Human Trafficking in [Bulgaria Street Children in [Bulgaria] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Bulgaria] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Republic of Bulgaria [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Republic of Bulgaria [map],
located in SE Europe on the E Balkan Peninsula, is bounded by the Black Sea
(E), by Romania (N), by Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia (W), by Greece
(S), and by European Turkey (SE). Its
capital city is Bulgaria is a source, transit,
and destination country for men and women trafficked from Moldova, Romania,
Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia to Bulgaria and through Bulgaria to Spain,
Austria, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech
Republic, and Macedonia for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Men and
women from Bulgaria are trafficked to Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey for purposes
of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Roma children are trafficked within
Bulgaria and to Austria, Italy, and other West European countries for
purposes of forced begging and petty theft. Approximately 20 percent of
identified trafficking victims in Bulgaria are children. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2007 [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 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 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 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. Bulgarian
officials say legalizing prostitution could spur human trafficking 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 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 "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 A channel for traffic in people to
France has been crushed by the Bulgarian and French police. 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 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 Initiative
to Help Fight Human Trafficking in Three SEE Countries Bulgaria, Atrocious
Pimping Suspect Arrested In Sofia A man suspected of kidnapping, abusing and forcing
women into prostitution has been arrested in Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 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 Magi spends most of her time in
South Africa, but during her visits to Bulgaria she leads many campaigns, and
works with girls vulnerable to human trafficking. Magi's focus is educating
and talking to girls from orphanages in Blagoevgrad's and Rousse which are
border checkpoints where financially vulnerable girls are often trafficked
abroad. 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. 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 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? 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]