Joel Quirk

Late sharing cos was unwell, but here’s our farewell from openDemocracy’s Beyond Trafficking & Slavery.

What a privilege to have been part of the editorial team. I learnt so much from our incredible contributors & the amazing Cam Thibos, Melissa Pawson & @joelquirk.bsky.social . Thank you all ❤️

Gentle reminder that the European Union was established because the first four decades of our 20th century were mostly internecine war and genocide.

Farewell, from Beyond Trafficking and Slavery After 11 years of publishing, the team at Beyond Trafficking and Slavery is moving on to new projects. Thank you for joining us!

Our final editorial: THANK YOU to everyone who helped us make BTS a success over the past 11 years. We will forever be in your debt, and we will miss you! Take care.
www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Beyond independence The post-colonial settlement has left Africa vulnerable to conflict, external pressure, and intellectual dependency. What comes next?

The post-colonial settlement has left Africa vulnerable to conflict, external pressure, and intellectual dependency. What comes next? africasacountry.com/2025/12/beyo...

Farewell, from Beyond Trafficking and Slavery After 11 years of publishing, the team at Beyond Trafficking and Slavery is moving on to new projects. Thank you for joining us!

Beyond slavery and trafficking was supposed to be a one-year project. Our plan: public education

Eleven years later we are finally signing off

www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

New #CallforPapers! This issue will aim to highlight cases of intersectional, intermovement alliance and solidarity building between different marginalised and oppressed groups. See call 👉🏼 www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/at... Guest editors @drellac.bsky.social & @joelquirk.bsky.social

Will American anti-trafficking ever recover from Trump 2.0? The White House is dangerously close to making anti-trafficking what the critics always said it was: flash and fluff

Will American anti-trafficking ever recover from Trump 2.0?

This is something we've raised since "day one" rights were first mentioned.

Farm workers here on temporary visas remain without unfair dismissal protections-even when returning every year.

Last yr we had 145 dismissal cases: used as a threat, used when people complain, used to maintain power.

Is Trump 2.0 killing off US anti-trafficking work? The White House is dangerously close to making anti-trafficking what the critics always said it was: flash and fluff

Have you been wondering what the hell is going on with US human trafficking policy under Trump 2.0?

In the link below you will find a deep dive interview I did with Ambassador Luis C.deBaca, who used to run the TIP office back in the day.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Delighted to co-author this piece urging the de-silo-ing of anti-trafficking work, & genuine solidarity with grassroots movements.

A bizarre new alliance is coming after sexual freedoms Radical feminists and religious groups teamed up against sex work. Now they’re going after broader reproductive freedoms

Our Human Trafficking Lead @mayal-n.bsky.social has written about the growing attack on sexual freedoms, the (mis)use of anti-trafficking frameworks to do so, + the opportunity it has given us to join an incredible alliance of feminist LGBTI rights activists: www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Latest in our solidarities series: fascinating reflections on striking workers in South Africa finding common ground with Palestine solidarity activists. I like that this series doesn’t shy away from tensions & challenges, as well as benefits.

By Maya Bhardwaj for @beyondslavery.bsky.social .

The time workers’ rights teamed up with Palestine solidarity When dairy workers made common cause with Palestine solidarity activists, the result was radical love in the public square

When dairy workers made common cause with Palestine solidarity activists, the result was radical love in the public square
www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Solidarity beyond silos is our best bet to end exploitation Far-right bullies are on the rise, and exploitation will likely rise with them. Cross-movement organising is the only way out

Our final feature is rolling out! We wanted to end on a positive note, so asked a bunch of amazing people to write about their experiences with cross-movement solidarity and organising. We're very excited to share it with you. Enjoy! www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

A bizarre new alliance is coming after sexual freedoms Radical feminists and religious groups teamed up against sex work. Now they’re going after broader reproductive freedoms

Radical feminists and religious groups got into bed together once. Now they're broadening the affair, says @gaatw.bsky.social www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

‘An indictment of the trade union movement’: Why no one is organising seasonal workers Farm workers go on unofficial strikes as their temporary visas create barriers to union membership

‘An indictment of the trade union movement’: Why no one is organising seasonal workers

Why can't anti-trafficking be more radical? Anti-trafficking has always been the handmaiden of Global North power, never its rebellious daughter. Let’s change that

Why can't anti-trafficking be more radical?

