Human Trafficking in [Estonia Street Children in [Estonia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Estonia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Republic of Estonia [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Republic of Estonia [map] borders on the Baltic Sea
(W); the gulf of Riga (SW), the gulf of Finland (N); Latvia (S); and Russia
(E). Estonia is a source, transit, and destination
country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation
and forced labor. Estonian women and girls are trafficked to Sweden, Finland,
Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and the
Netherlands for purposes of sexual exploitation. Men and women were
trafficked from Estonia to the United Kingdom for the purpose of forced labor. -
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 *** It should not be that up to twenty
thousand people a year are trafficked into my country. It should not be that
their fate is shared by perhaps 800 thousand people a year trafficked in
Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. It should not be that the third
largest source income for organized crime (after the sale of drugs and guns)
is the sale of human beings. Some number of those human beings is Estonian. I
do not know how many, but I know that it should not be that any Estonian is
lost to this practice. Second, we need to protect and rehabilitate
victims. One of the great obstacles to ending this practice is that, once
they are entrapped, the victims are treated as lawbreakers. This gives the
traffickers a weapon of coercion. It means that law enforcement authorities
tend to ignore their charges and fail to protect them so that they can
testify. It means that victims feel trapped by a lack of opportunities for
rehabilitation. Third, we need to prevent the
crime. Criminals do not kidnap the majority of victims of trafficking in
Europe, nor do friends or relatives sell them into their fate. (This does
happen on a massive scale elsewhere in the world.) They are duped into
participating. Many young women, boys and girls are duped into believing they
are being recruited to honest work abroad. Once they accept offers from these
recruiters, they are trapped. This is happening as we speak in this country.
We need to warn and educate people about this practice. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs GOVERNMENT
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - From 1998 to 2000, the Government of Estonia
participated in a European Commission anti-trafficking initiative called the
STOP Project. The second phase of the
project, “Minors in the Sex Trade,” promoted networking among law enforcement
officials in INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD
LABOR - Children are engaged in prostitution in Bur of Democracy, Human
Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – A recent
study carried out by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in
which more than 160 domestic and international sources (including EUROPOL, INTERPOL,
law enforcement, NGOs, IOM, and governmental ministries from the region)
participated, estimates that the number of women and children trafficked
into, through, and from the country between 2001 and 2004 was below 100.
Women and minors were trafficked from the country to Nordic countries and
Western Europe or in or to The trafficking pattern appeared
to be unchanged from recent years. Travel-friendly regulations, short
distances, low travel costs, and the draw of legitimate employment make the
Nordic and EU countries easier destination points for traffickers. The
traffickers were individuals, small groups, and organized criminals who ran
the prostitution industry and mainly lured victims with the promise of legitimate
employment and/or the opportunity to live and study abroad. The traffickers
tended to befriend the victims or attempted to pass themselves off as
legitimate job mediators. Due to fairly liberal travel regulations around the
region, false documentation was not always necessary. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2003 [36] The Committee is concerned that
there is no effective system for the screening of foster or adoptive parents,
including national standards and efficient mechanism to prevent the sale and
trafficking of children, to review, monitor and follow up the placement of
children, and collect statistics on foster care and adoption, including
inter-country adoption. [48] The Committee is concerned at
the insufficient information and awareness of the extent of commercial sexual
exploitation and trafficking of children. It is also concerned that there is
no specific prohibition in law of trafficking in human beings, including for
the purpose of prostitution. Protection Project Country Report on Estonia [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Estonian women are trafficked
for several purposes. Often the women are forced to work in prostitution, as
domestic workers, nannies, dancers, striptease dancers, or waitresses or to
become brides for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Women and minors respond to job
opportunities that they see in newspapers or hear about through
acquaintances. Young girls are also lured by recruiters posing as
boyfriends. The victims of
trafficking from Estonia are often members of the Russian-speaking community
in the northeastern portion of the country. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 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 Project
for the Prevention of Adolescent Trafficking EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - This project proposes to
replicate in Estonia the successful Project for the Prevention of Adolescent
Trafficking in Latvia (PPAT-Latvia) currently sponsored by the United Nations
Fund for Women (UNIFEM). PPAT-Estonia is being developed in response
to a growing body of evidence which indicates that 1) trafficking is a
burgeoning problem in Estonia, 2) the problem of trafficking is not being
adequately addressed in Estonia, and 3) victims of trafficking in Estonia
tend to be under the age of 25. The goal of this project is to prevent
the trafficking of adolescents in Estonia by raising awareness and educating
youth about the issue of human trafficking and forced labor. The
project will also focus on building the capacity of local youth serving NGOs
to educate youth on the issue of human trafficking and work to increase the
cooperation between NGOs and the Estonian government on the issue of
combating human trafficking. It should not be that up to twenty
thousand people a year are trafficked into my country. It should not be that
their fate is shared by perhaps 800 thousand people a year trafficked in
Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. It should not be that the third
largest source income for organized crime (after the sale of drugs and guns)
is the sale of human beings. Some number of those human beings is Estonian. I
do not know how many, but I know that it should not be that any Estonian is
lost to this practice. Second, we need to protect and
rehabilitate victims. One of the great obstacles to ending this practice is
that, once they are entrapped, the victims are treated as lawbreakers. This
gives the traffickers a weapon of coercion. It means that law enforcement
authorities tend to ignore their charges and fail to protect them so that
they can testify. It means that victims feel trapped by a lack of
opportunities for rehabilitation. Third, we need to prevent the
crime. Criminals do not kidnap the majority of victims of trafficking in
Europe, nor do friends or relatives sell them into their fate. (This does
happen on a massive scale elsewhere in the world.) They are duped into
participating. Many young women, boys and girls are duped into believing they
are being recruited to honest work abroad. Once they accept offers from these
recruiters, they are trapped. This is happening as we speak in this country.
