Human Trafficking in [Denmark Street Children in [Denmark] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Denmark] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Denmark.htm
Denmark is primarily a transit and
destination country for women and girls trafficked from Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia,
the Czech Republic, Thailand, Brazil, Nigeria, and other West African
countries for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Victims from
Africa are trafficked to Denmark primarily through Italy and Spain. In 2008,
authorities noted an increase in the number of potential child trafficking
victims from Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Guinea, Hungary, Algeria, and
China to Denmark for the purpose of forced petty theft. - 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 ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Trafficking in children in Denmark Red Barnet, Save the Children www.redbarnet.dk/Default.aspx?ID=2209 [Last accessed 1 February 2011] Children are sold to They come to Denmark from poor Eastern European countries such as Rumania and Albania. Their families cannot offer them a future. And one day, a stranger might come by, "I can give your child a better life in Western Europe." And the child goes along. The child is possibly sold to a ringleader, transported over borders under the cover of darkness. The offer of a better life turns out to be a life on the streets. Perhaps in Copenhagen. The children are schooled in crime. The path to prostitution can be short. And the road back home very, very long. ***
ARCHIVES *** Human Rights Reports » 2005
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61645.htm [accessed 1 February 2011] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The
country was both a destination and a transit point for women and children who
were trafficked from the former Soviet Union, Traffickers lured victims with the
prospect of higher wages and a better life, then forced them into
prostitution, often withholding their passports. Authorities suspected traffickers
had ties to organized crime, specifically in Russia and the Baltic countries,
and subjected them to police investigations and prosecutions. Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) - 2001 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 8 June 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/denmark2001.html [accessed 1 February 2011] [32] While the Committee notes
that financial and special assistance programs for single parents have been
established, including at the municipal level, it remains concerned about the
vulnerability of children belonging to single-parent families. Concern is
also expressed about the situation of children belonging to ethnic minority
families. Putting a stop to human trafficking - The
government has implemented a four-year plan to battle human trafficking with
a focus on women and children The At one time this article had been archived and may possibly
still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] Human trafficking is a growing
problem in many Western European countries, and Denmark will now attempt to
gain control of the situation through a four-year, DKK 70 million (EUR 9.4
million) plan to battle the crime. The national police indicate that
half of the estimated 5,000 prostitutes in the country are foreigners forced
into the lurid business, and the new plan aims to make closer contact with
the exploited persons by better coordinating the 'street teams' that have
already been set up to visit and help the groups. In addition to the DKK 70 million, portions
of Denmark's foreign aid going to developing countries will also be used to
combat human trafficking from the points of origin. MINISTER TO TACKLE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ( The [accessed 1 February 2011] 25/10/2006
- A new initiative from the Ministry for Social Affairs and Gender Equality
hopes to make inroads into the underworld of human trafficking by offering
confidential health checks to the illegal workers. The minister for
social affairs, Eva Kjer Hansen, plans to intensify
scrutiny of areas where slave labour may exist, particularly prostitution. As
part of this initiative, fully discreet health care clinics where illegal
workers can receive treatment will be established nationwide. Besides the obvious health risks
involved in prostitution, another major concern has been the problem of what
happens to those women when they are expelled from Denmark The Protection Project - The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/denmark.doc [Last accessed 2009] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Women are trafficked to A recent study undertaken by Save
the Children Denmark uncovered two primary purposes for which children are
trafficked to Denmark: for commercial sexual exploitation and for criminal
exploitation, such as pickpocketing and
shoplifting. At least 20 cases of this second form were detected from spring
to December 2003. In that year, police
observed that an increasing number of boys, primarily from Romania, were
being trafficked for criminal exploitation. Many appeared to belong to the
Roma minority. A combination of
trafficking for both purposes can also occur. Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2009&country=7595 [accessed 1 February 2011] One in 12 children forced into world's 'worst forms' of
labor: UNICEF Agence France-Presse,
www.worldrevolution.org/news/article1773.htm [accessed 20 April 2012] UNICEF UK lauded the pledge of
developed countries, made more than 30 years ago, of allocating 0.7 percent
of gross domestic product to development aid but regretted that only five
countries today fulfill that promise -- Denmark,
Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden. Trafficking in children in Denmark Red Barnet, Save the Children www.redbarnet.dk/Default.aspx?ID=2209 [Last accessed 1 February 2011] Children are sold to They come to Denmark from poor Eastern European countries such as Rumania and Albania. Their families cannot offer them a future. And one day, a stranger might come by, "I can give your child a better life in Western Europe." And the child goes along. The child is possibly sold to a ringleader, transported over borders under the cover of darkness. The offer of a better life turns out to be a life on the streets. Perhaps in Copenhagen. The children are schooled in crime. The path to prostitution can be short. And the road back home very, very long. A Report on Child Trafficking - European Network Against Child Trafficking ENACT, Marc h
2004 At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] [page 42] 7.3 TRAFFICKING PRACTICES - AVAILABLE DATA - There is very limited knowledge
about the number of minors that are trafficked to Denmark. It is definitely
certain that there are foreign minors in the prostitution milieu in Denmark,
though not in large numbers, and that criminal networks largely control this
milieu. NGOs and police do not doubt that they see minors in the streets, but
there are no counter-trafficking agencies in Denmark able to provide a
general estimate of the number of children who are victims of trafficking in
Denmark. The increased monitoring has not yet led to concrete data about the
dimensions of the problem in general or in relation to minors. There is knowledge of the problems
related to trafficking in minors in the individual police jurisdictions and
among NGOs that are working on the issue of prostitution. There are roughly
2000 foreign prostitutes in Denmark.15 About 10% of prostitution (both Danish
and foreign) is purchased on the streets. Danish NGOs working with street
prostitution do meet very young foreign prostitutes who appear to be minors.
