ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the gendered dimensions of human trafficking in Russia. It outlines how trafficking became a problem in post-Soviet Russia as social protections were dismantled, primarily disadvantaging women, and how the problem was discussed as a security issue rather than an issue of gendered violence as Russia passed legislation to combat it. The chapter then examines the types of human trafficking that exist in Russia today. In doing so it sheds light on the gendered and racialized components of trafficking for sex, labor, and illegal adoption. Popular press has mostly adopted a focus on trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation and illegal adoption, creating a response paradigm that privileges innocent, naïve female victims as victims and leaves out others who do not fit the stereotype, including men who are victims and women who are traffickers. Responses from international organizations and the Russian government have mostly adopted a security framework, while others advocate a human rights one. A feminist perspective, situated within the history and experience of trafficking in Russia, reveals how gender and race hierarchies are produced and maintained in trafficking policy and its implementation.
