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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Poland [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Poland [map] is located in central Europe and is bordered by Germany (W), by the Baltic Sea and the Kaliningrad region of Russia (N), on Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine (E), and by the Czech Republic and Slovakia (S). Warsaw is its capital and largest city. Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done, especially in bringing down unemployment.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Poland. 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.

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are also reports that girls are trafficked to and from Poland for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Girls trafficked into the country are generally from the Eastern European region, and include countries such as Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine, and are disproportionately Turkish and Roma minorities. Other European countries, including Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic, tend to be destination states for children who are trafficked from Poland. The commercial sexual exploitation of boys by males visiting from Denmark, Germany, and Sweden is an increasing concern.

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

CHILDREN - Child abuse was rare. The law prohibits violence against children, and anyone who physically or psychologically abuses a juvenile may receive a prison sentence of three months to five years. However, abuse was rarely reported, and convictions also were rare. Police reported 1,697 cases of the sexual exploitation of children, 158 cases of child pornography, and 70 cases of child abandonment. Schools did not have procedures to protect children from physical or psychological abuse by teachers, and the teachers' work code provides legal immunity from prosecution for corporal punishment in the classroom.

Trafficking in children, primarily for the purpose of sexual exploitation, was a problem.

Concluding Observations Of The Committee On The Rights Of The Child (CRC) - 2002

[48] While noting the increased efforts of the State party to cooperate in regional programs to prevent trafficking and repatriate victims, the Committee is nevertheless concerned that Poland continues to be a country of origin, destination and transit for children trafficked for sexual exploitation.

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

www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/publication/other/english/Doc_page/ecpat_5th_a4a_2001_full.doc

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – POLAND – Trafficking victims from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Byelorussia and Romania are forced into prostitution in Poland. Poland may be either their final destination or a transit country to Western Europe, Turkey or the Balkans. Boys are also victims of trafficking: Romanian boys can be found at the train station in Krakow and Polish boys are being prostituted in Germany. There are cases of child sex tourism involving German men.

Poland's Female Trouble - Violence, Prostitution and Trafficking Soar

CHILDREN VULNERABLE - Since the border guards and police may regard trafficking victims as criminals who have violated passport laws, victims were afraid to turn to officials for help. Victims have no legal status, and there were no public resources available to assist them. Victims usually were deported as soon as possible to avoid any expenses connected with keeping them in detention.

ECPAT: Looking Back, Thinking Forward - The 4th report on commercial sexual exploitation of children [PDF]

www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/Publication/Other/English/Pdf_page/csec_4th_a4a_2000.pdf

Hungary and Poland are receiver, sender and transit countries for the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. Romania is a sender and receiver country but Bulgaria is only a sender country. Hungary and Poland receive children from Romania, Ukraine and Russia. The main destinations for children trafficked from and through Poland are Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. Many of the victims are boys. Furthermore, in Poland students voluntarily prostitute themselves in Germany over the weekends in order to earn money.

Statement by Poland at the Special Session on Children of the General Assembly - 2002

In 1978 Poland initiated in the UN Commission on Human Rights work on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the General Assembly adopted in 1989. Although the history of international pronouncements on the rights of the child goes back to the 1924 League of Nations Declaration, yet it took until 1989 for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to come to fruition. It has been ratified by a record 192 countries. Poland was among the first countries to ratify the Convention. In 2001 Poland signed its Optional Protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. I should mention, that two persons who have greatly contributed to the birth of that Convention, Professor Adam Lopatka and Professor Maria Lopatkowa are in this hall with us today as members of the Polish delegation. I wish to salute them for their efforts.

[2] The Incidence Of Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children In The Baltic Sea Region

POLAND - Police sources indicate that apart from occasional prostitution, the prostitution of minors working through specialized escort services is also growing. Girls and boys under the age of 18 working as prostitutes at the Polish-German border are kept like prisoners in barracks. There is a great demand for young pregnant girls.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children [PDF]

[4] NATIONAL ACTIVITIES - Police have uncovered Poland's largest child sex ring with the arrest of a 40-year-old local government official and former army officer. As the organizer of a pedophile ring, the man had over 1000 names of both victims and clients on his computer. Several arrests have followed.

Report on the Situation of Non-Denominational Citizens and Humanist Organizations

Next, on 21 July 1998, the Council of Ministers adopted a document entitled "Report on the Situation of Polish Families", which is seen by the authors of the pro-family policy as a major contribution to the shaping of governmental policy. Violence in the family is discussed in a sub-section on children and teenagers and pertains mainly to child beating. Incest or sexual abuse in the family is not discussed at all. In the authors' opinion, the only existing sexual abuse of children occurs in child prostitution, and the abusers are mainly the so-called sex tourists "particularly of German origin." Characteristically, in discussing child prostitution, the report only mentions girls, although it is a well known fact that the problem concerns male teenagers as well.

The Robinson Crusoe Foundation [DOC]

Young people raised in orphanages are condemned to failure. They are condemned by their low level of education, by their perceived helplessness and by their lack of self-confidence. They are condemned by the financial situation of orphanages struggling to survive, and which therefore do not consider guiding their charges towards maturity and independence a priority. The Robinson Crusoe Foundation wants to change this.

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