Live goods - for export

From investigative materials it became clear that, by posing as a businesswoman, the home-grown Mom Roza in 2017 attracted to sexual slavery Narmina Gasymova, sisters Adel and Hatira Zeynalovs, Arzu Mammadova and Gulnara Gasymova (the names of the victims were changed for ethical reasons) and forced them to be engaged in prostitution in the health center "Rainbow" in the town of Igdir.

The pimp herself denies her guilt, arguing that these women voluntarily provided sex services to men. But her victims during the court session told how Aynur took documents from them, intimidated and blackmailed them. As it turned out, all women fraudulently, allegedly for work in the store, servants in a rich house, a dishwasher in a restaurant, were invited to Turkey. Already on the spot, they learned about the specifics of their work.

The trial continues.

The statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan shows that the curve of crimes related to human trafficking is confidently creeping up. According to the agency, in 2015, 108 facts of trafficking were found in the country, which is by 22% more than in 2014. In 2016, there were 141 such facts, and last year 142. Over the past 12 years, 486 persons were brought to criminal responsibility in Azerbaijan on trafficking charges, 761 victims were found and helped to reintegrate them into society.

Every year the Anti-Trafficking Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports to the Milli Majlis, reporting on successes in the fight against this criminal business. However, despite the statements of our officials about the effectiveness of the fight against trafficking, the US State Department still classifies Azerbaijan as a risk group. In the report "Trafficking in persons report - 2017" our country has been in the second category of states for many years. This means that the country does not meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. In the usual language, the Azerbaijani authorities do not provide basic standards for identification and consultation mechanisms for victims of forced labor and sex trafficking, and do not provide adequate funding for NGOs offering services for the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of human trafficking.

"Women from Azerbaijan become victims of sex trafficking both in the country itself, and in Turkey, Russia and the UAE. Men from Azerbaijan are subjected to forced labor in Turkey, Pakistan, the UAE and at home. Azerbaijan is a destination country for victims of sex and labor trafficking from Ukraine, and in previous years from China, Uzbekistan," the US Department of State says. However, does official statistics reflect the real situation in this area?

"The official data is far from reality. In fact, Azerbaijani women are attracted to prostitution in the eastern countries much more. This is evidenced by the fact that annually only in the brothels of the UAE, about 4-5 thousand women are identified, of which approximately 30% are immigrants from Azerbaijan. And how many are there in Turkey, India? " asked Eldar Zeynalov, the head of the Human Rights Center.

According to the expert, many women do not turn to law enforcement agencies for returning to their homeland, fearing publicity and condemnation of others, although they need psychological and medical rehabilitation. The reasons for the flourishing of criminal business lie on the surface: poverty, unemployment, economic instability, weak social protection of the population of the republic, low level of awareness of its residents about job opportunities abroad.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), low-income and unemployed women are most often victims of trafficking. Many people who seek work outside their own country are often deceived by the mafia of slavers.

Mehriban Zeynalova, the head of the NGO Clean World, in order to prevent trafficking in Azerbaijan, it is necessary to launch an educational campaign in schools and universities, and to increase social advertising so that more young people be aware of the consequences of an ill-considered step to go abroad for work or to create a family. Traffickers use various methods of recruitment depending on the circumstances of life. Maximum awareness will help reduce the risk of becoming a victim of trafficking. Another important area of ​​prevention should be the opening new jobs, support of people for opening a small business, access to education and medical services.