Offer, objekt, förlorare, försäljare, aktör - en mångfacetterad bild av traffickerade kvinnor

Abstract

The intention of this article is to broaden the perception of women trafficked for sexual purposes. It is argued here that women can be both victims and actors; they may for example at the same time be main supporters of a household and passive objects in a merciless commerce. Victimhood is a social construction, it is stressed here. The image of a trafficking victim is a notion that the trafficked women is related to and ordered by. Those that fulfill the idea of trafficked women are more likely to get support and assistance. An empirical study of 9000 trafficked persons from seven different countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc is presented. An analysis of the respondents shows that there are differences among them, and intersectional relationships within the group of trafficked persons. Four sub-groups are identified, and various push and pull factors are linked to those sub-groups. Their specific needs and problems are discussed from different feminist theoretical perspectives, and applied on four case studies. The empirical study and its results may in-deepen the understanding of the variety amongst trafficked women and thus enable support and identification mechanisms to be evaluated to meet the needs of each subgroup under the umbrella of trafficked persons for sexual purposes.