NCJ Number
207413
Journal
International Review of Victimology Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 49-71
Date Published
2004
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study examined the recruitment of women from the former Soviet Union by “marriage agencies” for the purpose of sex trafficking.
Abstract
Tens of thousands of women leave the former Soviet Union annually, seeking better lives abroad. These women are vulnerable to sexual exploitation through “marriage agencies” that recruit women from regions of high poverty and unemployment for men seeking companions or wives. The current study estimated the number of women recruited by “marriage agencies” from specific countries, regions, and oblasts of the 15 countries of the former Soviet Union. Information was collected from 500 Web-based sites for “marriage agencies” in the former Soviet Union and interviews were conducted with representatives from nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s) in Russia. Research interviews were also conducted in Ukraine, media stories were examined, and content analysis was performed on 219 Web-based sites. Estimates of recruitment numbers indicated that Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had the highest recruitment numbers, with 62,605, 31,837, and 12,683 women, respectively, recruited annually. The content analysis findings indicate that “marriage agencies” use sexist stereotypes of Russian women as submissive as a marketing strategy aimed at Western men. While some agencies only marketed women as potential marriage partners, others offered pornography and prostitution services, while still others seemed to be fully integrated into the sex industry. Moreover, the recruitment practices of the “marriage agencies” paralleled those of the human trafficking industry in terms of targeting economically and culturally vulnerable populations. Future research should focus on exploring the connections between the practices of the “marriage agencies” and the sexual exploitation of women. Maps, tables, notes, references