Sex trafficking, prostitution and erotic capital

Abstract

The main obstacle of the neo-abolitionist model is its inability to explain why many women wish to remain in a situ-ation of sexual exploitation or return with those who exploit them after being released. This research, based on a quali-tative methodology, which included in-depth interviews to 155 Central American women victims of sex trafficking, departs from the following research question: why migrant women in prostitution continue in the sex trade even when they could escape from the situation of sexual exploitation they suffer? This paper concludes that migrant women in prostitution are not always passive victims seeking to be rescued and brought into decent jobs. In many cases, af-ter evaluating other alternatives, they consider that the sex trade is more profitable than other activities, since the most important personal asset they have is their erotic capital.