This thesis examines the issues of sex trafficking in South Africa and the Netherlands through an investigation of the relevant policies and laws on sex trafficking and prostitution in the context of existing international human rights instruments. It also addresses the evolution of human rights policy in the context of trafficking for sexual exploitation, analyzing the crime through a feminist exchange theory lens and Wallerstein’s (2013) world system analysis. This research centers on the relationship between international law and national law, concentrating on the socio-political forces and the enforcement of those laws. Policy effectiveness is measured through quantitative data on sexual exploitation provided by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (2018) and opinion data provided by the European Values Study (2019) and the World Values Survey (2014)
