NCJ Number
204373
Date Published
2004
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the various components that comprise the political criminal nexus of trafficking of women in Ukraine.
Abstract
Although there has been a global outcry against the trafficking of women and girls, this practice in the Ukraine continues virtually unchecked. The unregulated transition of former Soviet Union countries from socialism to democracy and a market economy has destabilized the country enough to enable organized crime groups and corrupt officials to seize control and criminalize the state apparatus and business sector of Ukraine. The trafficking of women and girls takes place within this corrupt civil society and involves individuals from the highest levels of government, law enforcement, legal and illegal businesses, organized crime groups, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Trafficking of women involves a simple supply and demand relationship between the sending and receiving countries. Women and girls become commodities that are bought and sold. The current study analyzed data obtained from interviews and surveys in Ukraine, media articles, governmental and nongovernmental reports on trafficking, and participant observations at conferences and meetings. Additionally, 46 criminal cases of trafficking of women and children were examined. Researchers also interviewed 68 victims of crime related to human trafficking in 6 cities in Ukraine. Analysis of the data indicated that 65 percent of the human trafficking cases were attributed to organized crime groups operating in Ukraine. Trafficking of women is a high-profit business with low investment and it involves large-scale operations that are connected to corrupt officials. These crime networks are also usually involved in other criminal enterprises, such as racketeering. Traffickers’ methods of recruiting victims are discussed, as is the connection between local prostitution and the transnational trafficking of women. The transnational human trafficking trade depends upon corrupt officials in destination countries; the authors describe several cases in which high profile officials have been convicted for assisting with human trafficking. As such, the trafficking of women and girls as part of the transnational sex trade has been linked to the corruption of civil society, in which governmental officials work side by side with criminal enterprises to aid in the exploitation of women and children. Human trafficking will not be deterred until corruption in Ukraine and destination countries is dealt with and controlled. Notes, references