Yes, the world is complex, but OPs argument is pretty specific: That anti-trafficking rhetoric and anti-prostitution activism is largely overlapping, that it de

Yes, the world is complex, but OPs argument is pretty specific: That anti-trafficking rhetoric and anti-prostitution activism is largely overlapping, that it denies, by and large, the very gray areas you refer to, that it conflates the idea of consensual sex work with trafficking, and in the process has little regard for either consensual sex workers or sex trafficking victims. > Are the African ladies prostituting themselves in Italy doing so voluntarily when they are afraid of voodoo curses? Is the meth addict doing it voluntarily? Is the girl that can't afford her daughter's diabetes medication by any other 'job' doing so voluntarily? The first case is distinct because it's a real case of illicit external force. For the other two, it's worth pointing out that in the US, the baseline is still "arrest", "criminal charges", and "publishing your name and picture online". This happens with the silent consent of both the US public as well as anti-trafficking activists, who neither speak out against this kind of policing, nor stop cooperating with police departments. The life of a woman needing to pay for diabetes medication for her daughter does not not improve by being arrested, nor does she welcome her source of income disappearing because of restrictive laws. Have a look at local news reports of "anti-trafficking stings". It's always the same story. Dozens unnamed woman arrested, rarely even a claim that a victim was identified; and OP is right; the definition of what counts as trafficking is wide enough that even in those cases where it is claimed that a victim was found, it needs to be questioned whether the person actually welcomed the rescue.