issue of human trafficking has meant that demands for immediate action have meant that counter-measures have often preceded research-based insights. In-depth local research is still an emerging area, and little work has been published on the Philippines specifically. In the province of Mindanao, known issues include various forms of labour trafficking, sex trafficking, underage soldiers, and trafficking of migrants. Ms Lennox Townsend spent five months conducting fieldwork in Mindanao. As well as investigating the broader local social conditions, she spent time with people who had experienced various forms of human trafficking and exploitation. Her research presents an exploration and analysis of the social setting in Mindanao, based on first-person accounts, which are contextualised in the wider society. Findings suggest that human trafficking in Mindanao is an outcome and extension of local social conditions and everyday social processes.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Sita Venkateswar
Professor Kathryn Rountree
Dr Maria Borovnik