Russia’s Willing Sex Workers Find Enslavement Abroad

News and photos from the Moscow News (22/04/2004)
(by Anastasia Lebedev)

At a recent press conference, Elena Mizulina, the head of the Interdepartmental Workgroup in charge of preparing a bill against human trafficking, was reported to have announced that 92% of all Russian women who go to work abroad wind up as victims, sold into sex slavery.
In its work, the workgroup relied on research by Russia’s Institute for Social

Photo from MN Archive

and Economic Problems of the Population. MosNews called the institute for clarification and learned that the figure actually refers to the percentage of female victims of human trade. Instead, the institute’s Elena Tilyukanova, also a member of the workgroup, gave MosNews a much more startling figure — as many as 25% of young women leaving Russia for work abroad say that they would work as prostitutes “if it paid more money” than their current job offer.
Unlike “the gimp” in Pulp Fiction, most sex slaves are not kept fettered in dungeons. Neither are they kidnapped against their will in the still of the night. What happens in most cases, Tilyukanova explains, is that women leave Russia to work in the entertainment industry, as dancers or waitresses — or on a tourist visa, intending to illegally provide sex services — and then find themselves dependent on their employer, who refuses to pay them until they have worked off travel and visa costs.
There are currently 600 firms licensed by Russia’s Federal Migration Service to find employment abroad for Russians; women go through these firms to obtain employment as au pairs, entertainment industry employees, caretakers, babysitters, etc. The women leave for a wide range of countries, Tilyukanova explained — primarily, the south of Europe (Turkey, Greece), or any country with a large Russian community, such as Germany, Israel, or the U.S.
Through the Inostranets weekly, a paper geared toward Russians looking to find employment abroad, the institute polled women who already had job offers and were preparing to leave Russia. The poll ran twice, revealing the same result — 25% of young women (5% of all women) leaving Russia were prepared to become sex workers if it earned more money. Unfortunately, since prostitution is illegal for migrants even in countries where it’s legalized, that means involvement with the underworld. Once they are absorbed into the shady illegal sex trade network, there’s a good chance they’ll find themselves in conditions they hadn’t bargained for. They are threatened, held responsible for travel costs, and in general are kept ignorant about their legal options.
The workgroup used its findings to prepare a bill that has not yet been passed by the Duma, although portions of it have been passed, such as the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code. For the first time, human trafficking was defined as a crime and punishment was stipulated. Prior to these amendments, the Criminal Code only listed the trafficking of minors as a crime. Some experts, however, believe that the law about minors should have remained a law in its own right, rather than becoming a clause in the new law, because it may be harder to prove exploitation of children under the new law.
International experts were involved in the writing of the bill, which has been deemed by the international community as one of the most progressive bills intended to fight human trafficking, Tilyukanova says. Other parts of the bill establish protection for the victims of human trafficking and call for the dissemination of information about the criminal practice. Currently, NGOs in Russia offer some help to victims and also to women who are seeking employment abroad and want to ensure their safety.
The U.S. Department of State subdivides all countries into three tiers, based on their commitment to combat human trafficking; after the workgroup culminated its efforts in the writing of the bill, Russia was moved from the lowest Tier 3 to Tier 2.
The Duma has not yet scheduled a hearing for the rest of the bill, but Tilyukanova is hopeful — at least the issue has finally been addressed by the government. The idea to curb human trafficking in and out of Russia has long been suggested to the Russian government, but this year steps are finally being taken to protect all those who suffer.

Relevant Links:

Young Russian women article on Way to Russia.