Migration,Agency,and the Sex Industry: Practitioners’ Perspectives on Foreign Sex Workers in Turkey

The Geopolitical and Sociocultural Context of Turkey as a Destination Country

The interviews confirmed that foreign women who become sex workers find Turkey an attractive destination for several practical reasons. Turkey’s lenient visa policy is a key element in shaping the decision to migrate. An NGO staffer explained,

Turkey’s lenient visa policy is one of the reasons migrant female populations of FSU countries prefer Turkey. For example, you cannot find voluntary or involuntary sex workers from Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania in the Turkish sex market because after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they entered the European Union and were able to move freely throughout Europe. The migrant sex workers from these countries [Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania] mostly prefer working in the sex markets of Baltic and other Western European countries. Visas are not required.

A police official who compared Turkey visa policy with other countries observed,

The U.S. and the European Union countries have stringent visa policies targeting most of the FSU countries because they consider them risky. On the other hand, Turkey has visa-free mutual agreements with FSU countries or gives their citizens’ entry visa at the border gate. In my view, this is the main problem of sex trafficking in Turkey.

Another police official commented that the lenient visa policy, which was intended to facilitate tourism and economic relations between Turkey and the source countries, has indeed facilitated sex trafficking:

After the agreement on visa-free travel was signed between Turkey and the Turkic Republics, there was a significant increase in the number of women entering Turkey from these countries. The number of these women in the sex industry also increased.

NGO staff confirmed that “the traffickers prefer easily entered destination countries like Turkey, and voluntary sex workers also prefer migrating to Turkey.”

Geographical proximity was another major factor that played a role in the growth of Turkey’s sex industry. As a transit and destination country, Turkey bridges the route between the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well as shares a border with the European Union. Consequently, as one police official noted, its geographical location between the poorer East and the richer West affects its role in trafficking, providing traffickers from various countries the opportunity to bring, harbor, and transport “prey” of all types:

Turkey is suffering not only from sex trafficking, but also human smuggling. For example, in 2007 and 2008, more than 60,000 people were smuggled into Turkey from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Iraq, Burma, and Somali.

The academic expert commented on the travel options that Turkey’s geographical proximity to source countries offers: “Turkey’s geographical location provides various and inexpensive travel options. Women from FSU come to Turkey via sea, air, and land.” A police official explained, “Women from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Bulgaria prefer traveling by bus because it is inexpensive and available for travel every day.” An NGO staffer noted the importance of travel cost for both the trafficked and voluntary sex workers: “Most of the women say that in comparison to other European countries, it is very inexpensive to travel to Turkey. For example, the boat fare from Odessa to Istanbul is only US$50.” A police official added, “Some women start making money while travelling to Turkey . . . There is a disco on the boat, so the women can begin working and networking before reaching Turkey.”

The combination of lenient visa policy and low travel costs makes Turkey an attractive destination for voluntary sex workers who can easily and inexpensively receive visas or renew them. As one police official observed, “Some of these women use the bus to go renew their visa. They leave the country and then return to Turkey after changing the date.”

The decision to migrate to a country also depends on the destination’s economic conditions and sex market regulations. An International Organization for Migration (IOM) representative compared Turkey with European countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, which allow foreign women to work in their legal sex markets:

The number of the sex workers who come from Bulgaria and Romania has decreased remarkably since their countries became members of the EU. They prefer the EU instead of Turkey because travel is borderless and economic conditions there are good and sex work is legal.

Turkey’s elaborate urban entertainment sector is another factor making the country an attractive sex work destination. The prosecutor observed, “In addition to Turkey’s visa policy, the voluntary sex workers and organized crime members prefer Turkey due to its night life.”

An important reason for Turkey being a preferred destination for many foreign sex workers is its language and culture. Women from the Turkic republics favor Turkey because its language, religion, and culture are similar to their own. Language skills allow easy communication with customers and other relevant parties, and better adaptation to the sex market. An NGO staffer noted,

The languages of Azerbaijan, Gagavuz Turks in Moldova, some people in the Abkhazia region of Georgia, in Dagestan, some parts of the Russian Federation, and Turks in Bulgaria are very similar. Also women from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan, andTajikistan, can easily learn Turkish due to the similarity of their languages.

