Gender-based corruption: An exploration of sexual corruption in migration contexts in the UK

Corruption and gender-based violence (GBV) have traditionally been seen as important but distinct issues in academic literature. Sexual corruption lies at the intersection of these two fields, and until recently, it has been insufficiently addressed by scholars and practitioners from either field. Although researchers in both areas have now begun to recognise and theorise sexual corruption, the literature remains in its infancy, and there is a conspicuous absence of UK-based academic studies. This article contributes to addressing that absence by exploring how academics and policy professionals who work in the areas of anti-corruption, GBV, and human rights understand sexual corruption in the UK. It makes three key contributions. First, it explores conceptual understandings of sexual corruption and situates these within debates about agency, coercion and consent. Second, it finds that sexual corruption in UK migration contexts is sustained by structurally violent bordering practices. Third, it presents preliminary evidence that sexual corruption occurs at five points in UK migration contexts.