Humanitarian Borders, Safe Passage Campaigns, and the (Re)Production of Unequal Mobility Abstract. This article revisits the scholarly debates and activist actions around what have become known as ‘humanitarian borders’. The article shows how h

🚨Publication Alert🚨

Just out, the final argument in my decades plus long research on humanitarian borders.

"Humanitarian Borders, Safe Passage Campaigns, and the (Re)Production of Unequal Mobility"

doi.org/10.1093/9780...

Evaluating Anti-Trafficking Interventions Explore the complexities of trafficking and the importance of effective evaluation in anti-trafficking interventions and measures.

Despite huge sums spent on anti-trafficking, there are staggeringly few evaluations of interventions & growing evidence of harms caused.

This new edited book with @uclpress.bsky.social is our attempt to help change that. 1/

Open access with free digital downloads: uclpress.co.uk/book/evaluat...

In the fight for sex workers’ rights, this is solidarity Over 300 migrant sex workers took on city hall to keep their businesses, showing the power of collective organising

Kicking us off is a fantastic piece about solidarities in action by Elene Lam & @chanellegallant.bsky.social .

Lots to learn here from Butterfly about how Asian migrant sex workers have organised across silos in Canada and the US.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

How Wages for Housework sparked an international movement The 1970s movement paved the way for queer, Black, trans and sex working feminist organising across the world today

Next out in our final @beyondslavery.bsky.social feature is this brilliant piece by Jake Hall about Wages for Housework.

An important historical lens on solidarities beyond silos on the global stage, and the legacies of this trailblazing movement.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

How one case made unlikely allies of police and sex workers We have every reason to mistrust police, but the case against Joey the Player briefly showed us something different

Next up in our solidarities series is this brilliant piece on an unlikely tactical alliance.

Unsettling and important look at the tensions involved and lessons from it.

By Alex Andrews of @swopbehindbars.bsky.social for @beyondslavery.bsky.social

www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Solidarity beyond silos is our best bet for fighting exploitation Far-right bullies are on the rise, and exploitation will likely rise with them. Cross-movement organising is the only way out

Solidarity beyond silos is our best bet for fighting exploitation

Why no one is organising seasonal workers Farm workers go on unofficial strikes as their temporary visas create barriers to union membership

Farm workers go on unofficial strikes as their temporary visas create barriers to union membership

Read our investigation with @tbij.bsky.social here ⤵️
www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

How one case made unlikely allies of police and sex workers We have every reason to mistrust police, but the case against Joey the Player briefly showed us something different

How one case made unlikely allies of police and sex workers

Supporting the Epstein survivors is important, but please don’t support World Without Exploitation. They advocate for policies that are really harmful to sex workers, like the Nordic Model, which puts sex workers at greater risk of violence and poverty by criminalizing their clients.

Solidarity beyond silos is our best bet to end exploitation Far-right bullies are on the rise, and exploitation will likely rise with them. Cross-movement organising is the only way out

Anti-trafficking killjoys struggle to get beyond trafficking and slavery. The only way to truly get beyond anti-trafficking is to stop making it the main character.

Our final @beyondslavery.bsky.social feature on solidarities beyond silos

www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Two data points:

1) Trump killing 11 people via drone strike off the Venezuelan coast
2) Isreal violating international law to strike Hamas in Doha

These are cut from the same cloth. Once you create a state of exception you keep using it over and over

Really baaaaaad shit is coming down the pipe

Journal of Southern African Studies Publishes leading research concerning the history, economics, sociology, demography and anthropology of Southern Africa.

Applications are now open for the 2025 Colin Murray Award. Deadline: 30 September 2025. The award supports post-doctoral researchers to carry out original ‘engaged field research’ in Southern Africa. Please see the link below for more details jsas.blog

‘I escaped a Russian prison — only to end up in an American jail’ Dozens of Russian dissidents have been expelled from the US and forcibly returned to Russia with the co-operation of immigration authorities

BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.