Many migrant sex workers who worked in other countries and could compare Turkey with other destinations preferred working with Turkish clients. A police official elaborated,

. . . One of the Romanian women had worked in Turkey before Romania entered the European Union. Later, she went to Spain to work in its sex industry, but a short time afterward, she returned to Turkey. When I asked her why she returned, she explained “when Spanish customers pay, they just want to be serviced. On the other hand, when Turkish customers pay, they are kinder, sometimes buying gifts, flowers, or taking us out for dinner.”

In some cases, Turkish clients have proactively attempted to help the foreign women or improve their welfare. An NGO staff from the IOM explained,

Turkish men are more sensitive to the migrant sex worker. For example, unlike European countries, there are 157 helplines in Turkey. Customers usually call these helplines to inform the police of the women so that they can be rescued in Turkey.

The Demand Factor and Foreign Sex Workers

The practitioners observed that the demand for sex services affects the number of and types of foreign sex workers in the market. Interviewees noted that men of all social strata turn to the sex industry, and they do so according to their means. A police official explained,

A construction worker makes money from hard work, but easily, in one night, spends his money at the bar and hotel with migrant prostitutes. On the other hand, some of the upper-class males have bachelor’s flats and keep a woman there, for several months, just for them. They pay a monthly wage to these women, such as US$3,000 or US$4,000 for each month.

Foreign sex workers, unlike their Turkish counterparts, are subject to penalties and deportation if they are caught doing sex work; however, there are no penalties for the customers of foreign workers. Furthermore, because the legal sex market is not sufficiently large to meet the demand, the illegal sex industry has continuously expanded. One NGO staff member explained, “There are less than 150 registered sex workers among 14 million people in Istanbul. In the state brothels, there are not enough registered sex workers to satisfy the demand.” Another NGO staff member noted,

One of the biggest problems in this sector is that the number of current licensed sex workers is very small and not sufficient to fill the demand of the sex market. Therefore, new women are brought in continually, and this practice goes on endlessly.

The complex registration restrictions and limits on numbers of legal prostitutes affect the illegal sex market, as one NGO staff member explained:

Currently it is difficult for Turkish women to register to work in the legal state brothels. Those who have registered in the past are getting older, but the clientele prefers young women. As the number of legal registered sex workers decreases, the number of illegal migrant sex workers increases.

Interviewees reported that the demand for foreign women, particularly from the FSU countries, increased following the political and economic changes in the region. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, sex workers from FSU countries have become very popular in Turkey. An NGO staff member noted, “Turkish men prefer the ‘Natasha’—women who are Russian, Ukrainian, Moldavian and Belarusian.” A police officer elaborated,

When the traffickers bring a group of involuntary sex workers, the panderers [local traffickers who employ the sex workers] within the network of the traffickers select the women. The women’s price depends on their age and beauty, which are associated with the demand. Therefore, new faces will continue to be part of the entertainment industry.

Traffickers, however, target women from other source countries as well. These women are unaware of the destination country to which they are trafficked or the risks involved in being a sex worker. An NGO staff member noted,

The women from the Turkic Republics have not been told that they are going to Turkey. They tell their families they are going to Moscow to work because, in these countries, if a woman goes to Turkey, people know what kind of work they will be doing there.

In Turkey, like the rest of the international labor market, the demand for inexpensive, flexible, and low skill-level service jobs makes migrant women the preferred employees, as they often accept lower wages and agree to less desirable working conditions. But when these women arrive in Turkey, they often seek better paying jobs. An NGO member from the Women Solidarity Organization explained,

In Turkey, there is a demand for nannies and nurses because it is difficult to find Turkish women who are willing to work nights or 24/7. Foreign women are recruited due to their low wages and higher education. They are paid US$400 or US$500 for a month for this work. But some of them decide to engage in sex work because they can make at least five times more working in the sex industry.

