"Increased trafficking of women for prostitution is akin to
slavery... women are bought and sold like cattle." (Anita Gradin, European
Commissioner, European Race Audit Bulletin No 25, The Institute of Race Relations,
London UK, 25 November 1997)
Approximately 500,000 women are annually trafficked into Western Europe. (International
Organization for Migration, Michael Specter, "Traffickers’ New Cargo: Naive
Slavic Women," New York Times 11 January 1998)
Of 155 cases of trafficked women: 44 were from Central Europe, mainly the Czech
Republic and Poland; 64 from Eastern Europe and the CIS, mainly Russia and the Ukraine;
and 47 from developing countries, mainly Morocco, Thailand and the Dominican Republic. 3/4
of the women were under 25, and many were teenagers, between 15 and 18, especially among
those from Central Europe. (Data by STV: Dutch NGO of women assisted by them in 1994,
"Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characterisitics, Trends and Policy
Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)
In several European Union Member States, prostitution has become increasingly dominated
by foreign women. In many areas within the European Union the number of migrant
prostitutes is higher than the number of local prostitutes (Brussa, 1995, p.7).
("Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characteristic, Trends and Policy
Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)
The slave trade in women for sexual purposes is growing, and organized crime is more
often behind this trade. Smuggling in humans is much less risky than smuggling drugs and
it is highly profitable. (Commissioner Anita Gradin, "Conference on Trafficking in
Women" European Commission, 10-11 June 1996)
Women from Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco), Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, the
Dominican Republic), South East Asia (the Philippines, Thailand), and Central and Eastern
Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine) are the largest groups
of women being trafficked into the European Union. (Europe national data,
"Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characterisitics, Trends and Policy
Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)
Methods and Techniques of
Traffickers
Trafficking has become increasingly territorial. Criminal groups from Russia control
the markets for trafficked women and girls in Poland and Germany. Criminal Ukrainian
groups reportedly control Hungary and Austria. The Italian market is controlled mainly by
Russian and Albanian groups. In the Netherlands, there are reports of growing control by
Eastern European trafficking gangs in every red light district. (Altink, 1995, p.131). The
severity of violence, including murder, has also increased along with territorial
behavior. In 1995, 5 Ukrainian women and their employer were found "hacked to
pieces" in a suburb of Frankfurt in what police speculate was a dispute between rival
trafficking networks. ("Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characterisitics,
Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996),
IOM, 7 May 1996)
Organized international trafficking networks and small trafficking rings specializing
in smuggling women out of one single country are the two types of operations in
trafficking of women into Europe. (International Orgainsation for Migration. European
Race Audit Bulletin No. 25, The Institute of Race Relations, London UK, 25 November
1997)
The traffickers typically use children who are trafficked with their mothers for
blackmail purposes. (Caritas, European Race Audit Bulletin No. 25, The Institute of
Race Relations, London UK, 25 November 1997)
"Legal fronts to disguise traffic into the European Union include: entertainers,
cabaret artists, au-pair girls, students, applicants for political refugee status,
adoptions, marriages etc." (Michele Hirsch, "Plan of Action Against Trafficking
in Women and Forced Prostitution," pp.13 & 14, Council of Europe, 1996)
Three types of traffickers have been classified:
1. In border regions occasional traffickers provide internal or international
transportation. They are usually owners of taxis, small boats or trucks that can carry
individuals or small groups from a drop-off point on the coast, across a narrow strait, or
over a poorly secured border. This type is not organized in any sophisticated or ongoing
way
2. Small, well-organized trafficking rings often specialize in trafficking
nationals out of one specific country, consistently using similar routing consistently;
3. Organized, international trafficking networks are most sophisticated,
consequently most dangerous and difficult to combat. These networks have access to
fraudulent and/or authentic, usually stolen, documents or the capability to produce
falsified documents themselves. They can change routing and means of transportation when a
traditional route is blocked. Members are present worldwide. Lodging and logistical
support are at their disposal in countries of transit and destination. ("Trafficking
of Women to the European Union: Characteristics, Trends and Policy Issues," European
Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)
Three types of traffick networks have been classified:
1. The large scale network is based on a structure of international contacts at
different political and economic levels in the countries of origin and destination. These
use a variety of recruiting methods. This type of network often uses transit countries.
2. The medium scale network is distinct because it does not sell women to other
groups. It keeps the women under its control and prostitutes them its own clubs and
brothels.
3. The small scale network works approximately as follows: a club owner in a
destination country needs some new women for his club. Through contacts with people in the
prostitution business abroad, he places an order. Contacts recruit the women, accompany
them to the destination and deliver her. ("Trafficking of Women to the European
Union: Characterisitics, Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on
Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)
It is easier and less expensive to bring trafficked women from the Central
and Eastern European Countries to the European Union than to recruit women from developing
countries. The Central and Eastern European Countries are so close to the European
Union’s borders, that the traffickers can easily afford to replace women with new
trafficked women. ("Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characterisitics,
Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996),
IOM, 7 May 1996)
Women trafficked to the European Union from developing countries are likely to
come from rural areas. ("Trafficking of Women to the European Union:
Characterisitics, Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in
Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)
Official Corruption and Collaboration
European Union governments bear some responsibility for not only tolerating migrant
prostitution and trafficking in women but also for encouraging it (Mansson, 1995).
("Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characterisitics, Trends and Policy
Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, June 1996, IOM, 7 May 1996)
In Europe, the behavior of police towards victims of trafficking has led to reluctance
on the part of the women to come forward." Police have also been discovered to
collaborate with the traffickers (Bouffious and De Staercke, 1994). ("Trafficking of
Women to the European Union: Characterisitics, Trends and Policy Issues," European
Conference on Trafficking in Women, June 1996, IOM, 7 May 1996)
Health and Well-Being
Given the perilous conditions of some voyages, many women trafficked to the European
Union face the threat of injury and even death. The women are frequently forced into a
situation of extreme dependency that is comparable to that of being a hostage. The women
have limited or no access to health care. ("Trafficking of Women to the European
Union: Characterisitics, Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on
Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)