Finland
In June 2006 Finland’s Parliament enacted into law a Bill which made the act of purchasing sexual services a crime in circumstances involving procuring or trade in human beings. Although this is an offence which should be criminalised, legislation which is limited only to trafficking victims poses some challenges.
There is no explicit mention in Finnish legislation that the buyer must have had knowledge that trafficking took place in order to be prosecuted. However, in practice the police have to prove that the buyer had knowledge that the individual was a victim of trafficking in order to secure a conviction. This has presented a challenge to the authorities in implementing the law.
