Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Lithuania.htm
Lithuania is a source, transit, and destination country
for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. One estimate concluded that approximately 20 percent of
Lithuanian trafficking victims are underage girls. Lithuanian women are
trafficked within the country and to the United Kingdom, Germany, the
Netherlands, Greece, Italy, France, and the Czech Republic for the purpose of
forced prostitution. Women from Belarus are trafficked to Lithuania for the
same purpose. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 Check out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links have been culled from
the web to illuminate the situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking for
material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of particular
interest to you. Would you like to
write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims Missing Persons Families Support
Center ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Trafficked to the
West Jill McGivering, BBC
News, Lithuania, 9 July 2005 news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4663841.stm [accessed 18 February
2011] Last summer, she
had been approached by a childhood friend, she told me. He said he knew someone who was recruiting
women to work as prostitutes in Within weeks she
arrived in ***
ARCHIVES *** xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [accessed xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lithuania U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/lithuania/
[accessed 14 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR There were instances of forced labor, most of which involved Lithuanian men subjected to forced labor abroad. Foreign workers from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine were at risk of labor trafficking as long-haul truck drivers, builders, ship hull assemblers, and welders. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT In the first eight months of the year, the inspectorate identified 16 cases in which children were working illegally in the construction, agriculture, retail, services, and manufacturing sectors. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/lithuania/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 8 July
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Regional economic
disparities remain acute. Trafficking of adults and children for the purposes
of forced labor or sex work occurs in Lithuania. The government actively
works to prosecute traffickers, and provides aid to victims in conjunction
with NGOs. A barbaric trade in
human misery right on our doorsteps Chris Bond, www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/features/a-barbaric-trade-in-human-misery-right-on-our-doorsteps-1-2476159 [accessed 8 July
2013] "One of the
first victims we helped in the "She was
phoned up by someone and asked if she would like to sell ice cream for the
summer in London and was told she would earn about £300." The traffickers signed a consent form and
her parents, believing it was a good opportunity, approved the trip. "She was flown to Gatwick and sold in
a coffee shop from one trafficker to another for £3,000, her passport was
taken off her and sold for £4,000.
"Later the same night, she was taken to a flat and brutalised and raped, and from that moment on she was
forced to act as a prostitute." CESCR
Concluding Observations: Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CESCR, 14-05-2004 sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/uncom.nsf/0/dc6f7a5b9f384505c1256e98004990ac?OpenDocument [accessed 18
February 2011] www.refworld.org/type,CONCOBSERVATIONS,CESCR,LTU,42d26afd4,0.html [accessed 4 February
2018] [19] The Committee notes with concern that
trafficking in women and children continues to be a problem in the State
party, which is a country of origin and transit, in spite of the existence of
the "Program on control and prevention of prostitution and commercial
trade in people for 2002-2004" and that the new Criminal Code provides
for criminal liability for a number of trafficking-related crimes, including
trade in people (art. 147), profiting from another person's prostitution
(art. 307), and procuring to prostitution (art. 308). Moreover, the Committee
regrets that the lack of information on the number of people trafficked does
not give an accurate picture of the extent of the problem. Sex traffic:
Danielle was 15 when she was sold into slavery in the UK Sophie Goodchild and
Kurt Barling, The Independent [accessed 23 April
2012] Danielle was
excited at the prospect of leaving her home in Danielle suspected
nothing until the stranger took her passport once they passed through customs
and left her with two Albanians and a Lithuanian woman. It turned out that
she had been sold for £3,500. The "holiday job" was working in a
brothel in Birmingham. Sex trade gang
'beggared belief' BBC News, 18 October
2005 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/4353344.stm [accessed 18
February 2011] Sentencing, Judge
Barber said: "Their behavior absolutely beggared belief,
they had taken two young Lithuanian girls and transported them to CPS continues fight
against sex trade traffickers Crown Prosecution
Service CPS, 16 September 2005 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 8
