A report on human trafficking worldwide suggests that Finland is both a destination and transit country for human traffickers. The US State Department report says that victims in Finland come from the Baltic states, Russia, Asia and West Africa.
The US State department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report says that Finland is a transit and destination country for human traffickers. The country is also a source of a limited number of trafficked persons.
In Finland victims are forced to work in the sex trade or to perform other types of forced labour, says the report. They can be found on construction sites, in restaurants, in agricultural businesses, in the metal industry, in transport and as cleaners or domestic help.
According to the State Department forced labourers in Finland come from Belarus, China, Estonia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam. Female sex trafficking victims in Finland are from the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries, Poland, Romania, Russia, south-east Asia, Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa.
The report also says that Finnish teenagers are at risk of being forced into prostitution. Despite the presence of forced labour and sex trafficking in Finland, the country is still regarded as a ‘Tier 1’ nation. That means the government is doing what the United States regards as the minimum necessary to try and fight the problem.
The report says that in 2013 Finland investigated more trafficking cases than before, and referred more victims for assistance than in previous years. Prosecutions were still relatively rare when considered alongside the number of victims, however.
A total of 27 trafficking investigations were initiated, compared to 23 the year before. There were 19 prosecutions, compared to eight in 2012. Only two people were convicted in 2013, compared to eight convictions in 2012.
Finland was also praised for the self-critical stances taken by the country’s national rapporteur on trafficking issues.
Source: YLE
http://yle.fi/uutiset/us_report_finland_a_destinationand_sourcefor_traffickers/7312669