Uses and Abuses of the Criminal Justice System Regarding Feminine Emancipation: A Case Study of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons in Colombia

Abstract

This article examines what changes to the law regarding the crime of Trafficking in Persons has meant for judicial practice. Before the 2002 reform, this criminal offence was described simply as a sort of procuring. The reform moved the crime to a different chapter of the Penal Code: from the chapter on crimes against sexual freedom to the chapter on crimes against personal autonomy and individual freedom. This legislative change means that the crime is not only limited to cases of forced prostitution but also applies to cases of consensual sexual exploitation. Based on a case study, the aim of this article is to analyze how the legislative change has altered judicial practice. The findings presented here indicate that there is a tendency in the criminal justice system to continue operating under the previous logic of permitting the exploitation of sex workers during acts of prostitution, thus undermining the legal effort to criminalize all acts of sexual exploitation, whether consensual or not.