Hundreds of people sell sex every single day in Finland. The selling and buying of sex is legal, unless the trade involves pimping or victims of human trafficking. Earlier this week news emerged that three Finns were suspected of pimping and money laundering in Spain.
The men are suspected of having laundered up to 40 million euros gained from criminal activities since EU criminal justice agency Eurojust said the operation included human trafficking in a scheme bringing women, mostly from Nigeria, to Finland and Sweden to work as prostitutes.
Detective sergeant Kenneth Eriksson from the Helsinki Police Department said the anonymity of the internet makes it difficult to catch pimps, who can easily manage prostitutes from outside of Finland.
The law has significantly helped law enforcement investigate trafficking cases. But the reality may not be so simple, according to Jaana Kauppinen , executive manager of Pro-tukipiste, an NGO that works with sex and erotica workers as well as victims of human trafficking.
She said that further criminalising the purchase of sex could make it more difficult for human trafficking victims to come forward as they, too, would be seen as engaging in criminal activity. Liisa Kauppinen has been granted a Light for the World award for her long international career advocating for the rights of deaf people.
