A matter of faith?: combatting human trafficking in Thailand & Cambodia

Human trafficking is estimated to affect about 49 million people worldwide. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are extensively involved in efforts to counter this global problem, alongside governments, intergovernmental organizations, and various types of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, not enough attention has been directed to understanding the antitrafficking responses of FBOs. Do their activities differ from secular antitrafficking actors, why so, and how are these activities received? This thesis aims to understand and explain the role and impact of faith in antitrafficking, as one sub-field of development cooperation, through a case study of the antitrafficking efforts of three Christian FBOs in Thailand and Cambodia. Thailand and Cambodia are two countries where human trafficking is prevalent, and where there is a significant concentration of NGOs and FBOs operating against human trafficking. Studying these contexts may therefore generate insights that have wider relevance beyond the region, and beyond the field of antitrafficking specifically. The study builds on individual as well as group interviews with staff of the FBOs, observations of the activities of the FBOs, as well as document reviews. The empirical material also includes interviews with representatives of secular antitrafficking NGOs, government officials, and recipients or community members in the areas where the FBOs implement their work. The thesis draws on a multidimensional theoretical framework that allows the analysis to capture the specific characteristics of FBO antitrafficking practices, how ideas and social relations shape their work, and how their antitrafficking work is received, perceived and negotiated when implemented in practice. This analytical approach generates a comprehensive and multidimensional understanding of FBOs as antitrafficking and development actors. The findings reveal that faith-based antitrafficking practice is distinguished by its emphasis on the post-trauma phases of antitrafficking work, through interventions focusing on e.g. trauma healing, or vocational training. The religious worldview of the FBOs shapes their practices and leads to a focus on individual (spiritual and moral) transformation. The three FBOs can therefore be viewed as engaging in therapeutic modes of governance, emphasizing individual responsibility and immaterial wellbeing. FBOs are also distinguished by their specific funding patterns. Instead of mainstream developmen