A View on Abolitionism by Marta Nunez

I have tried to compile my notes since the end of February 2020, when I arrived in Buenos Aires after two intense weeks in Santiago de Chile.

At this time, there was a minor scandal being reported in the Argentinean media. A female singer, popular with teenagers, was launching a single called “Puta” (Whore). The appalling marketing was a poster of her imitating one of the obnoxious stickers that are used as a typical prostitution ad: a woman showing her bump, and a telephone number.

A recording of the singer's voice was announcing her surprise new song.

Things did not work well. Abolitionist groups started to object to the marketing of prostitution among a young audience. On the other hand, pictures were published of the singer with the head of the AMMAR group, that is fighting to be recognised as the “sex workers’ union”, sadly sponsored by Amnesty International and the World Health Organisation. 

The scandal grew. Survivors of prostitution and sex trafficking were interviewed and told their ordeal with details. They expressed their sadness and indignation for glamourising an activity that is about pure economical survival for the prostitute and sometimes their own children. 

Madres Victimas de Trata, a strong abolitionist group that was represented by Blanca Rizzo at FiLiA 2019, had the founding mother of the movement talking about how her young daughter in the ’90s was taken away, her desperate search, the sightings in bars acting as brothels, and finally how she was found murdered in a flat in a rich area of the city.

In spite of all the bad taste, and the obvious intention of manipulating young people by bringing them dangerously to a hyper-sexualisation that can make them innocent victims of pimps or sex traffickers, I could see something positive in the open visualisation by the general public of the very dark face of prostitution.

As survivors explained, it is not a choice, but a chain of circumstances. Most of them came from the rural areas pushed by poverty, or because of being abused within their family. They knew nobody, or sometimes they met the wrong person who pushed them to try, “just once, just for a short period of time, just to make a bit of money and then find something else to do”. And they would get trapped as they could not survive the street without a pimp, or even worse they were captured by a sex trafficking ring.

The song was released and was a total flop. It was misogynistic against wives and girlfriends, who were pictured as “prissy” and “boring”. The message was that, although they despised the whores, their men preferred them. “Only the whores know what they really want”. There were very explicit references that they are the ones who perform anal sex, in line with some pornography that promotes the idea that anal sex is the most interesting pleasure women should give to men.

What I remember as remarkable was that the discussion brought to the public the facts about prostitution and trafficking.

Until March 20th, I spent most of my time discussing the issue of abolitionism in Argentina with several groups. One of my last meetings was with the Campaña Federal Abolicionista where I met Magui Belotti and Marta Fontenla, two “historicas” as they call now those women that since their youth have not stopped fighting for the emancipation of women.

Sex trafficking in Argentina came alongside the huge migration wave at the beginning of the Twentieth century. Argentina was then a prosperous and scarcely populated country. Women trafficking was called “Trata de Blancas” (white women trafficking) since the main victims were women brought on false pretences from mainly Eastern Europe with the promise of a job waiting for them. Instead, they were sold among the three most powerful mafias regulating the business: the Jewish, the French, the Italian.

Today the Argentinian movement is strong, well informed and fighting both at the grassroots level, and academia. In terms of government, we observe hesitation. 

The government is reminded that according to the Constitution the country is abolitionist, and prostitutes should not be persecuted, but brothels are illegal. But these articles and laws are not enforced. Also, as Argentina is a very big country with 24 provinces, local governments may be able to interpret the law at their convenience to ingratiate with the powerful groups in the area. So there is a tension between central government and the provinces.

On the other hand, having as a historical background a savage seven-year dictatorship (1976-1983), during which time police and army were given absolute powers, it is not surprising that even with the advent of democracy these bodies remained fiercely repressive. So by the ’90s, the police were very repressive towards all prostitutes on the street including women, trans women and transvestites.

Since that time, there has been a difference of opinion between the Argentinian abolitionism movement, compared with the rest of Latin America. Also, a great proportion of trans women and transvestites are abolitionists.

This presents another feature of the abolitionism in Argentina when is transversally considered within the current issue of “the subject of feminism”. There are divisions among abolitionists groups. Some consider that women, trans women and travesties are all in it together. Other groups argue that the pressure of prostitution on women is not comparable to the situation faced by trans women and transvestites.

My sense is that a full understanding of these issues will need a global perspective and an awareness of other models that have not yet been explored (eg Nordic Model). Also, we need to adapt and take a less confrontational style of communication, and offer mutual respect to the way that each woman could contribute. An umbrella organisation could help to bring activists, politicians, academics, survivors, “artivist” or any other woman under the same banner: those who will not tolerate anything that undermines our dignity as women.