Frequently Asked Questions
Human Trafficking
157 Helpline
Human Trafficking
| What is human trafficking? | |
Human trafficking is illegal. It is a violation of numerous international laws and human rights protocols and is conducted by criminals, who are often members of well-organized crime networks. The traffickers transport victims within their own countries and, most often, across international borders. The victims are then stripped of their basic freedoms, sold as chattel, and forced to work as sex slaves or other laborers. The victims are routinely raped, tortured and brutalized.
| What is the difference between prostitution and human trafficking? | |
The victims of human trafficking -- girls, women, men and boys -- are enslaved. Often under threat of death, and without their consent, they are forced to provide sex to men for pay. The payment goes directly to the owners, and the victim receives nothing. Traffickers often convince women to go abroad and work as prostitutes, seemingly of their own free will, but then enslave and brutalize them. In contrast, prostitution is when a woman sells her body as a commodity and pockets the profits. Prostitutes are not slaves and are not controlled by the traffickers.
| Are the victims of human trafficking criminals? | |
No. They are tricked into going abroad. They are told lies. They are often cheated out of their money. Because they are forced into sexual labor and other work, they are the victims, not the criminals.
| Who is at risk? | |
The prime risk group is women and girls between the ages of 16 and 24. These girls and women often lack education and have no prospect for gainful employment. They often live in desperately poor villages, mostly in the former Soviet Union, with no running water, indoor plumbing and virtually no hope for a better future. Many have at least two children and are often looking for work to support their family. They are easy targets for the traffickers who lure them abroad with promises of jobs and the dream of a better life. Using force, fraud and corruption, coercion, traffickers prey on the powerless, the desperate and the vulnerable.
| What happens to the girls and women who are the victims of human trafficking? | |
We know from those who have returned that the traffickers use every means of intimidation to compel their victims’ obedience. The criminals force their victims into submission through the cruelest and most inhumane forms of intimidation and humiliation. These include rape, torture, death threats, beatings, imprisonment and starvation. Pregnant women are routinely forced to have sex, and their babies murdered after birth. Trafficked persons are sold multiple times as modern day slaves. The sales prices range from $200-$20,000 and up.
| What are the source countries? | |
The majority of the girls and women trafficked to Turkey are from the former Soviet bloc. They come from poor countries in Eastern Europe where the average salary is less than $1 a day and gripping poverty forces them to look for a way out. Turkey is portrayed by the traffickers as a land of wealth and promise. Women and girls from Moldova, Ukraine and Russia and elsewhere are lured by their traffickers with the prospect of the better life Turkey has to offer.
| How are the victims recruited? | |
The traffickers are well-organized, often in large international and mafia criminal organizations. They can recruit through newspaper ads offering opportunity and work abroad and through a network of local recruiters who lie and cheat to catch the victims. The recruiters can also be friends or community members the victims have come to know and trust. They are often women who easily build trust with their desperate countrywomen. Each criminal network can employ up to 80 people (or more), who deal with everything from housing to travel arrangements. They often include phony employment, travel and modeling agencies.
| How hard is it for a victim to escape? | |
Usually the girls and young women are discovered by police during raids on private apartments, houses and other locations where the victims are forced to work. In a handful of cases, the trafficked individuals escape on their own, but this is rare because they are imprisoned and closely guarded. They are told that if they escape they will be killed, their families murdered and, if they go to the local police, they will be deported back to their host country under a cloud of shame. Those who do escape have been so brutalized that they experience life-long psychological trauma, and, according to psychologists, only 30 percent fully recover to live a normal life.
| How can I spot a trafficker and how can I help? | |
You can help by working with law enforcement to identify and stop the traffickers. Recognize some of the signs, and be particularly aware of men or women who offer forged passports and visas to work abroad. If you meet a girl or women you suspect of being trafficked, take care to watch and listen for the signs, such as physical signs of abuse and statements or suggestions that they’ve been forced to work against their will. If you suspect someone has been trafficked, call the police at 155 or gendarmerie at 156 or 157 helpline, anytime, anywhere, free of charge, and let them help.
157 Helpline
| What is the 157 Helpline? | |
The 157 helpline is operated 24 hours a day seven days a week. It can be reached by dialing 157 on any phone, including mobiles, from inside Turkey. The helpline was established to assist in the rescue of victims of trafficking in human beings. It also provides information on a non-emergency basis for individuals who may be at risk for trafficking. This includes information on visas and procedures for safe return home to the countries of stranded migrants.
| Who will operate the helpline? | |
The helpline is currently operated by the International Organization for Migration. IOM will operate the helpline through November 2005. Operations will then be transferred to a qualified Turkish non-governmental organization, to be selected though an open tender process.
| Why does Turkey need a helpline for trafficked individuals? | |
Turkey is a leading destination for trafficked individuals. In 2004, 266 trafficked individuals were identified in Turkey by law enforcement authorities. This number is considered a small percentage of the overall number of trafficked persons to Turkey. The establishment of a helpline is considered an important step towards the rescue and protection of these trafficking victims. Experts in the trafficking field have also long recognized that the establishment of a trafficking helpline is an essential part of a national and regional strategy to combat trafficking in human beings.
| How does the helpline actually work? | |
Operators are trained in both coordinating emergency rescue and assisting in cases of less immediate risk. After receiving a call, they make a threat and risk assessment. Key questions: Is the caller at immediate risk? Can she make her way to a safe location? In cases of an acute threat, operators are in contact with police to bring about rescue and intervention. The successful operation of the helpline depends on the strong cooperation of law enforcement and community representatives.
| What steps are you taking to publicize the helpline? | |
IOM, in close coordination, with the Turkish government, is conducting a multi-country promotion campaign in key nations in Eastern Europe, Turkey and the former Soviet countries. The promotion campaign includes television advertising in Turkey, Ukraine and Turkey, distribution of passport inserts in Turkey as well as other advertising. In the Ukraine, NGOs in Crimea and Odessa are distributing passport inserts at key sea ports and airports. This is the first multi-country of its kind.
