# Kamala Kempadoo

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Guyanese author and sexology professor

Kamala Kempadoo Born England Alma mater Ohio State University (Master's) University of Amsterdam (BA and Doctorandus) University of Colorado-Boulder (PhD) Employer York University Known for Writing and teaching about sexual labour and anti-trafficking. Father Peter Kempadoo Relatives Oonya Kempadoo and Roshini Kempadoo (sisters)

**Kamala Kempadoo** is a British-Guyanese[1] author and sociology professor who lives in [Barbados](/source/Barbados) and [Canada](/source/Canada). She has written multiple books about sex work and human trafficking and won awards from the *Caribbean Studies Association* and the [Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality](/source/Society_for_the_Scientific_Study_of_Sexuality) for her distinguished and lifetime achievements.

## Early life and education

Kempadoo was born in England to [Guyanese](/source/Guyana) parents Rosemary Read Kempadoo (teacher and part-time writer) and [Peter Kempadoo](/source/Peter_Kempadoo) (development worker and writer).[2] She is the second oldest of nine siblings.[2] Her seven sisters include [Oonya Kempadoo](/source/Oonya_Kempadoo) and [Roshini Kempadoo](/source/Roshini_Kempadoo); she has one younger brother.[3]

Kempadoo has a BA and a doctorandus degree in [social sciences](/source/Social_science) from the [University of Amsterdam](/source/University_of_Amsterdam), a master’s degree in [Black Studies](/source/Black_studies) from [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University), and a Ph.D in [sociology](/source/Sociology) from the [University of Colorado-Boulder](/source/University_of_Colorado_Boulder).[2]

## Career

Kempadoo has worked in research since the early 1990s with an initial focus on sexual labour in the Caribbean, before shifting to focus on sex work in general and anti-trafficking in low income countries.[2]

She joined [York University](/source/York_University) in 2002, where she worked as professor to advance the understanding and promote the study of sex work, Caribbean studies and Black radical thought.[2] At York University, she has held academic appointments in social science, political science; gender, feminist and women’s studies; social and political thought; and development studies.[2]

Kempadoo has had academic affiliations with the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the [University of the West Indies at Cave Hill](/source/University_of_the_West_Indies_at_Cave_Hill) in Barbados and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies.[4]

In 2018, she was awarded the [Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality's](/source/Society_for_the_Scientific_Study_of_Sexuality) *Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award* for her contributions to the field of sexuality studies.[2] She was also awarded the *Lifetime Achievement Award* from the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) in the same year.[5][4] The CSA said that Kempadoo is "one of the most important scholars and influential thinkers on the global sex trade, sex work, human trafficking, and sexual-economic relations."[5]

## Views

Kempadoo is proponent for the [decriminalisation of sex work](/source/Decriminalization_of_sex_work)[2][6] and has spoken about how [shadism](/source/Shadism) affects the earning potential of sex workers in [Curacao](/source/Cura%C3%A7ao).[7]

## Personal life

Kempadoo has previously lived in the UK, Netherlands, United States, and throughout the Caribbean.[8] Since 2002, she has been based in Canada and since 2005 lives part of the year in Barbados.[4]

## Selected publications

- *[The white man’s burden revisited](https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/white-mans-burden-revisited/),* [OpenDemocracy](/source/OpenDemocracy), 2015[9]

### Books

- *Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered,* [Paradigm](/source/Paradigm_Publishers), 2005/2012[8][10]

- *Sexing the Caribbean: Gender, Race and Sexual Labour*, New York, [Routledge](/source/Routledge), 2004[11][12]

- *Sun, Sex and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean,* Boulder, Colorado, [Rowman and Littlefield](/source/Rowman_%26_Littlefield),1999[11]

- Kamala Kempadoo and Jo Doezema *Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance and Redefinition,* New York, [Routledge](/source/Routledge), 1998[11][13]

- Kamala Kempadoo, Jyoti Sanghera, and Bandana Pattanaik *Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights*. Boulder, Colorado, [Paradigm Publishers](/source/Paradigm_Publishers), 2005 & 2012[11][14]

### Papers

- Kamala Kempadoo, Halimah DeShong, and Charmaine Crawford, *Caribbean Feminist Research Methods for Gender and Sexuality Studies,* Special issue of the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies 7 (Dec 2013) http://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/[11]

