International trafficking for the sexual exploitation of women

an analysis of the Palermo Convention, it’s implementation in the international and brazilian contexts, and the obstacles faced in protecting women’s rights

Abstract

The human trafficking is a crime that occurs throughout the world. It is defined as one of the modalities of International Organized Crime and it mainly aims the exploitation of human beings for profit, with women as their primary victims. Considering that women are the most vulnerable group to this crime, this article research problem deals on how the national and international policies, especially the Palermo Convention, protects women's rights. Based on this problem, the hypotheses have emerged that women are the main victims of international human trafficking, and that international conflicts and humanitarian crises, bound with the obstacles faced in protecting women, are the boosters of this crime. The research was developed using a deductive method, through a bibliographical review, and is structured in three areas, which are: who are the main victims of international human trafficking, the aspects that increase the vulnerability of these victims to this crime and their main profiles, and what are the international policies aimed at combating international trafficking in persons. Therefore, it was perceived that women are the most affected by international human trafficking owing to their marginalization and vulnerability due to the inequalities they face both in the cultural, legal and social spheres, as well as in the economic and political sector in the societies in which they are inserted. Still, it was verified that the humanitarian and migratory crises favours the resurgence of international women trafficking for sexual exploitation, given the fragility in which they are forced to leave their countries where they already face several challenges that maintains them on the margins of society, searching for better opportunities in their destination countries. Finally, it was observed that, in order to have an effective fight against this crime, it is necessary to implement the proposed public policies, as well as to pay attention not only to the fight against the crime itself, but to the socioeconomic conditions and the structural problems that insert women in a scenario of vulnerability to trafficking.