Revisiting notions of sex trafficking and victims

this article examines the migratory processes and work experiences of brazilian female sex workers active in spain. it is based on ethnographic research conducted over eleven months, at different moments between november 2004 and january 2012, in barcelona, madrid, bilbao and granada. the principal argument is that the notions of prostitution and international human trafficking held by brazilian sex workers clash with those found in the current public debate of these issues. brazilian migrant sex workers' acts and beliefs defy political and cultural protocols on the national and international level, and fly in the face of the 'destiny' that brazilian society laid out for these individuals.