On the Governance Trend of the Crime of Buying Trafficked Women: An Empirical Study Based on 254 Judgment Documents

Through the analysis of 254 judgment documents, it is found that in the crime of buying trafficked women, the main body of the buyers is older single men who are physically or economically disadvantaged, and most of the women who are bought are foreign women represented by Vietnamese brides and domestic sick women. This crime is highly prevalent in Anhui and Henan provinces, and its realization is highly dependent on mediators and traffickers. In judicial practice, this crime presents a high rate of light sentences and non-actual sentences, and there is a problem of insufficient general application of statutory sentences, i.e., excessive supply. The relative imbalance of the population, the low economic situation, and the conservative concept of marriage are the three major external factors influencing the phenomenon of buying trafficked women. Tackling the crime of buying trafficked women requires strict justice rather than increasing statutory penalties, in addition to joint efforts at the educational, economic, and social levels.