We need to warn and educate people about this practice. [page 30 & 31] MIGRATION - The desire of young people to
change their future by migrating and working abroad is another risk factor.
Many children are not aware of their rights, lack information and do not know
the legal procedures for travelling abroad, and the risks related to
migration. The search for adventure, idealised notions about living abroad,
and success stories from those who return from abroad encourage risk-taking.
Very importantly, the reports note the risks to children who may have
migrated normally with their families or voluntarily on their own, but who
end up in foreign countries without any protections, and so become extremely
vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. They get involved in petty crime
and move into prostitution as a survival strategy, or because they are found
by someone who will exploit them. Many people, and especially young people,
are migrating because of the lack of opportunities for them in their own
countries. The fall of the ‘Iron Curtain’ and the links with countries of the
European Union have opened up both borders and travel opportunities, and at
the same time the increasing gap between rich and poor, the growth of
international organised crime, and corruption, provide their own incentives
or opportunities. Another issue highlighted in some
reports is the lack of migration policies on the part of governments which
would help young people to migrate safely. The Belarus report mentions that
less than 5% of those who want to leave the country had adequate information
about employment outside the country. The Estonian, Romanian and Ukraine
reports also refer to this lack of information among young people trying to
emigrate. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that young people are
vulnerable to sexual exploitation. On the other hand, research among 24
victims in Moldova by an NGO, CIVIS, found that half of the young people had
known about trafficking, but had hoped it would not happen in their cases.
Most, however, said that if they had been informed about the dangers, they
would have avoided the experience. Aire Trummal has composed the
Estonian country report TRAFFICKING
IN CHILDREN FOR SEXUAL PURPOSES IN EUROPE: THE SENDING COUNTRIES (2003). Like in other post-soviet
countries, Estonian sex industry started to vigorously develop after the
re-independence in the middle of 1990s when the number of brothels and those
involved in prostitution increased tremendously. Drug trafficking,
prostitution and excise fraud are the main income sources of the organised
crime today (Saar, Markina, Ahven, Annist, Ginter 2002:85-98). Grants
issued by the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn q
Combating
Human Trafficking in Estonia: Women and Children q
Preventive-informative
campaign against trafficking in girls and women in the Baltic States … q
To
prevent the trafficking of adolescents in Estonia by raising awareness and
educating youth … q
Participation
of 11 Estonian officials from various ministries and also NGOs … q
Prevention
of Human Trafficking q
Combating
trafficking in women q
Research
and Information on Trafficking in Persons in Estonia q
Prevention
of Human Trafficking q
To
increase the knowledge of primary school graduates of Valga and Jõgeva
counties … q
Anti-Trafficking
Hotline Service for Women Prevention
of human trafficking in Estonia Human
Trafficking is
an increasing problem both in Estonia and throughout the whole world. Combat against
human trafficking means protection of human rights, and is closely related to
national and international security considerations. Articles (in Estonian) can be
downloaded on website of ENUT (The Estonian Women's Studies and Resource
Centre): http://www.enut.tpu.ee/ The present study of the awareness
that graduating female high school students have, as a group at risk of being
trafficked, is part of the campaign activity in Estonia. The study was
conducted by sociologistsi (Marion Pajumets)at the Estonian Institute of
Humanities. 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 [Estonia Street Children in [Estonia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Estonia] [other countries]