Human Trafficking in [Bulgaria Street Children in [Bulgaria] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Bulgaria] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first ten years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2009
Bulgaria is a source, transit, and, to a
lesser extent, a destination country for men, women, and children from
Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania trafficked to and through Bulgaria to Germany,
Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Norway, the Czech Republic, Poland,
Greece, Turkey, and Macedonia for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor. Ethnic Roma women and children remain highly
vulnerable to trafficking. Children are trafficked within Bulgaria and to
Greece and the United Kingdom for the purposes of forced begging and forced
petty theft. Around 15 percent of identified trafficking victims in Bulgaria
are children. Bulgarian women and some men are trafficked internally, primarily
to resort areas along the Black Sea coast and in border towns with Greece,
for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Children
from Bulgaria Victims of Human Trafficking Most Often Bulgarian children are most often
the victims of trafficking and Bulgaria ranks as one of the most active human
trafficking places in the Balkans. Women and children are taken out of
the country and most often forced to work or are used as organ donors,
research of Animus association said as quoted by Novinar
newspaper. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - The Constitution prohibits forced labor. The Law on Combating Trafficking in Human
Beings, which entered into force in January 2004, includes measures for the
protection and assistance of child victims of trafficking, and created the
National Anti-Trafficking Commission to coordinate and construct policy on
trafficking. Bulgarian law penalizes
trafficking a minor with 2 to 10 years imprisonment and fines.
Inducement to prostitution, which is often associated with trafficking, is
punishable by 10 to 20 years imprisonment, if the victim was a minor. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN
– Widespread poverty
led many Romani children to turn to begging, prostitution, and petty crime on
the streets. There were reports of child smuggling rings paying Romani women
for babies that were later sold to couples in Western Europe. Police launched
17 investigations in the Burgas and Peshtera areas in connection with the reports, all of
which were ongoing at year's end. TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Girls
and young women were often approached by persons who gained their trust,
frequently other young women and acquaintances, who described glamorous work
opportunities abroad. Some were sold into bondage to traffickers by
relatives. Unaccompanied young women trying to cross the border into
Macedonia, Romania, or Turkey reportedly were at risk of being abducted into
trafficking. In larger cities, organized crime groups were often responsible
for trafficking, although they used various front companies to pose as
employment agencies, escort and intimate services businesses, or tour
operators. Small crime groups and freelance operators monopolized trafficking
in smaller cities and towns. According to AAF, the process of
transforming victims into prostitutes generally took place before they left
the country. Victims typically were taken to a large town, where they were
often kept for weeks, isolated, beaten, and subjected to severe physical and
psychological torture to make them more submissive before they were
transported to their destination points. Once the victims left the country,
their identity documents were routinely confiscated, and they found
themselves forced to work as prostitutes in cities across Europe. The victims
could be required to pay back heavy financial debts to the agency that helped
them depart the country, leaving them in indentured servitude. Traffickers
punished victims severely for acts of disobedience and threatened the
victims' families and family reputations to ensure compliance. Concluding
Observations Of The Committee On The Rights Of The Child (CRC) - 1997 [9] The Committee is concerned at the lack of an
integrated strategy on children as well as of a systematic mechanism to
monitor progress in all areas covered by the Convention, and in relation to
all groups of children in urban and rural areas, especially those affected by
the consequences of the economic transition. The Committee is also concerned
about the need to strengthen the State party's capacity to collect and
process data to evaluate progress achieved and to assess the impact of
policies adopted on children, in particular the most vulnerable groups of
children. Over
One Billion Euros Per Year from Human Trafficking for Bulgarian Mafia www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=23942 businesstravellers-org.web26.winsvr.net/Default.aspx?tabid=36&EntryID=1609
The annual profit from human
trafficking and prostitution for the Bulgarian mafia is over one billion
euros, a RiskMonitor report revealed on
Tuesday. Every year the victims of human
trafficking in Bulgaria are around 10,000. The schemes for money laundry of
human trafficking profits include luxury boutiques, outlets and car
stores. It has also been revealed
that such criminals have started to invest in agriculture, where they could,
for example, file reports of producing far more than what they actually do,
thus laundering the money. According
to the report, 70 percent of the prostitutes in Belgium are of Bulgarian
origin. There is also a trend that has appeared recently - Bulgarian girls
are being trafficked to countries like the USA and South Africa. Bulgaria
Ends 38 Suits on Human Trafficking in 5 Months Officials have
previously announced that the total number of people sentenced for human
trafficking for the first nine months of 2007 was 26. Bulgarian officials say legalizing prostitution could spur
human trafficking www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/09/europe/EU-GEN-Bulgaria-Prostitution.php At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Former foreign minister Nadezhda Mihailova, whose
Institute for Democracy and Stability in Southeast Europe organized the
conference last week, estimated that some 10,000 Bulgarian women are
trafficked each year — mostly to Germany and the Netherlands, where
prostitution is legal. 10
000 Bulgarian Women Per Year Victims of Human Trafficking Around
10 000 Bulgarian women per year become victims of trafficking towards EU
countries. For the
last two years, 32 organized criminal groups which deal with women
trafficking have been cracked down. 16 leaders have been caught. READING
ROOM: Bulgaria's working girls The dark side of prostitution is
not that it exists at all, but the fact that a pimp controls most girls and
that their exploitation is not just confined to roadside prostitution.
