Two University of Queensland Law School researchers have been shortlisted for the LexisNexis Centenary Book Award, Australia’s most prestigious prize for legal literature.
Co-authors Professor Andreas Schloenhardt and UQ Law graduate Jarrod Jolly are among the eight finalists to receive a publishing contract with LexisNexis as part of the book award competition.
Their book, Trafficking Persons in Australia: Myths and Realities, which was released on May 1, 2013 examines the phenomenon of trafficking in persons in Australia and the Government’s response to this type of crime.
Professor Schloenhardt said the book was written to correct common misconceptions about trafficking in persons as it occurs in Australia, and provide accurate analysis of the topic.
“While trafficking in persons is receiving more attention than at any time in history, it remains a phenomenon not well understood and too often characterised by simplistic generalisations and stereotypes,” Professor Schloenhardt said.
“Ten years after the Australian Government first announced its Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons, much of the common perception of trafficking is based on myths rather than reality.”
The book identifies and analyses reported and suspected instances in Australia in all its forms, including trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage, labour, child trafficking, and trafficking for the purpose of organ removal.
“It is designed to inform key stakeholders and generate public debate about trafficking in persons and make a significant contribution to the scholarship in this field,” Professor Schloenhardt said.
Co-author Jarrod Jolly said that although trafficking in persons was by no means a new phenomenon, its evolving methodology made it difficult to combat.
“Politicians, government agencies and academics struggle to adapt their work to a phenomenon that is constantly changing,” Mr Jolly said.
“It is hoped that this book is a catalyst in improving Australia’s international and national record on combating trafficking in persons.”
“What is new are the modus operandi, routes, victims and offenders who adapt to changes in law enforcement and to fluctuations in supply and demand in this vile trade,” Mr Jolly said.
Professor Schloenhardt and Mr Jolly lead the Human Trafficking Working Group at UQ, which was set up to document and analyse trafficking in persons and develop recommendations to prevent the crime and protect the rights of trafficked persons.
Trafficking Persons in Australia: Myths and Realities is available from the LexisNexis online bookstore, published by LexisNexis Pacific.
For every copy purchased, LexisNexis will donate one dollar toward the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons.
Media: Professor Andreas Schloenhardt, TC Beirne School of Law, 07 336 5619 a.schloenhardt@law.uq.edu.au or Melissa Reynolds, 07 3365 2523, m.reynolds@law.uq.edu.au
