With a growing economy and its location at the intersection of Asia and Europe, Istanbul is one of the target cities for sex traffickers, smuggling women from around the world.
Istanbul police detained nearly 2, women last year on charges of prostitution, along with more than on charges of pandering. More efforts are underway to curb the trafficking. Sex trafficking is an international phenomenon. The United Nations agency's Turkey office jointly conducts projects with Turkish authorities to help the victims to return home, assist in legal issues and provides technical expertise.
The IOM also has a hotline, , to provide assistance to trafficked people. The majority of human traffickers are Turkish nationals coordinating the smuggling of women for prostitution with traffickers in their countries of origin.
Local prostitution business is flourishing but in Istanbul, women involved in prostitution are mostly those from Russia and former Soviet republics who came to Turkey in pursuit of a better life.
Aksaray, a district on the city's European side and on the historic peninsula, where the city's landmarks like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are located, is popular among procurers. The district houses a large number of migrants from Russia and former Soviet republics. Moscow-born Yulyya I. She was deported back to Russia. Her plight began after she met a Turkish man online. He said he had contacts and could find me a very decent job. He paid for my ticket and I came to Istanbul.
