The fight against human trafficking by law enforcement forces in Turkey

In this study, the crime of human trafficking, which has gained a place in the Cold War and subsequent periods and has an important place in human rights and fundamentally damages the dignity of the person, is analyzed as a concept, and then explained and examined with national legislation. It is aimed to examine the process, including the investigation and prosecution stages and the rehabilitation stages of the victims, and to evaluate the general situation regarding the fight against human trafficking in Turkey from the perspective of the society in a multidimensional way. In this context, an attempt was made to learn the opinions of individuals living in provinces where human trafficking crime is intense in Turkey, about the work and actions carried out regarding the crime of human trafficking, and to determine the effectiveness of law enforcement forces in the fight against crime from the public's perspective, by survey method. The population of the research consists of a total of 13,601,582 (TUIK, December 2022) citizens of the Republic of Turkey, aged 18 and over living in the provinces of Adana, Antalya, Gaziantep, Izmir, Muğla and Van, where human trafficking incidents are frequently seen in Turkey, while the sample consists of 418 individuals randomly reached from the universe. has created. The data of the research were evaluated through the quantitative analysis method. For this purpose, SPSS 25 statistical program was used. As a result of the thesis study, it was seen that the society in Turkey had positive evaluations regarding the effectiveness of the fight against human trafficking. In addition, law enforcement forces are actively fighting to prevent human trafficking, law enforcement officers have high confidence that they have sufficient information and legislation in the fight against crime, there is a positive evaluation regarding the identification and protection of victims, national and international meetings and conferences have positive effects, and it is seen that there is a positive impact on victims of human trafficking. It has been concluded that the humanitarian aid provided for this purpose is sufficient. However, the activities carried out nationally and internationally and the effectiveness of the legal legislation, the adequacy of the shelters where the victims stay, the fact that law enforcement forces carry out field visits to citizens living in cities and rural areas to provide information about crime, the effective use of social media platforms in the fight against crime and criminals and the public awareness through public service announcements. There was uncertainty regarding information. Similarly, the number of personnel in law enforcement forces is not sufficient to combat crime, there are some weaknesses and deficiencies in the effectiveness of activities and legal legislation, especially at national and international levels, in the fight against human trafficking, the current legal legislation is not sufficient to combat human trafficking and stronger legal regulations may be needed, and It was concluded that the criminals did not receive the punishment they deserved after the trial process. This situation indicates that there are some weaknesses and deficiencies in the effectiveness of activities and legal legislation, especially at national and international levels, in the fight against human trafficking. Additionally, it is possible to conclude that the current legal legislation is not sufficient to combat human trafficking and stronger legal regulations may be needed. These assessments have shown that Turkey has taken important steps in the fight against human trafficking, but still faces some challenges. Even though the law enforcement forces have some shortcomings, their effective fight against them and the sensitivity shown to protect the victims constitute an important driving force for the fight against human trafficking. However, it is also emphasized that stronger legal legislation and more strategic activities should be implemented in order to increase the effectiveness in the fight against human trafficking. These results show that human rights defenders, the government and other stakeholders should support efforts to develop more comprehensive and effective solutions to combat human trafficking.