From Soviet woman to global sex slave

The turbulence of transition from a centralized economy to a market economy together with new migration dynamics and the worsening status of women in the former Soviet Union contributed to the growth and spread of the trafficking of women and girls. Difficult economic and social conditions have led many women to accept risks associated with seeking economic opportunities abroad. This in turn placed a number of them in situations where they were vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers. These same economic conditions have tempted other individuals to engage in trafficking. This paper explores how economic changes, migration dynamics, and gender inequality affect trafficking of former Soviet women. In addition, it explains supply and demand factors as they drive human trafficking forces. Improving the economic and social conditions of women would shrink the vulnerable pool from which traffickers draw their victims; more effective punishment of traffickers would present a greater deterrent against this modern-day form of slavery