Prostitution in Turkmenistan
Prostitution in Turkmenistan is illegal but widespread. Prostitution has increased in Turkmenistan and neighboring countries since the collapse of the Soviet Union . Poverty is one of the reasons women have turned to prostitution, sometimes under pressure from family members.
Prostitutes often go to bars, casinos and nightclubs, and some are addicted to heroin . In Daşoguz , an important rest stop, many prostitutes (“night butterflies”) serve the truck drivers in the night truck parks.
Sex trafficking is a problem in Turkmenistan.
legislation
The Turkmenistan Criminal Code contains the following articles that criminalize prostitution and related activities:
Article 138. The practice of prostitution
- Repeated prostitution within a year after an administrative penalty has been imposed is punishable by a fine of 40 average monthly wages or corrective work for a period of up to 2 years or imprisonment for a period of up to 2 years.
Article 139. Seduction into prostitution
- (1) Admission into prostitution is punished with correction work for a period of up to 2 years or imprisonment for a period of up to 2 years.
- (2) This act when performed:
- (a) repeated;
- (b) by a group of conspirators;
- (c) in relation to a minor;
- (d) with the use of physical force or the threat of use;
- (e) with extortion or deception;
- is punished with imprisonment for a duration between 3 and 8 years
Article 140. Establishing or running a brothel
- (1) The establishment or management of a brothel is punished with imprisonment for a period of up to 5 years with or without confiscation of property, with or without the imposition of a compulsory residence order for a period between 2 and 5 years.
- (2) These acts are punished for repeated offenses with imprisonment for a duration between 3 and 8 years, with or without confiscation of property, with or without the imposition of a compulsory residence order for a duration between 2 and 8 years.
Article 141. Procurement
- (1) Procurement for debauchery or prostitution is punished with imprisonment for a period of up to 5 years with or without confiscation of property.
- (2) In the event of repeated commission, this act is punished with imprisonment for a period of between 3 and 8 years with or without confiscation of property.
Item 142. Pimp
- (1) Pimps for profit-oriented motives, ie the employment of prostitutes for the purpose of their sexual exploitation, is punished with imprisonment for a period of 2 to 5 years with or without confiscation of property.
- (2) In the event of repeated commission, this act is punished with imprisonment for a period of between 3 and 8 years with or without confiscation of property.
VIP entertainment
Under the presidency of Saparmurat Niyazov , a form of state prostitution was introduced. Good-looking schoolgirls and students were sent from the provinces to the capital, Ashgabat , to be trained to “entertain” high-ranking officials and VIPs.
The students were selected by local officials. They had to be between 17 and 20 years old, tall, slim, and have good-looking hair and teeth. Once elected, there was no rejection of “honor”. Originally they could belong to any ethnic group, but later only “pure-blood” Turkmen women were selected. Kurdish , Balochian or Russian girls, for example, were not selected.
When they arrived in Ashgabat , they were trained in etiquette and polite manners to set dishes and serve dishes. Those who did not make it as "bodies" were used to service low-ranking officials at events.
Sex trafficking in Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan is a country of origin for women and children exposed to sex trafficking. Turkmen women are exposed to sex trafficking abroad. Turkey, Russia and India are the most common destinations for Turkmen victims, followed by other countries in the Middle East , South and Central Asia and Europe . Residents of rural areas in Turkmenistan are at greatest risk of being trafficked at home and abroad.
Article 129.1 of the Criminal Code, as amended in November 2016, defines human trafficking as an act of violence, fraud or coercion, but does not seem to include the purpose of the crime, namely exploitation, in its definition. It also exempts victims of trafficking from criminal responsibility for acts committed as a result of the trafficking in human beings. Article 129.1 prescribes sentences ranging from four to 25 years in prison. Women under the age of 35 are not allowed to fly to Turkey or the United Arab Emirates when it comes to prostitution.
The US State Department for Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings has classified Turkmenistan as a Tier 3 country .
Individual evidence
- ^ ChartsBin: The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d Review of Turkmenistan under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d Prostitution on the rise. September 5, 2005, accessed May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Turkmenistan: Poverty Drives Addiction and Prostitution. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ CJ Chivers: Heroin Seizes Turkmenistan, a Nation Ill Equipped to Cope . In: The New York Times . July 11, 2007, ISSN 0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed May 5, 2020]).
- ↑ Report submitted by Turkmenistan . Accessed January 30, 2018.
- ↑ a b c 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report Country Narrative: Turkmenistan. July 3, 2017, accessed May 5, 2020 .