Human Trafficking in [Finland Street Children in [Finland] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Finland] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Republic of Finland [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Finland is a transit and destination country for women and
girls trafficked from Russia for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women
from China, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Thailand are
also trafficked to and through Finland to Nordic and Western European
countries for purposes of sexual exploitation. Finland is a destination
country for men and women trafficked from the People's Republic of China,
Vietnam, and India for purposes of forced labor; victims are exploited in the
construction industry, restaurants, and as domestic servants. In 2006, South
Asian men were trafficked through Finland to Western Europe for purposes of
forced labor.
- U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007 [full country
report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** The Finnish Parliament has
approved new legislation aimed at curbing human trafficking in the sex trade.
Under the new law, a client of a prostitute could face six months in prison
if police and magistrates can prove the clients knew the prostitute was
forced to sell her services. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Most
trafficking involved women and girls from Some persons were trafficked for
labor, and most of these cases involved persons coerced into restaurant work,
in construction, and as maids. They were often forced to work long hours for
low pay, and were often reluctant to approach authorities due to the cultural
gap and fear of deportation or confinement. The government and NGOs believed
Russian organized crime syndicates to be the principle traffickers of women
and girls into the country. Although traffickers led some of the women to
believe that they would be employed as domestic servants or waitresses, most
were aware that they would be prostitutes. Economic incentives for poor women
seemed to play a larger role in trafficking than physical coercion. Most
trafficking victims entered the country with valid visas obtained at Finnish
consulates abroad. The Schengen Treaty, which allows travelers already within
EU borders to travel to any other EU country without inspection, facilitated
the transit of trafficked persons from Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2005 [52] While welcoming that recent
amendments to the Penal Code introduced the crime of trafficking in Finnish
legislation, as well as the National Plan of Action Combating the Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children of 2000 and the National Plan of Action
against Trafficking in Human Beings of 2005, the Committee is concerned at
the information that persons, including children, continue to be trafficked
to and through the country. Police
suspect some Helsinki Thai massage parlours of procurement Based on a detailed investigation
into the capital’s Thai massage businesses, the Helsinki Police Department
published its own report on Tuesday, confirming that sex services are indeed
generally offered at all Thai massage parlours in the city. However, the Helsinki Police
Department did not find any evidence that would point to human trafficking or
professional operation. Hence there was no reason to launch any preliminary
investigations for the time being. Man
remanded on suspicion of aggravated human trafficking BORDER GUARD: VICTIM THREATENED
WITH VIOLENCE, AND PASSPORT TAKEN AWAY - The Finnish Guard suspects that at least two men with
an Indian background have forced another Indian-born man to work without pay
in Finland over a period of more than a year and a half. The two are also suspected of having
threatened the man with violence. Finland
grants residence permit to victim of human trafficking Finland's Directorate of
Immigration has granted a residence permit to a victim of human trafficking.
The purpose of the new type of residence permit is to help victims of
trafficking to disengage from the snares of traffickers, and to fight
trafficking more efficiently. Main
defendant unexpectedly admits to pimping in human trafficking trial CHARGES STEMMING FROM THE CASE - The group is suspected of
having transported 15 Estonian women to Helsinki and other parts of Southern
Finland for purposes of prostitution. One of them was a young mentally
disabled woman who was enticed to Finland with promises of love, and a job in
child care. Finnish
Border Guard holds leader of human trafficking ring Finland's Border Guard told the
Finnish News Agency (STT) on Wednesday it was investigating a large operation
involving the trafficking of Indians.
Lieutenant-Commander Petteri Partanen, the deputy chief of the Border
Guard's Helsinki border control section, said the leader of the ring was
being held. The situation is rare, for in past
human trafficking cases Finnish authorities have been able to bring to
justice mostly only rank-and-file members.
Lt Cdr Partanen said the trafficking of people from India to Finland
had grown to a huge scale in the summer, indicating the trafficking
organisation might have been testing Finland as a transit route. The Finnish Parliament has
approved new legislation aimed at curbing human trafficking in the sex trade.
