Abstract

Among multiple meanings of vulnerability, “situational vulnerabilityµ offers the opportunity of analysing various combinations of vulnerability and agency, in relation to violence, exploitation and dignity. The extraordinary commitment of women’s movements against violence globally has produced important results including the adoption of the Istanbul Convention. However, public policies against violence have primarily focused on penal law, and much less on prevention and victim support. Consequently, the dichotomy victimisation as opposite to agency, has been the predominant representation of women victims of violence. A division among feminist approaches emerged regarding sex work, based on a moralistic notion of dignity. Various combinations of vulnerability and agency exist along the continuum of labour or sexual exploitation. Agency has been however ignored by public policies on trafficking, based on a securitarian approach mostly ineffective concerning trafficked persons’ rights. “Situational vulnerabilityµ, being based on intersectional social factors, requires a shift from a penal law to a social justice approach