The Links between Women Trafficking and Organized Crime in the Post-Yugoslav Societies

Abstract

Human trafficking is the only part of transnational organized crime in which women are notably represented – as victims, perpetrators, and activists seeking to combat this crime. Woman trafficking is a large and rapidly growing component of transnational organized crime. The paper focuses on the main aspects and trends in women trafficking and expands upon the knowledge of activities carried out by human traffickers with a focus on links to organized crime. Particularly, the paper implies to answer the question, “What link exists between women trafficking and organized crime?” This paper aims to research women trafficking in post-Yugoslav societies and to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon that represents one of the security problems for this region. The violent Yugoslav disintegration and economic decline altered traditional social relations in ways that led to more exploitative trafficking exchanges of women and young girls and the proliferation of new networks of suppliers, distributors, and clients. More research in this field would allow a comprehensive understanding of the underground alliances and the different roles organised criminal groups can play in this context.

Keywords

• : human trafficking
• women trafficking
• organized crime
• violence
• postyugoslav societies