Under the new law, a client of a prostitute could face six months in prison
if police and magistrates can prove the clients knew the prostitute was
forced to sell her services. Key
witness in human trafficking case goes missing It is obvious that Viilip has not
vanished on her own initiative, as she has had a habit of contacting her
family almost every day. Neither does she have a lot of money with her.
Moreover, she is reported not to have left the country - at least not using
her own name. The police have also
tried to trace her mobile phone usage - without success so far. Working
group proposes system for helping victims of human trafficking A working group established by the
Ministry of Labour proposes that a system be set up in Finland to help
victims of human trafficking. Under the
proposals made public on Wednesday, the refugee reception centres of Oulu and
Joutseno would coordinate the activities.
Police, border officials, or other authorities would refer suspected
victims to the system, and the victims themselves would also be able to seek
out the services. Human trafficking group had 1,000 customers in Finland
–police1 Finnish police believe that as
many as one thousand people availed themselves of services offered by an
organisation suspected of human trafficking. According to a police statement
Tuesday, the group is suspected of procuring involving 15 women and 80,000
euro profits. Russian
Officials Surprised At Reports Of Human Trafficking Fresh arrests at Vaalimaa border crossing - "The problem for the officials is that the illegal border crossings take place legally." He says that there are always people who will help in the acquisition of genuine travel documents. It is only after the borders are crossed that the activities become illegal. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study U.S.
says human trafficking still a problem Women and children from Latvia are
trafficked for sexual exploitation to Finland,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, the
report said. Sexual
Exploitation Of Children Rises In Gambia Last year as many as 100,000
tourists, mainly from Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Germany, visited Gambia. Giving
details of the exploitation of girls from anecdotal evidence, the report says
sex tourism prostitution has engendered consumerism, with girls saying that
being a sex worker "means having access to lots of cash to buy jeans,
shoes, to go to beauty salons for hair and nail care to show off at beach
parties and nightclubs." The
child prostitutes did not consider themselves as children and did not see why
they would require special protection because of their age, they were quoted. Ensuring
Human Rights Protection in Countries of Destination: Breaking the Cycle of
Trafficking [PDF] The conference took place in
Helsinki on 23-24 September 2004 and focused on the following issues: • Protecting the human rights of
trafficked persons in countries of destination, with particular attention paid to identification; access
to medical, psychological, and legal assistance; reflection delays; and residence permits; • National and regional initiatives
to improve victim protection in countries of destination; • Implementation of National
Referral Mechanisms, i.e. models for co-operation between law enforcement and civil society; and • Challenges and opportunities
regarding European and global instruments to strengthen the rights of trafficked persons. U.S. report
on human trafficking shows Finland in a poor light The report describes Finland as
"a destination and transit country for women and girls trafficked by
organized crime syndicates into sexual exploitation, including into enclosed
prostitution camps in the northern part of the country". Finland is the only EU country to
be placed in the second category, although Greece has handled things in even
more slovenly fashion and is in Tier 3. Finnish man
faces charges of human trafficking in Latvia A Finnish man in his 40s is
suspected of human trafficking and pimping in Latvia. The man is believed to have organised a
circle of dozens of women from Latvia, Estonia, and Russia to work as prostitutes in several large
Finnish cities. He was taken into custody in Latvia at the beginning of
February. Human trafficking is not often
encountered in the Nordic countries and for the time being the Finnish penal
code has no reference to this issue. However, this fault will be corrected
soon. The charges against the man will
be heard shortly and if found guilty he will be sentenced under Latvian law.
Any sentence is expected to be rather heavy - particularly as it is suspected
that some kind of pressure was used and an international criminal
organization was involved, and because one of the women was a minor aged 17. 1.
The linked article has been taken down, moved or restricted All material used herein
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Human Trafficking in [Finland Street Children in [Finland] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Finland] [other countries]