Yet, they do not remain in the street milieus for a long time, as they are in
high demand. Customers quickly gather them up. Local police always stop the
prostitutes who appear to be minors, but they are usually in possession of a
tourist visa and money, as well as officially stamped identification that can
be purchased in the countries of origin. In the Danish media there have
been reports of at least four concrete cases of foreign girls having been
sold to prostitution in Denmark. Furthermore, recent research carried out by
Save the Children Denmark16 reports four other concrete cases of children
trafficked to Denmark for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This research
also includes mention to a single group of twenty foreign children: in this
case there is a substantial evidence indicating that they are victims of
trafficking for the purpose of economic crime (i.e. theft). Study Finds Demand Is a Factor Driving Human Trafficking,
January 6, 2004 Niurka Pineiro,
International Organization for Migration IOM, Press Briefing Notes, 06
January 2004 www.usembassy.it/file2004_01/alia/a4010606.htm [accessed 1 February 2011] Research announced by the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) January 6 says that demands of
the marketplace are a factor in causing human trafficking. Conducted by two
British researchers in selected nations of Europe and Asia, the study
suggests that the unregulated labor conditions of sex workers and domestic
workers, and the abundant supply of such workers are factors behind the
exploitation of migrants. The research was carried out
through interviews with employers of domestic workers in Sweden, Thailand,
India and Italy (and subsequently with expatriate employers in Hong Kong and
Thailand), and with clients of sex workers in Denmark, Thailand, India and Italy. The study also includes
interviews with non-employers and non-clients. Women trafficking plan comes under fire - Just 25
women to date have taken part in a government-sponsored plan to fight
sex-trade trafficking. Politicians are pressing Social Affairs Minister Eva Kjer Hansen for answers The At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] In the year since the government
launched its much-touted initiative to fight international trafficking of
women for the sex trade, 25 women have accepted an offer of protection at the
Reden women's shelter before being deported back to
their home countries. Just one woman
has accepted an offer for help from a humanitarian organisation
in her home country. The government plan was aimed at helping women victimised by sex trade trafficking in their home
countries, to prevent them from falling back into an abject life of
prostitution. Social Affairs Minister
Eva Kjer Hansen admits that things are not going
well enough. "The figures aren't
very impressive. Trafficking in Children to Denmark - New report published
by Save the Children Denmark Child Centre for Children at Risk in the Baltic Sea
Region, 20.01.2004 – [full report, next] www.childcentre.info/projects/traffickin/denmark/dbaFile11025.html [accessed 1 February 2011] Very little is known about
trafficking in children to Trafficking in Children to Save the Children Denmark, December 2003 www.childcentre.info/projects/traffickin/denmark/dbaFile11026.pdf [accessed 1 February 2011] [page 3] SUMMARY - Save the Children has uncovered two primary areas in
which trade with children to Save the Children Denmark wanted
to interview the aforementioned victims of trafficking; however, via contact with adults with close
relations to three of the victims we were informed that the children were not
prepared to participate in such an interview. They do not wish to relive
their traumatic experiences via conversations with Save the Children Denmark. The other area Save the Children
Denmark was able to identify was a group of children trafficked to Denmark
for the purpose of criminal exploitation, where the proceeds from
shoplifting, pickpocketing etc. is often entirely
or partially delivered to e.g. a ringleader residing in Denmark. Since the spring of 2003, the Danish police
and the Social 24-hours Services of Copenhagen (den Sociale
Døgnvagt) have thus observed a disconcerting
development. According to the Social 24-hours Services, there have been at
least 20 such cases in the period from spring to December 2003. Furthermore, it is important to keep in
mind that a combination of these two areas, prostitution and crime, can also
occur; the children in these milieus lead vulnerable existences on the edge
of society where the distance from petty crime to prostitution is not great. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking
& Modern-day Slavery - |
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Human Trafficking in [Denmark Street Children in [Denmark] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Denmark] [other countries]