The Turkish sex industry, particularly the illegal sex market, caters mostly to a domestic clientele. A police official explained, “During police operations, officers find that nearly all of the customers in hotels, night clubs, and private venues were persons of Turkish origin. Few tourists are involved. Turkey is not a sex tourism country.” This market attracts customers from different parts of the country who know the entertainment sector and find their way to the red-light districts. A police official observed,

Turkish customers from small cities go to the bigger cities for the sex market. For example, the people from different parts of Turkey come to Istanbul, especially to the Aksaray, Silivri, and Kumburgaz districts, for entertainment. Another example can be seen in Antalya. In front of the hotels in the Manavgat district, you can find the cars that are registered in Konya, a city that is regarded as being conservative [without an extensive sex market].

The demand supports a network of roles and businesses in the entertainment sector, as one police officer explained:

Some hotel owners are part of organized groups. Most hotels include a disco. When a migrant sex worker finds the customer in a disco, she uses a room of the hotel. After intercourse, she returns to the disco for a second customer. Some of the hotel owners resell the same room more than one time, deletes the register, and do not pay tax. Everybody receives mutual benefits.

The Socioeconomic Context of Foreign Sex Workers in Turkey

The practitioners agreed that most foreign women who come to work in the Turkish sex industry do it for economic reasons. Lack of employment opportunities for women in FSU countries, including the substantial gap between men’s and women’s wages, compel women from these countries to migrate and seek work opportunities elsewhere. An international NGO staffer explained,

It is clear that economic difficulties of FSU countries are the main factor influencing women to migrate. For example, you cannot find women from prosperous countries such as Germany, France or England in the Turkish sex market.

A local NGO staff member added, “Females have higher rates of poverty and unemployment than males [in FSU countries].” Another NGO staffer elaborated,

In the source countries, the potential jobs and opportunities are limited. It is often necessary to pay a bribe to get a job, and even when they do get a job, the salary is not enough to sustain their lives. Therefore, women are willing to work anywhere.

One police official described the lure of high incomes in the Turkish sex marker as follows:

Sex workers see Turkey as a potential lucrative marketplace, since they want to earn a lot of money. In 2010, sex workers could earn between US$2,000 and US$4,000 a month, which would provide an entire year’s income, or more, in their home country.

An NGO staff member who worked with trafficked women explained,

Most of the victims state that their main reason for coming to Turkey is to escape the poverty and high unemployment rates in their countries. The monthly income in most of the FSU countries is between US$30.00 and US$100.00. Working in the Turkish sex market yields an average of US$100.00 per customer. This money would go a long way to support their families.

Stories about the high earning potential in Turkey’s sex industry travel fast in source countries. These “success stories” are contagious, as one NGO staff member, who interviewed numerous victims in a shelter, commented:

It is like a Cinderella story. Women who succeed in making money in the Turkish illegal sex market bring their profits and stories home with them. This news spreads in the community and encourages other women to follow their example.

The disparate earning potential is also an incentive for sex workers in FSU countries to migrate. A researcher described the earning calculations of the “Natashas”—“the way Turks refer to migrant Slavic sex workers with blond hair and blue eyes from FSU countries”—as follows:

Thirty percent of the victims in Turkey had been sex workers in their home countries. They want to make more money in a short time. In fact, both types of workers would like to come to Turkey for money-oriented purposes.

The opportunity for “easy money” often motivated women to ignore the many risks that such work entails. This is particularly the case with those who have not had prior experience in the sex industry, making them likely to become trafficking victims. An NGO staff commented, “During interviews with the trafficked women, most of them say that everybody goes to Turkey and makes easy money there. Nobody is concerned about how they earn it.” Compared with voluntary workers, a senior police official explained, women who are trafficked are not aware of the work that awaits them in Turkey and are easily deceived about its nature. The trafficked victims have no means to travel except through traffickers, and no way to validate the nature of the employment offers they receive. This police official continued, “As a matter of fact, most of the trafficked women had been misled about the work situations, and were pushed into sex work instead of the originally promised legitimate jobs, such as nannies, waitresses, or nurses.”

Organized criminal groups aware of the demand gap bring foreign women to work in the entertainment sector. An NGO staff member explained, “The low risks and huge monetary benefits associated with trafficking make it much more attractive than other crimes. And the increasing demand for young and beautiful women increases the numbers of victims of sex trafficking.” The lucrative sex work also lures those working in services that cater to the sex industry to enter this market. A senior police official from an antiprostitution unit observed,

Besides the increasing demand for young women, some of the taxi drivers or waitresses in the entertainment sector decide to change jobs and become panderers in order to make more money, because they see some people in the sex market making a huge amount of money. This also leads to an increase in the size of the sex market.

