Torture in [Czech Republic] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Czech Republic Street Children in [Czech Republic] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Czech Republic] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years
of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/CzechRepublic.htm
The Czech Republic
is a source, transit, and destination country for women from Slovakia,
Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Belarus, Moldova, Bulgaria, Mongolia, and Brazil
trafficked to the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and
Germany for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. The Czech Republic
is a destination for men and women trafficked from Ukraine, Russia, Moldova,
Belarus, China, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Brazil for the purpose of labor
exploitation. Roma women are trafficked within the country and abroad for
forced prostitution. - 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 the ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Six charged in organ trafficking case at Jan Richter, Radio www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/six-charged-in-organ-trafficking-case-at-brno-hospital [accessed 31 January 2011] Between 2003 and
2004, five employees of the tissue bank at the Brno-Bohunice hospital,
together with one outsider, sold 7 million crowns worth of skin graft to a
Dutch company. The Organized Crime Squad of the Czech police have now
finished investigating the case and charged the persons involved with illegal
organ trafficking. It took the Czech
police three and a half years to close the case of illegal organ trafficking
at a hospital in Brno, Moravia. Two skin tissue specialists, three other
staff members and one of their relatives have been charged with illegal organ
trafficking, a crime punishable in the Czech Republic only since 2002. The police
operation, code named "Human", the first of its kind in the
country, targeted illegal sales of skin graft to a Dutch company. Human trafficking campaign ends www.praguepost.com/articles/2008/01/23/human-trafficking-campaign-ends.php womensphere.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/human-trafficking-campaign-ends-czech-republic/ [accessed 31 January 2011] Although some details
may not be known, the general picture of sex trafficking in the THE TRUE STORY OF A
TRAFFICKED WOMAN
- After Lithuania joined the European Union, in May 2004, Marja traveled
across Italy. After about two weeks, due to unexpected expenses, she ran out
of money. This is when her friend, also originally from Lithuania, offered
her a well-paid job in Prague. They traveled to the Czech Republic in another
friend's car. Since they were now both EU citizens, crossing the borders was
smooth and easy. Late in the evening they reached a town, whose name Marja
didn't notice at the time. They were both tired and decided to stay
overnight. In the morning,
Marja discovered that the doors to her room were locked and that her papers
and mobile phone were missing. A stranger entered her room, a man, who told
her in Russian that she owed a lot of money for the transport and
accommodation. There was a customer already waiting for her downstairs. When
Marja realized that she was expected to work as a prostitute, she pointedly
refused. On that day she was, for the first time, brutally beaten and raped
numerous times. In the following
weeks, death threats to both her and her family in Lithuania, beatings and
food deprivation, for even the slightest misbehavior, became part of Marja's
life. She can't say for exactly how long this went on. She started following
the orders of the nightclub owner. She even pretended to be happy. As she
puts it, all that she felt inside was the desire to survive and to not be hit
anymore. ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2003 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2003/czech-republic.htm [accessed 31 January 2011] GOVERNMENT
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - In 2002, the
government provided some funding to local NGOs that provide assistance to
trafficking victims and those at risk of being trafficking. With funding from the U.S. Department of
State, the NGO La Strada implemented an awareness-raising program for Czech
law enforcement officers on the needs of trafficking victims and to develop
an information database on trafficking. INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are some reports of the internal trafficking
of Czech children from areas of low employment near border regions with Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61644.htm [accessed 31 January 2011] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Local sex trafficking victims were generally young women between 18 and 29
years of age from areas of high unemployment. Romani women were at the
highest risk of being trafficked internally, often by a friend or relative.
Girls raised in state‑run homes, such as orphanages, were also at
particular risk. According to government authorities, women already working
as prostitutes were also particularly vulnerable to traffickers. Trafficked
women were frequently offered jobs as models, maids, waitresses, and dancers
through employment agencies and then forced into prostitution. Once in a
destination country, traffickers ensured victims' compliance by confiscating
their travel documents and using isolation, drug and alcohol dependence,
violence, threats of violence toward the victim or her family, and the threat
of arrest and deportation. Police reported that traffickers increasingly
relied on violence to secure their victims' cooperation. Labor trafficking
remained a significant issue; the interior ministry reported that it was the
most common form of trafficking in the country. The International
Organization for Migration (IOM) and the NGO La Strada released a study
during the year documenting victims from a wide variety of countries,
including the former Soviet Union, South Asia, Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
31 January 2003 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/czechrepublic2003.html [accessed 31 January 2011] [60] The Committee
welcomes: (a) The establishment in spring of 2002 of a trilateral Czech-German-Polish
working group to address, inter alia, trafficking in human beings, in
particular the sexual exploitation of children for prostitution occurring in
these areas. Human trafficking campaign ends womensphere.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/human-trafficking-campaign-ends-czech-republic/ [accessed 31 January 2011] Although some
details may not be known, the general picture of sex trafficking in the THE TRUE STORY OF A
TRAFFICKED WOMAN
- After Lithuania joined the European Union, in May 2004, Marja traveled
across Italy. After about two weeks, due to unexpected expenses, she ran out
of money. This is when her friend, also originally from Lithuania, offered
her a well-paid job in Prague. They traveled to the Czech Republic in another
friend's car. Since they were now both EU citizens, crossing the borders was
smooth and easy. Late in the evening they reached a town, whose name Marja
didn't notice at the time. They were both tired and decided to stay
overnight. In the morning,
Marja discovered that the doors to her room were locked and that her papers
and mobile phone were missing. A stranger entered her room, a man, who told
her in Russian that she owed a lot of money for the transport and
accommodation. There was a customer already waiting for her downstairs. When
Marja realized that she was expected to work as a prostitute, she pointedly
refused. On that day she was, for the first time, brutally beaten and raped
numerous times. In the following
weeks, death threats to both her and her family in Lithuania, beatings and
food deprivation, for even the slightest misbehavior, became part of Marja's
life. She can't say for exactly how long this went on. She started following
the orders of the nightclub owner. She even pretended to be happy. As she
puts it, all that she felt inside was the desire to survive and to not be hit
anymore. Czech police accuse 11 Asians of human
trafficking Xinhua News Agency, news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/10/content_7222003.htm [accessed 31 January 2011] The traffickers
promised the girls the work of hostesses and barmaids, the Prima and Nova
commercial television channels said.
