Human Trafficking in [Poland Street Children in [Poland] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Poland] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Republic of Poland [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Poland is a
source, transit, and destination country for women trafficked from Ukraine,
Moldova, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Somalia,
Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Vietnam to and through Poland to Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and
Japan for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Polish men and women
are trafficked to Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Sweden,
the Netherlands, and Israel for purposes of forced labor and sexual
exploitation. In 2007, there were 880 identified Polish victims of forced
agricultural labor in Italy.
- U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008
[full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links 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 or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their
authenticity or to verify their content. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Human Trafficking Ring Raided in Italy "Gangsters working in Poland recruited people looking for seasonal jobs picking fruit and vegetables in Italy through announcements in local newspapers," Bienkowski told a news conference. He said workers had to pay travel costs and a one-time work-finders fee of up to $280. But once in Italy, their situation quickly deteriorated. The workers were promised $6.30-$7.50 per hour before leaving, but received only $1.25 an hour after arriving, Bienkowski said. They were quartered in barracks with horrible sanitary conditions and had to pay for food and board, which pushed most of them into debt. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs GOVERNMENT
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - In September 2003, the Government of Poland approved a
national plan to combat trafficking that coordinates the efforts of the
government, the private sector, and NGOs.
In cooperation with the Global Program Against Trafficking in Human
Beings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the government has
also started a project against trafficking in persons. The project aims is to
strengthen criminal justice responses to trafficking and to enhance the
coordination among the criminal justice system, civil society, and other
organizations to prevent trafficking and control the involvement of organized
crime. INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are also reports that girls are trafficked to and from Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS –
Traffickers targeted young, unemployed, and poorly paid women, particularly
those with weak family ties and support networks. Traffickers attracted
victims through methods including fake employment offers, arranged marriages,
fraud, and coercion. Some victims believed that they were accepting
employment abroad as waitresses, maids, or nannies. While traveling to their
purported destinations, traffickers confiscated their passports and identity
papers and exerted control over them through fear and intimidation.
Traffickers threatened victims with violence, and those who resisted or tried
to flee were raped, beaten, or intentionally injured. As many as 90 percent of those
trafficked in the country had false travel documents, and the trafficking
operation usually involved a network of criminals. One criminal would recruit
the victim; a second would provide false travel documents and traffic her
across the border; and a third would supervise her work with clients,
functioning as a pimp. Arrest statistics indicated that approximately 25
percent of traffickers were non-citizens. Unlike in previous years, there
were no reports of large-scale auctions of women in 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 Combating
Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes in the OSCE Region Last year, press reports indicated
that in Poland, announcements in local newspapers lured workers to Italy for
seasonal jobs picking fruit and vegetables. They were promised an hourly wage
of up to $7.50, only after paying a finder’s fee and travel costs. Once in
Italy the reality was much different. Nearly 100 Polish workers were forced
to live in barracks with no sanitation or running water, fed only bread and
water and were paid just $1.25 an hour. With these meager wages, they were
unable to pay the room and board and were pushed into debt. Attempts to
resist were met with severe beatings and torture. Suspected
human trafficking gang leader nabbed in Poland In July, a joint operation saw
Italian and Polish police free more than a hundred Polish citizens that were
being held in Nazi-style labour camps in Italy's Apulia region, close to the
cities of Bari and Foggi. Polish
prosecutors investigating the Italian slave labour camps using Polish nationals
began questioning victims in the case in mid- October. Polish justice officials believe that up to
1,000 Poles may have been used as slaves in Nazi-style agricultural labour
camps in the Apulia region that forms the heel of Italy's boot. Human
Trafficking Ring Raided in Italy "Gangsters working in Poland
recruited people looking for seasonal jobs picking fruit and vegetables in
Italy through announcements in local newspapers," Bienkowski told a news
conference. He said workers had to pay
travel costs and a one-time work-finders fee of up to $280. But once in
Italy, their situation quickly deteriorated. The workers were promised $6.30-$7.50
per hour before leaving, but received only $1.25 an hour after arriving,
Bienkowski said. They were quartered
in barracks with horrible sanitary conditions and had to pay for food and
board, which pushed most of them into debt. UK anti-human trafficking campaign The United Kingdom has launched an awareness campaign on the trafficking of women from Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. The problem in Eastern Europe is reaching alarming proportions, as more and more naïve females leave their homeland in the hope of making a successful living for themselves in the West. Unfortunately many are roped into a life of crime and prostitution. British authorities argue that Poland’s accession to the EU has made it that much easier for traffickers to recruit their victims.” It’s estimated that roughly 10,000 Polish women have been the victims of domestic and international human trafficking mills. Jolanta Plakwicz from the Polish Feminist Union thinks that the figure is much higher. 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 Human trafficking and slavery are
not a thing of the past; they are a frightening reality of today. The number of detected cases of trafficking
in women and children forced into prostitution is growing. Over the past nine
years various organizations and police in Poland have been approached by
1,511 women; in 2003 alone, there were 261 reports WHOM THEY SEEK - Ideal victims for recruiters
are women who cannot speak foreign languages, have never been abroad and have
no knowledge of the law, so that when they are expelled from Poland, they
will be helpless. Procurers know well
where to look for such women. They choose first and foremost those who are greatly
affected by a lack of money and those who have looked for a job for a long
time. The best candidates come from broken homes or have poor contact with
their parents. That provides a kind of a protection for the pimp: when
problems arise, the woman has no one to turn to. The candidates do not have
to be young and beautiful. Procurers recruit both 16-year-olds and women over
45. ENAWA
Annual Report on Violence Against Women in 10 Countries In Poland, it is estimated that as
many as 10,000 women and girls are trafficked out to foreign countries every
year and 60% of the prostitutes in Poland are suspected of being trafficking
victims. New Polish law on providing
protection for refugees staying in the territory of Poland that came into
force in November 2003 includes an innovative regulations on
procedure of admitting a refugee status to unaccompanied minors. The
act obliges the state authority among others to: * creating a special “friendly”
conditions of minors interviewing * guarantying the presence of
psychologist during a minors interview * preparing by psychologist an
opinion about the interviewed minor’s psycho-health
condition 2.8.1.4. THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN
ROUTE - In this case
we can trace out two different routes. The most important runs via Poland, the Czech Republic and
Germany to Belgium. The alternative route runs to Serbia in order to end up
finally in Belgium through the Albanian route. The vehicles, which are mainly
used during the transport, are train, bus and car. The planned final destination
was for 10% of the victims the UK but they were on their way over dumped in
prostitution in Belgium. World
Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children CHILDREN OF EASTERN EUROPE - Those in institutions are not
necessarily better off. Children are bought, or adopted in Poland, Romania
and other eastern countries by British, Swiss and Scandinavian paedophiles.
Reports indicate that healthy Polish children can be bought outright for
$25,000. Others are adopted from cash-strapped orphanages whose directors may
accept bribes to concoct the legal documents, or else let their charges be
taken. And so the trafficking of children
from Eastern Europe into the countries of the West has grown. Once in Western
Europe, the children are often passed through paedophile networks until they
effectively disappear. 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 [Poland Street Children in [Poland] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Poland] [other countries]