Human Trafficking in  [Lithuania]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Lithuania]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Lithuania]  [other countries]
 

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Lithuania                                                            [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Lithuania [map] is located in N central Europe and is bordered by the Baltic Sea (W), Latvia (N), Belarus (E & SE), Poland (S), and the Kaliningrad oblast (a Russian exclave; formerly East Prussia) (SW).  Vilnius is its capital and largest city.  Lithuania has a child population of approximately one million.

 

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Lithuania.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.   No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

ECPAT – On-line form for reporting child prostitution and other sexual offences against children

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Lithuania), and Years Missing

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are reports of children as young as 11 years old working as prostitutes in brothels in Lithuania. According to UNICEF estimates, 20 to 50 percent of prostitutes in Lithuania could be minors. Organized crime figures are reported to use coercive means to traffic Lithuanian girls into prostitution abroad, particularly to Western European countries.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN – The children's rights ombudsman reported one case of child prostitution, a girl discovered working as a prostitute who was then placed in an orphanage under special care.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001

[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. Further, it notes that procuring for the purpose of prostitution is punished only in cases involving girls and that some legal provisions result in the administrative punishment of children involved in commercial sexual exploitation.

Committee on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights Concluding Observations - 2004

[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.

Press declaration at the World Social Forum 2004 in Mumbai

In Lithuania, 20 to 50 percent of prostitutes are believed to be minors. Children as young as age 11 are known to work as prostitutes. Children from children’s homes, some 10 to 12 years old, have been used to make pornographic movies.

ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC]

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – LITHUANIA – Only a very small number of NGOs in Lithuania work on CSEC. One of the most active is the Support Centre for Families of Missing People, which seeks to locate missing persons. It is involved in prevention work and the repatriation of trafficking victims. It distributes information on the risks of trafficking through videos, posters and leaflets to vulnerable young girls. The leaflets also provide information on where and how they can get help if they are trafficked.

Report by Special Rapporteur [DOC]

[53] The sale and trafficking, and the use of children in prostitution and pornography are criminal offences under the Criminal Code. A new Criminal Code also penalizing these offences will enter into force on 1 May 2003.  In the first nine months of 2002, two criminal offences involving the trafficking of children were registered, five criminal cases involving children in prostitution and one criminal case of using a child for the purpose of developing and distributing pornography were registered.  Children do not incur any criminal liability as a result of their involvement; however, earning one’s living from prostitution is an administrative offence and liability is incurred by children over 16. During the first nine months of 2002, 18 such cases were reported.  A National Program against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children was approved by the Government in 2000, which provides for in-service training of police officers and preparation of methodological materials concerning the interviewing of sexually abused children.

I've run out of tears, says girl sold around Britain as a sex slave at the age of 15

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 Germany.  Elena's nightmare began with a call to a friend's mobile phone in her hometown of Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. The two girls had been sitting chatting when the phone rang. A girl offered them work in Britain. It would be fun, she said, and well paid.

Fact Sheet: Commercial Sexual Exploitation [PDF]

FACTS AND FIGURES - An estimated 2 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multi-billion dollar commercial sex industry. In Lithuania, 20% to 50% of those in prostitution are believed to be minors. Children as young as 11 can be found in brothels and children between 10 and 12 years of age have been used to make pornographic films.

Sex Trafficking Gang Sent To Jail

The BBC learned the girl was ringing her parents from London, and police found her when they raided a brothel in Hounslow, where she was being forced to work as a prostitute.

National Program Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation & Abuse Of Children

[12] The commercial sexual exploitation of children is connected with organized 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 Organization (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 organization.

The Incidence of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Baltic Sea Region

Although statistical data on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children are lacking in every country in the Baltic Sea Region, several social workers have confirmed that there is child prostitution at the railway station in Vilnius. Child prostitution also exists at the airport and at some hotels. The youngest girls are said to be only 11 or 12 years of age.

Situation in Lithuania [DOC]

The strategic goal of the Programs is to establish a prevention system for children experiencing sexual assault and commercial sexual abuse. The Program provides for training, legal, social, medical, organizational and informational means aimed at achieving its strategic goal and to provide officials with appropriate environment and methods in order to combat commercial sexploitation and sexual abuse of children.

Call for residency for human trafficking victims

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.

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Human Trafficking in  [Lithuania]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Lithuania]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Lithuania]  [other countries]