Human Trafficking

Sex trafficking and exploitation in Europe

Sex trafficking in Europe

Although globalization has been a boon in many positive ways to many people, it has also had the unintended consequence of facilitating the sex industry. According to the International Labor Office (ILO) "there are 12.3 million victims of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation worldwide at any given time. Forty-three percent are trafficked for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation," the majority of which are women and children (Hepburn & Simon 2010:2). "In terms of those trafficked for the purposes of forced commercial sexual exploitation, women and girls make up 98%" (Hepburn & Simon 2010:2).

Case study: Katya

As reported by the British newspaper The Guardian, the former republics of the Soviet Union and much of Eastern Europe are fertile sites of trafficking into EU nations. While still a young teenager, a Moldavian girl named 'Katya' and her friend...
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