Stopping the Illegal Trafficking of Human Beings: How Transnational Police Work Can Stem the Flow of Forced Prostitution

The transnational sex industry experienced a surge during the 1990s with the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The virtual enslavement of a growing number of women into the global prostitution market from this region of the world has begun to be documented in an ongoing manner by independent nongovernmental organizations that track migration patterns & international criminal activity. The emergence of this phenomenon in Europe expands the study of the transnational sex industry well beyond Southeast Asia & Asia, where it has been examined primarily to date. Governments & international governmental organizations such as the UN are also now focusing on this issue from local & global perspectives. In this paper, the roles that transnational police organizations can play, & have been playing, regarding preventing & investigating the activities of the transnational sex industry, are explored. After sketching the scope of the problem, identifying the players of interest, & examining the roles that they have been performing to date, recommendations are offered for strengthening police response in this area. Adapted from the source document.