The financial benefits that cause the sex market to expand were summarized by an NGO staff member as follows:

The marketing of sex is an illicit nonregistered trade, conducted on a cash-only basis, that does not pay any taxes to the Turkish government, and the revenues that it generates are huge.

Working Arrangements in the Sex Market and Related Hardships

The practitioners reported that trafficked and voluntary sex workers differ in their expectations regarding work conditions. The voluntary sex workers often work with an intermediary who finds them work through his or her customers or network. An NGO staff member noted, “Some of the voluntary workers have a mutual agreement concerning their working conditions with middlemen; their panderers recruit and provide them with customers in hotels or private apartments.”

Women who have language skills and experience in the local sex market can choose their customers and work settings. An NGO member explained,

Many of voluntary workers work individually at discos, bars, or taverns. Those who have a sufficient customer network in the sex market arrange their meetings via telephone. Furthermore, some use their network connections to refer customers to each other.

Technology provides important advantages to voluntary workers who can use cell phones instead of finding potential customers on the street or in public places. Cell phones provide them with independence, privacy, and anonymity. Furthermore, they decrease the potential for deportation. A police official noted,

Most of the voluntary workers obtain work via telephones and do not accept customers without references; if they do not know the customer or the person who referred him, they do not respond to the call. This tactic reduces the risk of being arrested by the police.

In contrast, trafficked workers are forced into performing sex work and are subject to threats and violence. They also differ in their work venues, and most importantly, the amount of control they have over their schedules, money, and movement. A police official explained,

Trafficked women are likely to be confined in closed quarters and their passports taken away when rescued by the police. Also, there is usually a bodyguard at their place of work. They have limited space and are mostly forced to work in private settings.

Another police official added, “Women who work in hotels, bars, or discos work voluntarily,but trafficked workers are forced to sex work in private places.” The two groups also differ in the amount of freedom they have to attend to their everyday needs. A senior police official, who participated in most of the sex trafficking operations in Istanbul, explained,

Trafficked women do not have the opportunity to go to a hairdresser because the panderers do not allow them to go out. In contrast, voluntary workers pay a lot of attention to their appearance before going to a customer because they have to charm the customers.

Traffickers use various threats to gain their victims’ compliance. One NGO staff member relayed, “Traffickers threatened to tell the families of women from the Turkic Republics exactly the type of work they were doing. Many of them have strong patriarchal family structures, keen moral sensibility, and a strong sense of family honor.” This is an effective control measure because work in the sex market is shameful, not only for the involved women but also for their kin.

The traffickers also create obstacles that hinder victims’ ability to escape. A police official observed, “The women were forced to overstay their legal time limits in Turkey because the traffickers and panderers did not allow them to renew their visas. In addition, the traffickers and panderers make them frightened of the police and deportation.”

Some traffickers use drugs to overcome women’s reluctance to engage in sex work or comply with the customers’ demands. An NGO staff member explained, “The women were forced to use drugs without their consent . . . Drug addiction makes them dependent and more willing to cooperate with the traffickers and panderers.”

Trafficked sex workers also suffer from various health-related problems more often than voluntary sex workers. They are less able to practice safe sex, making them vulnerable to STDs. In contrast, voluntary workers use condoms. The physician elaborated on the health implications of voluntary compared with coerced sex work:

Trafficked women carry at least 5 times higher sexually transmitted diseases risk than voluntary ones. Also, the unexpected pregnancy rate is high among trafficked women, who have no choice for protection. Indeed, one of the slogans for public awareness campaigns is really meaningful: “You pay for a night. She pays with her life” as I remember.

The health-related implications of coerced sex work were described by a police officer:

The trafficked women are forced to have sex twenty five days a month, even thirty days including during menstruation period. They are forced to serve four to thirteen customers a day. They have no time even to take a shower. Also, they do not have suitable health care opportunities, and are forced to have unsafe sex. They are therefore at high risk for being infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

In addition, trafficked women also experience mental health problems. An NGO staff member, who has dealt with trafficked women at shelters, commented on the deep mental imprint of being coerced to work in the sex industry:

After rescue or escape, these women have both physical and psychological symptoms. They recover from the physical effects in time but the psychological effects take much longer time.

