On March 22nd, CAP International released its research report “Last Girl First! Prostitution at the intersection of sex, race & class-based oppressions”.
This study is the result of a two-year long research covering 49 countries, mobilising more than 40 survivors of prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation, field experts working with prostituted persons & leaders of the communities most impacted by prostitution, it comprises more than 500 references.
The research explores the overrepresentation of women and girls from the most discriminated communities in prostitution. Everywhere in the world, Indigenous women and girls (First Nations, Maori, Adîvasî), those from the lowest castes (Dalits, Badi), those from ethnic/racial minorities (African American, Roma), migrant, displaced, and poor women are disproportionately targeted by the prostitution system.
The research goes beyond a simple analysis of the prostitution & trafficking systems in terms of sanitary risks as usually done and provides an intersectional approach to the systems of prostitution & trafficking for sexual exploitation. By tracing the roots of these systems, this study highlights the realities of prostitution & trafficking and the insidious way in which broad patterns of domination such as patriarchy, racism, colonialism, imperialism, classism, capitalism, war and militarisation shape them and lead to the sexual exploitation of one part of the population. This part of the population is the women’s political class and particularly women of colour and/or disadvantaged women. They are the ones who have been designated by society as “prostitutable”, having to satisfy the male demand for the exploitation of their bodies.
“The Last Girl” or “the Antyajaa” is a concept originally developed by Ruchira Gupta, a professor, journalist and the president and founder of the Indian NGO Apne Aap. It is rooted in anti-colonial and post-colonial struggles and in the vision of the liberation of the last born, Ambedkar’s Antyaj and Gandhi’s Antyodaya (from the words “Antya” and “Uday” meaning the “emancipation of the last ones”).
This research gives a platform to the voices of the “Last Girls”, the ones who suffer from systemic discriminations, who are primarily targeted by prostitution, the forgotten ones of national and international policies. It is a call to action for a more equal and just society.
You can order your copy of the book here
