In Slovakia and the Czech Republic the growing organized crime networks
have engaged in the trafficking of young women into Western Europe, especially to Germany,
Italy, the Netherlands and Greece. ("Highway to prostitution," The
Euroreporter, 1995)
The reported numbers of women in a trafficking situation totaled 2 cases in 1992, 8
cases in 1993, and 10 women in 1994, but knowledge of criminal activity shows that these
are small fractions of the reality. ("Highway to prostitution," The
Euroreporter, 1995)
Policy and Law
Under the Slovak penal code trafficking in women is punishable by up to 8 years in
prison. During the last three years, only 10 cases of trafficking in women, according to
the Slovak penal code, have been discovered. The victims were all girls under the age of
18 who were trafficked under false pretenses. ("International Workshop on Trafficking
in Women in Central and Eastern Europe, Budapest," IOM, 4-5 October 1997)
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia new "businessmen" have
opened massage parlors. "Bodyguards," who bring women to and from their buyers,
control the prostituted women. In some cases the girls are models for pornographic
magazines and films. Some are confined to various "erotic" parlors and in other
cases they become call girls who often have to use caravans instead of flats.
("Highway to prostitution," The Euroreporter, 1995)