The underground sex industry in Turkey has increasingly become dependent on the foreign women, predominantly coming from the former Soviet Union. Some of these women became victims of sex trafficking. However, little is known about how they are recruited, transferred to, and exploited in Turkey. This article attempts to enlighten this process and makes use of police-recorded victim interviews (N = 430), as well as key personnel interviews (N = 18) as primary data. Various methods and tactics are found to be used in sex trafficking operations in Turkey. Most victims are recruited by persons known to them proposing attractive job possibilities, especially in the entertainment business. The majority of victims enter Turkey with legal documents and with various transportation means. Traffickers obtain girls and sell them to customers in public and private settings using methods to control the victims, such as debt bondage, violence, confinement, confiscation of travel documents, and threats. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

sex trafficking Methods of trafficking Turkey Human trafficking recruitment Exploitation

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