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AbstractPolicy problems are typically framed through a representation of those who have been harmed, and those who are to blame, with parliamentary inquiries playing a key role in setting the agenda by mediating between competing problematisations. In order to reveal the politics behind policy-making through inquiries, it is necessary to examine both the aspects of the issue that are problematised and those aspects that remain unproblematised. Adopting modern slavery policy in Australia as a case study, this article utilises Bacchi's 'what is the problem represented to be?' framework for analysing discourse in parliamentary inquiries on modern slavery between 2003 and 2018. I argue that across three clear phases of policy-making, problematisation has shifted and evolved, though blame has consistently been deflected away from the role of the state in contributing to the conditions that cause modern slavery.

Consumers are the new activists in the fight against modern slavery, with awareness campaigns urging citizens to use their consumer power to demand an end to labour exploitation. The contribution of political, or ethical, consumerism campaigns to the trafficking narrative is examined in this article through an analysis of the characterisation of consumers and corporations in campaigns from SlaveryFootprint.org, Stop the Traffik UK, and World Vision Australia. This article argues that campaigns urging political consumerism depict consumers as the heroic rescuers of enslaved victims, and embed solutions to modern slavery within a culture of unquestioned capitalism. This approach may have the unintended consequence of sidelining victims from the trafficking story as the focus of the narrative becomes the product, rather than the victim, of labour exploitation.

Consumers are the new activists in the fight against modern slavery, with awareness campaigns urging citizens to use their consumer power to demand an end to labour exploitation. The contribution of political, or ethical, consumerism campaigns to the trafficking narrative is examined in this article through an analysis of the characterisation of consumers and corporations in campaigns from SlaveryFootprint.org, Stop the Traffik UK, and World Vision Australia. This article argues that campaigns urging political consumerism depict consumers as the heroic rescuers of enslaved victims, and embed solutions to modern slavery within a culture of unquestioned capitalism. This approach may have the unintended consequence of sidelining victims from the trafficking story as the focus of the narrative becomes the product, rather than the victim, of labour exploitation.

Since the declaration by the United Nations that awareness raising should be a key part of efforts to combat human trafficking, government and non-government organizations have produced numerous public awareness campaigns designed to capture the public's attention and sympathy. These campaigns represent the 'problem' of trafficking in specific ways, creating heroes and villains by placing the blame for trafficking on some, whilst obscuring the responsibility of others. This article adopts Bacchi's 'what is the problem represented to be?' framework for examining the politicization of problem representation in 18 anti-trafficking awareness campaigns. It is argued that these campaigns construct a narrow understanding of the problem through the depiction of 'ideal offenders'. In particular, a strong focus on the demand for commercial sex as causative of human trafficking serves to obscure the problematic role of consumerism in a wide range of industries, and perpetuates an understanding of trafficking that fails to draw a necessary distinction between the demand for labour, and the demand for 'exploitable' labour. This problem representation also obscures the role governments in destination countries may play in causing trafficking through imposing restrictive migration regimes that render migrants vulnerable to traffickers.

Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction: the narrative code; 2 Telling trafficking stories; 3 From sex slaves to migrant men; 4 Ideal and invisible victims; 5 Pimps, johns and mobsters; 6 Heroic consumers; 7 Everyday activists and action heroes; 8 Government heroes and villains; 9 Conclusion: narrative evolution; Index

List of abbreviations Acknowledgements 1. The Politics of Sex Trafficking 2. Perspectives and Players 3. Stories of Trafficking 4. Measuring Trafficking 5. Defining Trafficking 6. Causes of Trafficking 7. Silencing Dissent 8. A Moral Geography References Index