The "consent" issue in sex trafficking and evidence from Turkey

Coskun E.

Social Politics, vol.23, no.3, pp.437-458, 2016 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 23 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2016
  • Doi Number: 10.1093/sp/jxv018
  • Journal Name: Social Politics
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.437-458
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.In the light of feminist critiques, this paper examines how the United Nation's antitrafficking protocol is materialized in Turkey with a focus on the issue of "consent" in determining victims of sex trafficking. Contrary to the Protocol, non-payment and forcible transportation become important criteria and create barriers in identifying a "victim" of sex trafficking. It is argued that Turkey's interpretation of the UN Protocol is rather narrow and this is mostly a result of Turkey's existing migration and prostitution regimes. Based on qualitative fieldwork, this paper intends to advance the knowledge in the field of sex trafficking using Turkey as a case study.