Trafficked women also have problems adapting to “normal” daily life once they have been rescued. The long-term implications of forced sex work were described by the physician as follows: “Psychological and emotional health problems of trafficked sex workers can result in guilt feelings, depression, substance use, and eating disorders . . .”

The Changing Profiles of Foreign Sex Workers in Turkey

Interviewees agreed that foreign women coming to work in Turkey typically exhibit certain characteristics. Police officials observed that the trafficked women are young (between 18 and 25 years), from rural areas, have a low educational level (less than high school), and little life and work experience. These attributes, combined with poverty and willingness to migrate to find work, increase their risk of victimization. An NGO staff member noted, “Most of the trafficked women from Moldova do not come from the capital city or other large cities; they come from rural areas . . . and this is true of trafficked women from other FSU countries.” NGO staff members of different organizations agreed on these commonalities among trafficked women: “Most of them have low work qualifications or are semi-skilled laborers who are looking for legitimate unskilled jobs, such as babysitters, cooks, sales personnel, and waitresses.” They leave their countries in search of employment, being unaware of the risks involved. In the words of the interviewed researcher, “These women would seriously consider or accept any basic job that is offered to them. They do not check the credibility of these offers. Therefore, they become a suitable target for traffickers.” One police official explained,

. . . The traffickers are looking for women who have fewer life experiences, and need a job or money. The victims have no idea about the world and have not been in Turkey before. They can be easily misled.

According to the interviewees, in the post-Soviet period, many women in FSU countries became the breadwinners and were expected to support their families: “One-third of the trafficked women in Turkey have a child. Many of them were married at an early age and got divorced. They bear the full responsibility of supporting and caring for the children.” Victims from other countries shared the same predicament, as one NGO staff member noted: “The victims from Turkic Republics are mostly married or divorced, have children, and are older than women from Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia.” Yet it was life experience, including in the sex market, more than age per se, that differentiated the trafficked women and those who work voluntarily in the market.

The practitioners observed that in contrast to most trafficked women, voluntary sex workers are typically older, have attained higher education levels, have more life experience, and are more likely to recognize the possible risks of sex trafficking. Some have gained experience by first being trafficked, and their familiarity with the market helps them to better navigate it. These women have therefore more control over their work situation and income. Even when they continue to work with traffickers, they are able to negotiate their work conditions. As one police officer explained,

Most of the voluntary workers were successful in earning money in the sex market. . . . Some of them work with traffickers and panderers by mutual agreement, and when they face unexpected working conditions or fail to meet an agreement, they may become victims of sex trafficking.

Although the practitioners did not find differences between trafficked and voluntary workers in terms of the countries from which they originated, the numbers of women arriving from each country have fluctuated over the years. In the 2000s, trafficked women arrived mostly from Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. However, beginning in 2007, their numbers have continually decreased, while the number of women arriving from Turkic republics (as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan are referred to in Turkey) has increased. Many women from the Turkic republics obtain a tourist visa with the specific intention of working in the sex industry.

The easy access to communication and information technologies in the age of globalization and the digital sexual commoditization of women have likewise contributed the expansion of the market. An NGO staff member explained:

The sex market is expanding to the internet in Turkey. The Turkish community is globalized and has adopted the technology. Nearly half of 75 million people are internet users. Also, Turkey is the 4th largest country on Facebook with more than 22.5 million people. I can say [with confidence] that some of Turkish males find partners out of the country by using the internet.

At the same time, the increased awareness of the nature and risks of sex trafficking for women in source countries has led to the decrease of trafficked women. One of the experts from the IOM noted,

In Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia, there are more than 150 nongovernmental organizations which have campaigns where they provide activities and training to increase public awareness about women who are being trafficked for sexual exploitation. The potential victims of the traffickers are becoming more aware of sex trafficking as compared to before.

As discussed below, practitioners reported that the proportions of trafficked women in the Turkish market have substantially decreased due to changes in law, increased awareness, and women’s experience in the sex market. Some of them estimated the current number of trafficked women at less than 1% of the market.