Each of them had to pay up to 10,000 dollars for the
"mediation" of work. They were forced into prostitution on arrival
in the Czech Republic. Six charged in organ trafficking case at Jan Richter, Radio www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/six-charged-in-organ-trafficking-case-at-brno-hospital [accessed 31 January 2011] Between 2003 and
2004, five employees of the tissue bank at the Brno-Bohunice hospital,
together with one outsider, sold 7 million crowns worth of skin graft to a
Dutch company. The Organized Crime Squad of the Czech police have now
finished investigating the case and charged the persons involved with illegal
organ trafficking. It took the Czech police three and a half
years to close the case of illegal organ trafficking at a hospital in Brno,
Moravia. Two skin tissue specialists, three other staff members and one of
their relatives have been charged with illegal organ trafficking, a crime
punishable in the Czech Republic only since 2002. The police operation, code
named "Human", the first of its kind in the country, targeted
illegal sales of skin graft to a Dutch company. Natashas - The New Global Sex Trade [PDF] Victor Malarek, “Natashas, The New Global
Sex Trade”, ISBN 9780670043125 | 16 Oct 2003 | Viking www.selfconnection.ca/Descriptions/9780143012597.pdf [accessed 31 January 2011] SMUGGLER'S PREY - Every day, scores of young women throughout the former East Bloc are lured by job offers that lead to a hellish journey of sexual slavery and violence. Despite the barrage of warnings on radio and TV, in newspapers and on billboards, desperate women continue to line up with their naiveté and applications in hand, hoping that, this time, they might just be in luck. Czech police detain Vietnamese human
trafficking gang Tien Phong, Czech News Agency - Česká
tisková kancelář ČTK, June 15, 2006 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] Czech police have
detained four male and two female Vietnamese in Vietnamese women trafficked, rescued in
Czech Republic October 11, 2005 -- Source: Nguoi Lao Dong
- Compiled by Thanh Hang At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 4 September 2011] They had to pay
US$5,000 to $7,500 each, tricked into thinking that they were coming to Czech
on legitimate terms to well-paid jobs, but instead were forced into
prostitution. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/czech-republic [accessed 26 June 2012] Stop Violence Against Women – Country Page The Advocates for Human Rights, October 12,
2006 stopvaw.org/czech_republic2.html [accessed 31 January 2011] Library of Congress Call Number DB2011 .C93
1989 lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cstoc.html [accessed 31 January 2011] Human Trafficking - fighting an invisible
crime Maida Agovic, Radio www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/human-trafficking-fighting-an-invisible-crime [accessed 1 February 2011] With rising
standards of living and entry into the European Union, the "Most of the
victims that end up trafficked in the Czech Republic come from the former
Soviet Union, mostly Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, some of them from Russia,
quite many from Bulgaria, quite a few from Slovakia as well, and in the past
two years, we have, for the first time, had clients from Asia, from China and
Vietnam. Recently we also had a few clients from Central Asia." Don Hill, Radio Free Europe/Radio www.rferl.org/content/article/1054191.html [accessed 1 February 2011] Today marks the
second day of Miller's three-day visit to the "As the Czech
economy has grown, the nature of the problem has changed," Miller said.
"Today if we look at trafficking in persons, or slavery, in the Czech
Republic, we are talking about the Czech Republic as a destination country.
