Human Trafficking in Finland
9-6 LATOMAA.DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 10/15/2014 11:48 PM HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN FINLAND SARI LATOMAA* Introduction It ought to concern every person, because it is a debasement of our common humanity. It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organized crime. I’m talking about the injus- tice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name—modern slavery. – President Barack Obama Human trafficking is one of the largest criminal industries in the world. Human trafficking, also referred to as modern-day slavery, ruthlessly intervenes with a person’s freedom and human dignity. It is a widespread phenomenon all over the world and no country is completely immune to it. Countries can act as places of source, trans- it or destination. The perpetrators take control of the victims and take away their freedom for the purpose of exploitation, prostitution and other sexual abuse, forced labor or trade in bodily organs. Victims have no control over their work, living conditions or movement, and cannot choose whether they work or not.1 This article focuses on trafficking in human beings in Finland using policy-oriented jurisprudence as guidance. To be able to under- stand the phenomenon of human trafficking in Finland, we will first * LL.M. in Intercultural Human Rights, magna cum laude, 2014, St. Thomas Uni- versity School of Law, Miami Gardens, Florida; B.B.A., Law and Administration, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Oulu, Finland.
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