Bulgaria is one of the largest human traffickers in the world, providing
enslaved girls to brothels all over Europe. Currently, Bulgarian laws on
prostitution are unclear. Existing legislative provisions date back to before
1944. When communism came to Bulgaria, sleazy practices like this, along with
other such crimes against women like domestic violence, were considered to
exist solely in the Western world. Children
from Bulgaria Victims of Human Trafficking Most Often Bulgarian children are most often
the victims of trafficking and Bulgaria ranks as one of the most active human
trafficking places in the Balkans.
Women and children are taken out of the country and most often forced
to work or are used as organ donors, research of Animus association said as
quoted by Novinar newspaper. Ten Bulgarians involved in
trafficking women to France to work as prostitutes have been arrested
following a joint operation by Bulgarian and French authorities, the national
investigation service said Friday. Between 2002 and 2005, the group
transferred at least 105 Bulgarian girls to France and forced them to work as
prostitutes, Ivanova said. Bulgaria to extradite human trafficking suspects to France www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n110017 The five men were allegedly part
of an organised crime group involved in trafficking
Bulgarian women to France, mainly to the city of Lyon, and forcing them to
work as prostitutes. They face between
seven and 20 years in prison but will most probably be sent back to serve
their sentences in Bulgaria. 80 human trafficking cases submitted to National Security
Service in 2006 www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n107358 "Eighty cases of trafficking
in human beings from Bulgaria were submitted to the National Security Service
in 2006", NSS deputy director Rumen Georgiev
said at a press conference entitled “Action against Trafficking in Human
Beings”, a journalist of FOCUS News Agency reported. Twenty-two cases have
already been closed. “The number of
human trafficking cases is higher than the drug trafficking cases”, Georgiev explained. Human
Trafficking Epidemic In Bulgaria Human trafficking and drug
smuggling were epidemic in Bulgaria and Romania, Reuters news agency
said. Thousands of women, some of them
aged only 13, are kidnapped or tempted with offers for well-paid jobs, and
sold into prostitution to human-trafficking gangs every year. Bulgaria, France Crash Human Trafficking Channel www.facetoface.bg/facetoface/home.nsf/0/A7D64B88D83ED89BC22571A7002C4A48 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
A channel for traffic in people to
Police in Bulgaria's Russe and French Marseille acted in close cooperation in
crushing the channel. Six people were questioned in the Bulgarian city and 5
homes were searched. A total of 20 cell phones, many personal belongings as
well as bank transfers documents were confiscated during the search. How the new Fagins are bringing child slavery to Britain Two years ago, when she was 10, Dochka lost what was left of her innocence when she was
sold to a band of child traffickers by her mother and aunt in Bulgaria.
Bewildered and terrified, the little girl was transported to Austria, forced
to learn the skills of a pickpocket and put to work. New
arrests on charges of human trafficking in Bulgaria The actions of Bulgarian police
were co-ordinated with Italy’s top anti-mafia
prosecutor Piero Grasso,
who is head of Italy’s anti-mafia operations. This co-ordination was a result
of Velchev’s and Petkov’s
recent visit to Rome where Grasso asked for their
assistance in the fight against people trafficking. Europe-Wide
Human-Trafficking Ring Cracked Authorities across Europe say they
have arrested 41 Bulgarians in recent days after Italian police uncovered a
trafficking network that exploited hundreds of children. The arrests were in northern Italy,
Bulgaria, Germany, and Austria. Italian police say another 75 people have
been placed under investigation. Charges against the suspects include
enslavement, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. Corruption
and Human Trafficking Hinder Bulgaria's EU Entry According to the article, the
European Commission report from May 16 meant Bulgaria needed to take urgent
action in fighting organised crime if it wanted to
join the EU in 2007. The Independent said the report 'painted and alarming picture'
of Bulgaria as one of 'Europe's centres of human
trafficking'. Revealed: kept in a dungeon ready to be sold as slaves www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1504136/Revealed-kept-in-a-dungeon-ready-to-be-sold-as-slaves...the-women-destined-for-Britains-sex-trade.html The women, aged 18 to 24, are from across eastern Europe, lured from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria, with promises of good jobs as waitresses, au pairs and dancers. Instead, they have been forced into modern-day slavery in western Macedonia, locked in the dirty cellar and only summoned upstairs by their masters to perform sexual services for customers who are usually drunk and often violent. When they were found, the victims, some of whom had been "broken in" as prostitutes in other countries on the way to Macedonia, barely knew where they were. They had no idea what the future held but knew that it was beyond their control. Balkans
Urged To Curb Trafficking Countries in South-East Europe are
failing to take effective measures against people trafficking, the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says.
