Discursive Paradigm Surrounding the «Trafficking Victim». Social Work with Dominican Women in Puerto Rico

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reflect some of the advances in our research on the work done by Dominican women at cantinas located in Puerto Rico and on the women’s access to the American social protection system. The fieldwork was conducted in 2014, using an ethnographic methodology. In this context, we have focused on the discourse produced by both governmental and non-governmental agents responsible for ensuring the welfare of the most vulnerable population. In particular, bearing in mind that, as a population on the move subjected to situations of exploitation, these women could have access to resources related to human trafficking, we have also examined the support system for trafficking victims. Trafficking cannot be understood without reference to international regulations governed by specific ideologies and definitions about what constitutes a trafficking victim. We have therefore focused on how such regulations are put into practice on the ground. We will consider how, by constructing a «trafficking victim» category, both the regulations and their practical implementation make racialized working-class Dominican women invisible, even though they are extensively present throughout the country and can be found in labor exploitation spaces.