Global Survival Network's Footage for Bought & Sold: An Investigative Documentary about the International Trade in Women

In partnership with the human rights non-profit organization WITNESS, Steve Galster, Executive Director, and Gillian Caldwell, Co-Director of the non-governmental organization Global Survival Network (GSN), filmed and conducted the investigative journalism for the documentaryBought & Sold: An Investigative Documentary About the International Trade in Womenwhich examines the illegal trafficking of women out of Russia and into Asia, Europe and the United States. The collection of raw footage, originally filmed on 83 Hi8 videotapes, contains interview, b-roll, and undercover footage shot during the production of the documentary from 1995-1997.

Despite the large number of women who are victims and survivors of illegal trafficking, most police agencies in receiving countries minimize the extent of trafficking and governments usually respond to trafficking as a problem of illegal migration, an approach that criminalizes trafficked women in lieu of human traffickers. To learn why and how this form of modern slavery persists, and to propose solutions, the Global Survival Network (GSN) conducted a study from August 1995 through the autumn of 1997 to uncover the rapidly growing trade in Russian women for the purposes of prostitution. GSN conducted videotaped interviews with numerous non-governmental organizations, women who had been trafficked overseas, and police and government officials in Russia, Western Europe, Asia, and the United States. In order to delve into and learn more about the world of organized crime and its role in Russian sex trafficking, GSN also conducted undercover research by establishing a dummy company that purportedly specialized in importing foreign women as models, escorts and entertainers. Under the guise of this company, GSN successfully gained entry to the operations of international trafficking networks based in Russia and beyond, obtaining interviews with Russian mafia members and traffickers who revealed their modus operandi and identities of their financial investors and overseas partners. Many of the interviews were recorded with hidden cameras and provide insight into the actions and inner workings of human trafficking organizations. Wherever legal, interviews were recorded by hidden cameras directly inside the establishments where prostitution was occurring. The investigators revealed the nature of their work whenever possible, however; in some cases, security conditions for both the investigator and the persons interviewed prevented disclosure. In order to preserve the safety and privacy of all parties involved, pseudonyms have been given to the persons interviewed during GSN's covert investigations and whenever requested by interviewees.

The film was released in 1997 and received widespread media coverage in the US and abroad, including specials on ABC Primetime Live, CNN, and BBC. The documentary also helped to catalyze legislative reform on trafficking as well as new financial resources to address the problem.

After ending her term as Co-Director for the Global Survival Network, Caldwell served as Executive Director of WITNESS for 10 years and added the raw footage from theBought and Solddocumentary project to the WITNESS Media Archive.