Georgian women demand compensation

The group of 48 Georgian women who were recently denied entry into Finland under suspicion that they were being trafficked (see our article “Georgian men arrested on suspicion of trafficking”) have demanded compensation from the Finnish authorities for the way they were treated. The Finnish authorities had become suspicious of the number of Georgian women being taken by bus through Finland and on into other EU countries. They were particularly suspicious of this bus as the women had not been told what their full itinerary would be. The women however are now suffering the stigma of being prostitutes and one woman was told by her husband not to return home as she was now a “whore.”
The case highlights the difficulty of dealing with trafficking effectively before women have been forced into prostitution or labour. At this stage, even if the women were being trafficked they may not have known it. The trip could also have been completely legitimate, but gave the Finnish authorities grounds for suspicion. It is important in the future that authorities at border stations are trained in how to deal with such cases and also to ensure that anonymity is given to the women so that they will not be stigmatised when they return to their home country.
The case also exposes the unjust situation in many countries where men in large numbers demand the services of prostitutes while at the same time stigmatising prostitutes. It is even more incredible that women who are forced into prostitution are treated as criminals and even women who might have been on their way to being forced into prostitution are rejected.