Unearthing melodrama: Moral panic theory and the enduring characterisation of child trafficking

Citation

Westwood J (2015) Unearthing melodrama: Moral panic theory and the enduring characterisation of child trafficking. In: Cree V, Clapton G & Smith M (eds.) Revisiting Moral Panics. Moral panics in theory and practice. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 83-92. http://www.policypress.co.uk/display.asp?K=9781447321859&sf1=ctitle&sf2=contributor&st2=Clapton&sf3=keyword&sort=sort_name&sf4=format_code&m=1&dc=1

Abstract
Moral panic theory goes some way towards explaining the conditions which provide fertile ground for the amplification of risk embedded in media representations, and policy discourses associated with child trafficking. This chapter will illustrate how the issue of child trafficking continues to be defined drawing on a model developed from the literary genre of melodrama. The chapter discusses the features of moral panic theory which are relevant to understanding the construction of child trafficking.

Keywords
Moral panic theory; child trafficking; melodramatic tactics; social contruction of risk