Latvian Radio

I was on Latvian Radio's (ne)Diplomātiskās pusdienas podcast today talking about the Epstein files and their connections to Latvia. You can listen to the episode 'Epstīna faili: Cilvēku tirdzniecība – sievietes, vara un Eiropas klusā krīze" here! Here is the English version of what I said for our non-Latvian speaking audience.

Existing research reveals that women from Eastern Europe are more often trafficked and exploited compared to women from other parts of Europe. Since the fall of communism and the opening of borders there has been significant demand for women from this region as they are seen as a commodity to be traded in Western Europe. Eastern European women are othered by West Europeans and Americans. They are fetishized and objectified by men who see them as exotic, so much so, that the academic literature has a name for women trafficked from Eastern Europe and they call them "Natashas" for their seemingly similar facial features and prevalence in the sex industries in Western Europe. These women were targeted because they fit into stereotypes of ideal victims of trafficking forced into exploitation and the trafficking of these women has been seen as a continuation of the white slave trade in the late 19th and early 20th century. 

The discussions of Latvian’s women in the files supports this exoticization as they were mentioned for their beauty, height, and characteristics which make them appealing. The file mentions of Riga and Latvia reveal that Latvia was a source and destination country for Epstein’s trafficking networks. Meaning that Latvian women were trafficked from Latvia for the purposes of exploitation and then women from other countries were trafficked to Latvia again for the purpose of exploitation. 

As a result of the communist collapse, women were among the first to feel the burden during the transition from a command economy to a market economy. A significant increase in human trafficking

followed, resulting from economic polarization and its disproportionate effect on women, enhanced by the feminization of poverty, corruption, ethnic conflict, and porous borders.

The trafficking situation in Latvia has transformed from being a source and transit country for women and girls, to a source and destination country for sex trafficking of women and children, and a source country for the forced labor of men, women, and children. Trafficking within Latvia, including the trafficking of children for the purposes of sex tourism, has also been reported in recent years. The economic crisis in 2008 further facilitated human trafficking, prompting women to travel abroad in search of economic opportunities. 

As a member of the European Union (EU) and a locus for sex tourism, Latvia has increasingly become a destination and transit country for trafficking in recent years. Due to economic disparities within the EU, however, Latvia is still primarily a source country for trafficking victims because Latvians are immigrating to more economically prosperous countries in Western Europe

A new form of trafficking that has emerged in Latvia since 2009 are fictitious or sham marriages which involve third country nationals recruiting women on Latvian social networking sites and forcing them into marriage in order to obtain EU residency in countries such as Ireland.

This legacy still influences the prevalence of human trafficking in Latvia but we see a shifting of dynamics. Today labour exploitation is the predominant form of trafficking, followed by sexual exploitation and exploitation through sham marriages. We also increasingly see men and boys trafficked for labor exploitation so the types of victims and exploitation have changed.

In conclusion, I think it is promising that the state police in Latvia have opened up an investigation into the Epstein files especially since we have seen no repercussions in my country the United States. I also hope that the Latvian victims and survivors mentioned in the files Marta, Sandra, Lāsma, Elīna and so many more get justice for the crimes committed against them.