• asylum seeker
• discourse
• discrimination
• human trafficking
• inequalities
• migration
• prostitution
• sex work
• social justice
• The Netherlands
• undocumented migrants

This research analyses the marginalisation of undocumented migrant sex workers in The Netherlands and investigates, from an intersectional and multidisciplinary perspective, how multiple layers of discrimination emerge from discourse and regulations. The "othering" of undocumented migrant sex workers is first examined from a sociological perspective, which provides information on how dominant beliefs and narratives facilitate the group’s marginalisation, by reviewing the existing literature on sex work stigma, nationalism and white supremacy in relation to human trafficking narratives, and how they provide a valuable frame to understand recent Dutch political and cultural initiatives. Here, the author proposes the concept of "cultural supremacy" as a possible frame to understand discrimination against foreigners in the Dutch context. Secondly, a legal history of sex work regulation from the lift of the ban on brothels is drawn, with a focus on the implications of such national legal initiatives for undocumented migrant sex workers. A specific analysis is dedicated to the current law proposal on sex work, the WRS (Wet Regulering Sekswerk). Finally, the results of qualitative research conducted with local activists, refugee and asylum seeker sex workers are discussed in light of the participants’ perspectives and experiences, examining the presence of patterns of marginalisation that contribute to the emergence of specific identities, but also agency and the proposals of projects to empower individuals and change dominant discourses.