“Consent” Issue in Sex Trafficking and Evidence from Turkey

In the light of feminist critiques, this paper examines how the United Nation’s anti-trafficking protocol is materialized in Turkey with a focus on the issue of “consent” in determining victims of sex trafficking. Contrary to the Protocol, non-payment and forcible transportation become important criteria and create barriers in identifying a “victim” of sex trafficking. It is argued that Turkey’s interpretation of the UN Protocol is rather narrow and this is mostly a result of Turkey’s existing migration and prostitution regimes. Based on qualitative fieldwork, this paper intends to advance the knowledge in the field of sex trafficking using Turkey as a case study.