Factors Affecting the Composition of the Sex Market in Turkey

The practitioners noted that the changes in the composition of the Turkish sex industry can be attributed to legal reforms and corresponding changes on the ground, both in Turkey and in the source countries. They observed that many of the women who were deported or otherwise left Turkey eventually return, because the potential of high earnings in the illegal sex market often induces them to return. Several practitioners observed,

Both trafficked and voluntary workers have become familiar with the Turkish sex market; they have learned the customer bases, and they have learned the business and how it is conducted. So, the experiences gained by trafficked sex workers while they were victimized help them to return and make money in the sex market.

Trafficked women who have been rescued and safely returned home encounter the same economic hardships and limited job options they faced before in their countries, incentivizing them to return to Turkey. With their experiences, even as victims, they may try to work on their own, although not always with success. Two NGOs staff members explained,

Although forced prostitution only occurs in a small proportion of the sex market, some of the formerly trafficked women try to return to Turkey with the intention to work independently in the voluntary part of the market and return to their home countries after making sufficient money, but they are not able to find work on their own and fall into a pimp’s hands again. There are many examples of true-life stories of repeated victimization of these women.

Deported trafficked women who are prohibited from legally entering the country find ways to return to work in Turkey. A police official, who interviewed numerous foreign sex workers, elaborated,

After being apprehended by the police, trafficked workers are deported to their home countries and prohibited from returning to Turkey for two years [administrative punishment for a foreigner performing a prostitution act in Turkey]. But they return to Turkey in illegal ways. These women can easily change their surnames using the courts, or pay money to corrupt officials, and change one of the letters in their surnames. Then they can obtain a new passport and visa under a false name. They then come back to Turkey; they can cross the border without any questions being asked.

Registration and border security systems of the countries involved facilitate the reentry of these trafficked women to Turkey, without being detected as violators. A police official commented,

. . . Previous experiences indicated that there are no social security numbers for personal identification in source countries. Additionally, the existing Turkish border data system cannot detect when the information in the passport was changed. Turkey should implement a fingerprint and iris detection system for border security. Voluntary sex workers have already been fingerprinted by the police.

Networking plays an important role in the growth of the Turkish sex industry. Trafficked and voluntary sex workers tend to choose a destination country that was previously tested by their relatives, acquaintances, or neighbors—trustworthy persons who can easily and successfully recruit potential workers. A police official noted that

there is an increasing network among women in both source and destination countries. The number of women in the sex market depends on this network and grows like a snowball. For example, if a woman in a source country has a friend in Spain or Turkey, she goes there and works with her.

Former sex workers become entrepreneurs, contacting other women in their home country and recruiting them for sex work. As one NGO staff noted, these experienced women, with their success stories, “have an easier time convincing young women and girls in their home country than the male traffickers who come with false job promises.” Both police officers and NGO staff of various organizations observed that

deported women do not always return alone, they may also bring new women, including relatives or friends, to work within their network. Being part of a network has a really significant impact on the decision of women in source countries to go abroad to find a job.

Becoming a recruiter is particularly appealing as sex workers get older. The practitioners observed that with advanced age, many women found it difficult to work in the industry. Foreign women with a sufficient number of customers and an established network in the sex market become madams or panderers. An NGO staff member observed, “When voluntary workers become older and start to lose their attractive physical appearance, they become a boss and work with the recruited young women.”

The Impact of Legal Reform and Law Enforcement Practices on the Turkish Sex Industry

The law enforcement professionals attributed the changes in the sex market—the decreasing number of trafficked women, and the increase in working women’s agency—to legal reform. Adding forced prostitution to the definition of human trafficking and harsher penalties for sexual exploitation (as well as for forced labor, human smuggling, and illegal organ transplantation) have sent a clear message about Turkey’s determination to combat these crimes. This message has affected traffickers’ behavior, as one police officer commented:

In one of the sex trafficking investigations, we pursued a small organized group which was transporting foreign women from Moldova and Ukraine. One of the transcribed wiretapping conversations between the panderer in Turkey and the trafficker in Ukraine indicated that the boss of this small criminal group was aware of the harsh punishment for this crime. He warned the trafficker “. . . I do not want the problematic girls.”