People coming from Eurasia, Eastern Europe to the Czech Republic, engaging,
being forced, into the various types of slavery. Although, talking with the
NGOs, it is clear that the leading form of slavery in the Czech Republic is
sex slavery." Typology, profile, and position of victims of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the Czech Republic [DOC] web.mvcr.cz/archiv2008/aktualit/sdeleni/2003/pril1.doc [Last access date unavailable] PROFILE OF A CZECH
VICTIM TRAFFICKED ABROAD - According to the La Strada data, it often concerns
very young inexperienced women. Most are between 18 and 22 years of age, in
majority low educated (elementary school, secretarial training, or high
school graduates). Trafficked victims often come from socially pathological
background - dysfunctional, broken or fragmentary families, frequently with
the background of domestic violence (alcoholism, abuse). Alcohol or drug
addiction raises the vulnerability of potential victims. Harnessed by their
addictions, young girls choose prostitution to support their drug habits.
Drug addiction also reinforces the girls' dependency on their pimps. This is
tied to the well-known issue of girls from orphanages who leave the
institution at 18 without having a place to go. They are not adequately
prepared for life and lack basic social and other skills. The merchants sometimes
directly target orphanages, waiting for the girls to leave. Government receives report criticising
Slovak Romanies' situation Czech News Agency - Česká tisková
kancelář ČTK, www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=servis/z_en_2004_0139 [accessed 1 February 2011] The Czech
government has received a report criticising the living conditions of Slovak
Romanies and comparing them to a humanitarian crisis, the public Czech
Television said today. According to
the survey, the situation of Slovak Romanies has worsened after the
introduction of social reforms. Forced prostitution, hunger and poverty reign
among Slovak Romanies, the report says. Report on human trafficking praises Czechs The At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] The In the Czech
Republic human trafficking is linked to street prostitution and forced sex
work in the country's more than 200 brothels. The victims are primarily from
the poorest ex-Soviet states, such as Ukraine and Moldova. U.S. Embassy
political officer and trafficking expert Ben Rockwell did castigate the
country on two points, however. First, sentencing in the Czech Republic, as
in many countries, is too light, according to Rockwell. And despite excellent
police work, he said, far too few traffickers are actually charged. Out of
the five persons convicted of human trafficking last year, four were
sentenced to jail time, but all of the sentences were suspended. Klara Skrivankova: fighting trade in human
lives Rob Cameron, Radio www.radio.cz/en/section/one-on-one/klara-skrivankova-fighting-trade-in-human-lives [accessed 1 February 2011] CAN YOU GIVE ME
EXAMPLE OF HOW, SAY, A TEENAGE GIRL FROM WHAT KIND OF
CONDITIONS ARE THESE WOMEN KEPT IN? - "The conditions can be very
different, ranging from very hard physical violence to more psychological
manipulation and pressure, or debt bondage, or threats. So the conditions
vary. But usually the people are in quite a vulnerable position because they
are foreigners, because sometimes they don't have papers, they're illegal
here, and also because they don't know the environment. They are purposely
kept in isolation, so the only contact they have is with the group with which
they are kept it. It can range from one extreme to the other." Human Trafficking Casts Shadow on
Globalization Michele A. Clark, YaleGlobal , 23 April
2003 yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/human-trafficking-casts-shadow-globalization [accessed 1 February 2011] In 1996, Sasha was
26 and worked as a waitress in a small town in the She was approached
at work by a Czech man who promised her a lucrative job in Germany. Believing
that she would be able to save money to ease her family's situation, she
accepted the offer and left for the West, along with three other girls. Her
fears began when her contact refused to return her passport after crossing
the border, and were confirmed when she got to her destination - a sleazy bar
on the outskirts of a German city. Once there, she was gang raped repeatedly
to obtain her compliance, and eventually taken to Amsterdam's red light
district where she was forced to become one of the many women behind the
windows, making as much as US$80,000 tax free for her traffickers in her
first year. Child-prostitution claims disputed Andrew Satter, The At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] KARO -- which
receives funds from the European Union and subsidies from the German state of
Saxony and which has monitored the issue since 1996 -- said it has observed about
500 girls and boys who are in prostitution, most from west, north and south Romany girls kidnapped, sold abroad Martina Pisárová, The Slovak Spectator, 14
Aug 2000 spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/1538 [accessed 1 February 2011] According to the
reports, which have been substantiated by Roma community leaders and
international human rights observers, several young Slovak Roma women have
recently been kidnapped and then sold to Czech underworld figures. The captives
are then smuggled into western countries, where they are forced into
prostitution. Following a story
in late July in the Czech press agency ČTK, the Slovak weekly magazine
Moment reported the case of Silvia Kováčová, an 18 year-old Roma girl
from the small village of Hencovce in eastern Slovakia, who had been
kidnapped by a family friend in mid July. She was driven to the nearby town
of Vranov by the friend, who said they were going to inquire about an
available flower-selling job for the girl. However, the car
met with three large men en route. "When we got there, I asked about the
work selling the flowers," Kováčová said. "But they all just
started to laugh... one of them then sprayed something in my face which
knocked me out. When I woke up we were outside Bratislava." Kováčová was
then smuggled into the Czech Republic by the kidnappers and was eventually
sold at a gas station to a local pimp in the Czech town of Teplice for the
cash sum of 200 Deutsche marks ($93). All
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Torture in [Czech Republic] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Czech Republic Street Children in [Czech Republic] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Czech Republic] [other countries]