September 2011] The latest Crown
Prosecution Service case against human traffickers ended today with the
sentencing of Viktoras Larcenko,
the last member of a gang convicted for smuggling girls from The People
Traffickers The www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/local-stories/the-people-traffickers-1-2367513 [accessed 31 August
2014] "The model is
often the same. The ones who try to recruit women on the streets tend to be
young men, in their early twenties. Often they are good-looking. Crossing Borders:
The Trafficking of Children into the End Child
Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Purposes ECPAT-UK www.hackney.gov.uk/Assets/Documents/child-trafficking-in-uk-crossing-borders-2005.pdf [accessed 2 December
2010] The story of Elena,
a 15-year-old East European girl lured to the I've run out of
tears, says girl sold around Nigel Bunyan, Telegraph, 11/05/2005 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 8
September 2011] That night she had
been due to be passed on to her eighth owner in three months. Eventually, it
is thought, she was likely to have been sold on to traffickers in Concern rises on
failure to arrest war suspects Agence France-Presse AFP, February 26, 2005 www.nytimes.com/2005/02/25/world/europe/25iht-briefs.html [accessed 18
February 2011] VILNIUS, LITHUANIA: The number of young Lithuanian women sold for sex in Britain has increased from "single cases to dozens every month" since the country joined the European Union last year, the head of Lithuania's Interpol bureau said Friday. "Nightclub
Girls Helped Me Escape Captivity" The Star, 23
February 2005 www.thestar.co.uk/news/39Nightclub-girls-helped-me-escape.953265.jp [accessed 30 August
2012] The
youngster, from Women's sex slave
nightmare Rob Waugh, www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Women39s-sex-slave-nightmare.909654.jp [accessed 18
February 2011] www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/women-s-sex-slave-nightmare-1-2552877 [accessed 4 February
2018] Two Albanian
illegal immigrants have become the first men in the UK to be convicted of the
new offence of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Taulant Merdanaj, 27, and Elidon Bregu, 19, were jailed for 18 years and nine years
respectively after imprisoning two Lithuanian women in a flat in Sheffield
and forcing them to work as prostitutes. Single, Europe-Wide
Strategy against Human Trafficking UN Information
Service UNIS, www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2004/hrct653.html [accessed 18
February 2011] Developing and coordinating
a single Europe-wide anti-trafficking strategy should be seriously
considered, he said in his detailed explanation of Call for residency
for human trafficking victims At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 8
September 2011] Eight men are to
appear this week in Oslo City Court on charges of human trafficking. This is
the first time a case concerning prostitution-related human trafficking is to
be tried by Norway’s justice system. Two girls from Lithuania claim to have
been brought against their will to Norway in autumn 2001 and forced to work
as prostitutes. The Queen's Speech
in November 2003 saw the introduction of The Asylum and Immigration
(Treatment of Claimants, etc) Bill ECPAT-UK Newsletter,
March 2004 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8
September 2011] [scroll down to
Other News] OTHER NEWS - In July last
year, seven women from The Reintegration
Problems of Victims of Trafficking in People in Secretary of the
Social Security and Labor ministry Violeta Murauskaitë At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8
September 2011] It is well known
that women victims often get physically and emotionally abused. If
psychological aid is provided in time, that means, a step into successful
psycho-rehabilitation process has been made. The motivation and
self-awareness of victims are very important, thus it is necessary to change
the way of thinking of the victim. During the rehabilitation process a change
in a life style of children and women as well as their emotional states are
emphasized. It is important to recreate social links with the corresponding
social background and to prepare victims for living on their own. Based on the Annual
Report 2002 of the Lithuanian Human Rights Association At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8
September 2011] TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN
BEINGS
- In 2002 Lithuanian society still held the view that
victims of trafficking who were forced to work as prostitutes should
be held accountable for their own misfortune. The problem was often treated
as a problem of illegal immigration, and as a result of this, women were left
without any rights in the foreign country, and without protection. The
trafficking of foreign women to Lithuania to engage in prostitution was a
problem for Lithuanian law enforcement and this meant that attention which
perhaps should have focused on the women involved was instead directed at combating
the criminal activities of prostitutes and their managers. Recognition For
Courageous Work Against Drugs And Crime UN Information
Service UNIS, www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2002/nar769.html [accessed 18
February 2011] The Missing Persons