A senior police official elaborated on the newly instituted law enforcement investigation techniques:

Law enforcement officials investigate sex trafficking cases meticulously. In addition to the statements of the victim, police use legally defined victim criteria, such as being forced to perform sex work, signs of physical violence on the body, as well as wiretapping evidence and other technical equipment.

These investigative powers facilitated by the antitrafficking law increase the effectiveness of prosecutions of sex trafficking offenses, as described by the prosecutor:

. . . The new changes in the TPC allow law enforcement officials, upon presentation of specified court documents, to conduct a seizure of immovables and receivables [real estate and bank accounts, Article 128], wiretapping of communications [Article 135], pursuit by technical equipment [Article 140], and forced confiscation of all properties of an escaped suspect when the suspect resists showing up in court [Article 248].

Specialized training courses for those who combat trafficking, and continuous in-service updates in light of traffickers’ adaptation to the new laws, have also helped in combating sex trafficking. A police official explained,

We have tried to expand the definition of a victim for identification purposes because of the changing tactics of the traffickers and panderers. There are criteria to identify victims, those things that indicate a woman is being forced into sex work. For example, ill-fitting clothes may indicate that the clothes were bought by traffickers. Trafficked women constantly come and go places with, or under the control of, a companion, while voluntary sex workers can leave their lodgings by themselves.

The judge summarized the impact of the new approach as follows: “Law enforcement officials are now more successful in identifying the victim and detecting traffickers and panderers than before, because of the technical support and in-service training they receive.” He also noted the antitrafficking law deterrent effect: “The mandatory sentence for forced prostitution is clearly defined in Article 80 of the new Criminal Code. The conviction of traffickers and panderers for sex trafficking carries a mandatory sentence of eight to twelve years imprisonment.”

Law enforcement officials also claimed that the combined effect of new police investigative powers, better training in identifying victims of sex trafficking, and harsh penalties for traffickers has led to reductions in sex trafficking activities and decreasing numbers of trafficked women. The prosecutor asserted, “Law enforcement officials effectively combat sex trafficking. Huge numbers of traffickers have been arrested in Turkey . . .”

NGO staff members, on the contrary, raised doubts about the impact of the law and law enforcement practices on the number of trafficked women in the sex market, finding the decrease an artifact of police enforcement practices and resources. Two NGO staffers agreed that

the problem that law enforcement officials have is how to identify these women. The officials are losing interest in this phenomenon. They may be reluctant to identify a victim of forced prostitution because they will have to spend more time, need more resources, and have to provide more protection for this victim, than they do when investigating and prosecuting other crimes.

Several practitioners noted the difficulty of describing a typical sex trafficking victim. Victimization signs depend on the case, and change over time, as both traffickers and sex workers adapt their behavior to the new conditions on the ground. In the face of harsh penalties, traffickers have changed their tactics in handling the women, using “soft power” to compel them to work, instead of sheer force. A police official stated,

Now many traffickers are in jail and their lieutenants attempt to fill the gaps, but they have connections with the arrested traffickers and pimps. They are aware of the possible risk of this crime. As a consequence, they have changed their tactics.

An NGO staff member noted that the traffickers employ new tactics to handle trafficked women, allowing them to have more control over their lives:

They are no longer confiscating the women’s passports, they are now paying them for their work, and they have abandoned the use of physical violence. Instead they are now using psychological coercion methods on the women. They try to obtain a mutual agreement from the women rather than coercing them.

An NGO staff member, who had interviewed more than 300 victims, elaborated on the new tactics employed by the traffickers:

Some of the traffickers and panderers use experienced prostitutes who work for them to persuade and to motivate newcomers to cooperate with them. The prostitute explains her situation, “I was like you the first time I came here but now I make money. It is too hard to make money with honor. When you have your money and go back home, nobody will ask you how you made it.” The victim will get only one chance to believe her and agree to work for them. If they do not cooperate, they are beaten until they do.

Women who do not cooperate, protest their working conditions, or are reluctant to work are not kept in Turkey but are trafficked to other destinations in the criminal network. The judge commented, “Turkey is cracking down. The traffickers and panderers of trafficked women face harsh punishment of at least eight years prison time. Therefore, they send these uncooperative women to rich Arab countries.”