Criminal Prosecution of Female Sex Trafficking Victims in Finland : Examining Expert Knowledge on the Victim-Perpetrator Overlap

Abstract

In this thesis, I examine expert knowledge on the criminal prosecution of female sex trafficking victims in Finland. The inherent agency and the active role of female victims of human trafficking have not been broadly acknowledged and a research gap exists especially in the context of the victims committing criminal acts. The research aim of this thesis is to reveal how and what types of knowledge Finnish authorities use to approach the victim-perpetrator overlap in the context of female victims of trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation in Finland. The research is aimed implicitly to investigate expert knowledge and thus data was collected through semi-structured thematic interviews with three relevant actors who work in the field of anti-trafficking in Finland in the police, the criminal sanctions agency, and the Finnish National Assistance Systems for Victims of Human Trafficking. The data is analyzed using the problem-centred expert interview method, which proved useful for determining the type and quality of expert knowledge on the research topic. The results of this study indicate that even though the experts interviewed for this study personified model authority figures able to self-educate themselves by practical experience, generally Finnish police and criminal sanctions agency have alarmingly little – or worryingly concentrated – knowledge on how to identify and assist unidentified trafficking victims who are facing criminal charges. According to the data, all four types of offences (lacking identity documents, committing criminal offences, attempting to free herself from traffickers, becoming a trafficker) that the previous literature has listed as offences typically performed by female victim-perpetrators of sex trafficking, occur in Finland in small quantities. Even though the international consensus is that trafficking victims ought not to be prosecuted for their crimes, my research indicates that thus far, the principle of non-punishment has not been tested in Finland in cases relating to trafficking and henceforth its effectiveness remains unknown. Finally, the data indicate that according to the experts, Finland is participating in the revictimization of the victim-perpetrators of trafficking for sexual exploitation by deporting them to their countries of origin.