A UNICEF report says that while countries in the region have strict
anti-trafficking laws they do not tackle the root causes of the problem. Initiative
to Help Fight Human Trafficking in Three SEE Countries Bulgaria,
Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro are located in a pivotal zone between poorer
countries to the east and the affluent nations of the EU, and function as
transit points. Bulgaria has passed
key legislation criminalizing trafficking and providing for victim
assistance, but corruption has impeded law enforcement efforts. Atrocious Pimping Suspect Arrested In Sofia www.facetoface.bg/facetoface/home.nsf/0/A592DD582EC6F539C2256FF8002917BF At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
A man suspected of kidnapping, abusing and forcing
women into prostitution has been arrested in The Protection Project - Bulgaria [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - According to a recent study,
among identified female victims of trafficking in Bulgaria, all were
trafficked for sexual exploitation. At the time of their identification and
referral for assistance, 48 percent were minors. They are mostly lured by
false promises of jobs. A significant
number of victims come from Bulgaria’s southern mountainous region bordering
Greece, Macedonia, and Turkey, as well as from other border areas. Women are lured into the industry
through false job advertisements offering jobs as models, dancers, and au
pairs. Many of the girls recruited are orphans or come from disadvantaged
families, making them more vulnerable to the promises of traffickers offering
them work abroad. Teenage girls are
often kidnapped and, among the Roma minority, frequently sold to traffickers
by their families. – htcp www.iom.org.za/Reports/TraffickingReport3rdEd.pdf EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - The major findings may be summarized as follows: Russian and Bulgarian mafias traffic Russian and other Eastern European women on South African visas fraudulently obtained in Moscow to upscale South African brothels. These Eastern European women are promised jobs as waitresses, dancers, strippers, and hostesses in South Africa, but are not told that they must pay a debt of US$2000 per month for six months or more as sex workers until they arrive in South Africa. If they refuse to cooperate, they and their families back at home are threatened with violence. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 2 Civil
Liberties: 2 Status: Free Human Rights Overview
by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide Stop
Violence Against Women – Country Page U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study Miss Humanity www.sofiaecho.com/art.php?id=8704&catid=30 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Magi spends
most of her time in In conversations with children from orphanages and schools, Magi explains the dangers that children might encounter when talking to strangers who offer strange work opportunities. In response she is always greeted with much love and affection by the children in Blagoevgrad and said that these children do mean a lot to her. "They ask questions, share their dreams and are natural," she said. - htcp Face to Face Bulgaria www.facetoface.bg/facetoface/home.nsf/0/4670ADA2D809ABCDC2256F15003232D5 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The poor economy of a country is the main factor that makes these girls potential victims. They are trying to run away from poverty and to have a better future for them and for their families by accepting shady offers from unknown people and agencies. Once they choose this road, they rarely escape from this trap alive. It is proven that girls from orphanages and small towns and villages are most vulnerable because of uneducation and desire for quick earnings. Michael Cory Davis, Screenwriter of Svetlana’s Journey
film, based on true events www.amcham.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?n=000012&p=0057 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Many people are mis-educated about the forced prostitution industry, thinking that these young girls ask for this to happen to them, simply by their desire for money. In fact, many of the statistics show the initiation and involvement of young girls in this industry, comes from abductions, kidnappings, and out right lying by the sex peddlers. These peddlers use many tactics, usually finding girls in poor areas and promising them opportunities as secretaries, models, waitresses, and even schooling. Svetlana’s story is one of the thousands that pour into the office of Face to Face daily. Kosovo:
Trafficked women and girls have human rights Some 406 foreign women were assisted
by the IOM in Kosovo between December 2000 and December 2003. According to
the IOM, 48 per cent of women who have entered its repatriation program -
enabling them to return to their home country - originated from Moldova. Of
the remainder, 21 per cent came from Romania, 14 per cent from Ukraine, six per cent from Bulgaria, three per
cent from Albania and the remainder from Russia and Serbia proper. Bulgaria Traffic in Women - Violence against women a western problem? www.zcommunications.org/zmag/viewArticle/13154 bulgaria.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/1937 For young women from small towns
and smaller options, Minkova says they are often
lured by offers they find hard to resist. “They tell them, ‘you look great,
you’re very nice, I think you’d make a great baby-sitter,” says Minkova. Minkova says that
although some women go voluntarily, knowing they will be prostitutes, none
are prepared for the cruel working conditions. Few women successfully escape
from forced prostitution. But those who do, tell a grim story. Both Human
Rights Watch and Animus report of repeated rapes and beatings by their
captors. They are put through a process of psychological torture designed to
make them compliant towards, and dependent on, the pimp. Traffickers
confiscate their passports and papers. Often moved and sold, the trafficked
women become unaware of even the country in which they are working. Former
victims report being forced to work up to 20 hours a day. They receive
little, if any, payment and are told they are in debt to their pimps. If they
get pregnant, say the Animus volunteers, they are often left by the side of a
road. Of all the money that exchanges hands, the sex workers themselves see
little of it. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit,
and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [Bulgaria Street Children in [Bulgaria] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Bulgaria] [other countries]