Families Support Centre in A Form of Slavery:
Trafficking in Women in OSCE Member States [PDF] International At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September
2011] [page 40] The National programme against the commercial Sexual Exploitation and
sexual abuse of Children Approved by
Resolution no. 29 of 11 January 2000 of the Government of the policy.mofcom.gov.cn/english/flaw!fetch.action?libcode=flaw&id=95E55521-4EAD-4F6B-82F2-1AA347CE99BC&classcode=800;120 [accessed 31 August
2014] 12. The
commercial sexual exploitation of children is connected with organised crime; in this instance we are talking about
drawing children into prostitution and pornographic business. International collaboration by police
officers really helps to stop such criminal activity. Since 1991, Lithuania is a full member of
the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol). The Lithuanian National Bureau of Interpol,
in which an officer responsible for the investigation of problems of abuse
against children has been appointed since 1998, represents the Republic of
Lithuania in this organisation. The Department of Labor’s 2003 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2003/lithuania.htm [accessed 18
February 2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor GOVERNMENT
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - In January 2002,
the government approved a Program on the Control and Prevention of Trafficking
in Humans and Prostitution for 2002-2004.
The program concentrated on the causes of prostitution and
trafficking; preventive measures; and on providing social, psychological, and
legal support to victims of prostitution and trafficking. With funding and assistance from the World
Bank, the government is implementing a National Poverty Reduction Strategy in
order to assist vulnerable populations, including at risk children. In partnership with government agencies,
IOM launched a counter-trafficking project aimed at establishing a
coordinated system of assistance for trafficking victims from the INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Organized crime figures are reported to use coercive
means to traffic Lithuanian girls into prostitution abroad, particularly to
Western European countries. Trafficking in
Women and Prostitu-tion in the Baltic States:
Social and Legal Aspects Aet Annist,
University of Tartu, International Organization for Migration, 2001 -
ISBN-92-9068-117-9 [Long URL] [accessed 18
February 2022] The three Baltic
States have got their share of the trafficking problem while going through an
adjustment period after the ending of the Soviet era and re-establishing
their independent statehood in the early 1990s. A common feature to almost
every country that emerged from the Soviet legacy is that the lack of new work
opportunities has hit more on women than on men in the transition to market
economy. In the Baltic States, this has been the case especially with the
women of the ethnic minorities who are over-represented among prostitutes and
trafficked women. In general, the lack of opportunities for women has made
many seize the opportunity to make earnings in sex industry through
prostituting either in the home country or abroad, sometimes helped by
traffickers. Some begin sex work voluntarily, some are deceived by traffickers
with false promises of other work and later forced to commercial sex. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 26 January 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/lithuania2001.html [accessed 18
February 2011] [53] The Committee,
while noting the National Program against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation
and Sexual Abuse of Children of 2000, expresses its deep concern at the lack
of data, consistent policies, rehabilitation and reintegration programs, and
the reports of disappearances of minors, in particular girls, allegedly for
trafficking purposes. The
Protection Project - Lithuania The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/lithuania.doc [accessed 2009] www.protectionproject.org/country-reports/ [accessed 22
February 2016] FACTORS
THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE – After 1990, the
three Baltic states experienced an unprecedented growth of the sex and
entertainment industry. Such growth may be conducive to an increased
probability of women being trafficked. The lack of economic opportunity in ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61660.htm [accessed 9 February
2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Traffickers targeted the socially most vulnerable groups: young females
from poor or unstable families. Traffickers also commonly targeted young
women from ethnic minorities. Many were lured by deceptive offers of jobs
such as household helpers, bar dancers, nannies, nurses, models, or
waitresses, or through false marriage advertisements. In many cases close
relatives or friends made the offers. Victims' compliance was ensured via
threats and the withholding of their documents. Families often were unaware
of their predicament and believed that they had been kidnapped. Boarding
schools that also serve as orphanages were new targets of traffickers. Police reported
that nearly half of traffickers were linked to organized crime, including
international groups All
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