- Kamala Kempadoo and Darya Davydova, *From Bleeding Hearts to Critical Thinking: Exploring the Issue of Human Trafficking*. Toronto Centre for Feminist Research, [York University](/source/York_University), 2012. http://cfr.info.yorku.ca/fbh/[11]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Connecting our arrival"](https://newsday.co.tt/2021/06/02/connecting-our-arrival/). *Trinidad and Tobago Newsday*. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:0_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:0_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:0_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-:0_2-7) ["York University professor recognized for work in sexology — Ron Fanfair"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190706081943/https://www.ronfanfair.com/home/2018/1/10/york-university-professor-recognized-for-work-in-sexology). 6 July 2019. Archived from [the original](https://www.ronfanfair.com/home/2018/1/10/york-university-professor-recognized-for-work-in-sexology) on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_3-0)** ["Celebrated Guyanese writer Peter Kempadoo passes away - Stabroek News"](https://www.stabroeknews.com/2019/08/29/news/guyana/celebrated-guyanese-writer-peter-kempadoo-passes-away/). *archive.ph*. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_4-2) ["About the Contributors"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210420100301/https://sfonline.barnard.edu/caribbean-feminisms/about-the-contributors/). 20 April 2021. Archived from [the original](https://sfonline.barnard.edu/caribbean-feminisms/about-the-contributors/) on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:5_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:5_5-1) ["Caribbean Studies Association » Dr Kamala Kempadoo, the 2018 recipient of the CSA Lifetime Achievement Award"](https://www.caribbeanstudiesassociation.org/dr-kamala-kempadoo-the-2018-recipient-of-the-csa-lifetime-achievement-award/). Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Call to make sex trade safer"](https://www.nationnews.com/2016/04/07/call-to-make-sex-trade-safer/). *www.nationnews.com*. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Not Only On The Streets"](https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/not-only-streets). *Barbados Advocate*. 4 March 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_8-1) ["Kamala Kempadoo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200807160724/https://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/december2013/KamalaKempadoo.asp). 7 August 2020. Archived from [the original](https://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/december2013/KamalaKempadoo.asp) on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Beyond 'raid and rescue': time to acknowledge the damage being done"](https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/beyond-raid-and-rescue-time-to-acknowledge-damage-being-done/). *openDemocracy*. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Whisnant, Rebecca (2007). ["Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights (review)"](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/218019). *Hypatia*. **22** (3): 209–215. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1527-2001](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1527-2001).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:4_11-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:4_11-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:4_11-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:4_11-5) ["kempadoo | Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210423073135/https://profiles.laps.yorku.ca/profiles/kempadoo/#squelch-taas-tab-content-1-1). 23 April 2021. Archived from [the original](https://profiles.laps.yorku.ca/profiles/kempadoo/#squelch-taas-tab-content-1-1) on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Schauer, Edward J. (June 2007). ["Book Review: Kempadoo, K. (2004). Sexing the Caribbean: Gender, Race, and Sexual Labor. New York: Routledge, Pp. ix, 272"](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1057567707302512). *International Criminal Justice Review*. **17** (2): 138–139. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/1057567707302512](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1057567707302512). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1057-5677](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1057-5677). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [143839652](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143839652).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["The Topeka Capital-Journal"](https://www.cjonline.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cjonline.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2021%2F10%2F10%2Ftopeka-high-alumna-professor-sex-worker-rights-advocate-brazil-davida-watson-fellowship%2F6033108001%2F). *www.cjonline.com*. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Allman D. [Book Review: Gender and Human Rights Gargi Bhattacharyya, Traffick: The Illicit Movement of People and Things (London and Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 2005, 220 pp., £13.99, pbk.) Kamal Kempadoo with Jyoti Sanghera and Bandana Pattanaik (eds.), Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work and Human Rights (Boulder & London: Paradigm Publishers, 2005, 247 pp., £68, hbk.; $21.85, pbk.).](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/03058298060340021707) *Millennium*. 2006;34(2):599-602. [doi:10.1177/03058298060340021707](https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298060340021707)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kamala Kempadoo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Kempadoo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Kempadoo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.