The UN Palermo Protocol definition of human trafficking works under the assumption that women do not consent to such work and physically (rather than economically) unable to leave. This negate the agency for adult women who define their participation in sex work as voluntary and it complicates the identification of women and men who are truly coerced, defrauded or forced into sex work. Empirical studies of sex workers, exploring a range of possible trafficking situation, finds far fewer trafficking victims than either advocacy or policy groups predict. Furthermore, more empirical attention has been paid to sex trafficking, while other forms of trafficking have been understudied.
Although prostitution is legal in Turkey, there is a rising …show more content…
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that forced prostitution is the most important aspect of human trafficking. The government’s emphasis on sex trafficking within Istanbul is the shutting down of brothels and arresting the owners, rather than assessing possible coercion (if any) to force people to work in the brothels. Several NGO staff agreed that the police were not interested in documenting trafficking victims, they are seen as “just a prostitute.” Migrant women cannot register as sex workers, thus they work in illegal brothels and are rarely identified in operations to shut down brothels. This may explain why the Turkish government may have more traffickers rather than trafficking victims. Migrant as we as domestic women working in brothels in Tarlabasi are led to criminalization and displacement. Illegal migrants found in Tukey are deported without proper screening to establish if they have been trafficked. The NGO primarily tasked with screening in Kumkapi (Human Resource Development Foundation or HRDF) reported difficulty reaching government officials to collaborate with. The U.S. Department of State confirmed this, stating that there is a breakdown in communication between the government and all anti-trafficking NGOs. Furthermore, the NGO in Antalya was assessed to have good relationship with the local police, but they did not include forced labor as trafficking. Instead, they considered forced or coerced non-sexual labor to fall under different lawn than
Although prostitution is legal in Turkey, there is a rising …show more content…
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that forced prostitution is the most important aspect of human trafficking. The government’s emphasis on sex trafficking within Istanbul is the shutting down of brothels and arresting the owners, rather than assessing possible coercion (if any) to force people to work in the brothels. Several NGO staff agreed that the police were not interested in documenting trafficking victims, they are seen as “just a prostitute.” Migrant women cannot register as sex workers, thus they work in illegal brothels and are rarely identified in operations to shut down brothels. This may explain why the Turkish government may have more traffickers rather than trafficking victims. Migrant as we as domestic women working in brothels in Tarlabasi are led to criminalization and displacement. Illegal migrants found in Tukey are deported without proper screening to establish if they have been trafficked. The NGO primarily tasked with screening in Kumkapi (Human Resource Development Foundation or HRDF) reported difficulty reaching government officials to collaborate with. The U.S. Department of State confirmed this, stating that there is a breakdown in communication between the government and all anti-trafficking NGOs. Furthermore, the NGO in Antalya was assessed to have good relationship with the local police, but they did not include forced labor as trafficking. Instead, they considered forced or coerced non-sexual labor to fall under different lawn than