THE LEGAL RESPONSESTO THE SEX TRAFFICKING FROM FORMER SOVIET BLOC COUNTRIES: THE CASES OF TURKEY AND SWEDEN

Abstract

As the modern day slavery, human trafficking occurs in almost every part of the world. Many women from the former Soviet Union and Eastern European Countries are sex trafficking victims. Turkey and the Sweden are some of the destination countries. This study focused on the sex trafficking from these source countries as well as the legal responses. In particular, it examined the cases of Turkey and Sweden. Sweden criminalized the purchase of commercial sex whereas Turkey has the opposite policy. Using secondary data, this study revealed the magnitude of this problem relating these source and destination countries. Moreover, it conducted some analyses allowing comparison between these two opposite policies. This study suggested that sex trafficking has exploded in these source countries, since the collapse of the former Soviet Bloc. Furthermore, criminalizing the buying of sex may cause the reduction in the supply of the sex market as well as the sex trafficking. This study makes a framework for this spatial and specific problem and policies addressing the supply side of the sex trafficking. Thus, further research can focus on different countries to replicate this study. Thereby, it may allow finding conclusive results in the effectiveness of criminalizing the purchase of commercial sex on the sex trafficking.