What is human trafficking?
Human trafficking is illegal. It is a violation of numerous international laws and human rights protocol and is conducted by criminals, who are often members of well-organized crime networks. The traffickers transport victims within their own countries and, most often, across international borders. The victims are then stripped of their basic freedoms, sold as chattel, and forced to work as sex slaves or other laborers. The victims are routinely raped, tortured and brutalized.
What is the difference between prostitution and human trafficking?
The victims of human trafficking -- girls, women, men and boys -- are enslaved. Often under threat of death, and without their consent, they are forced to provide sex to men for pay. The payment goes directly to the owners, and the victim receives nothing. Traffickers often convince women to go abroad and work as prostitutes, seemingly of their own free will, but then enslave and brutalize them. In contrast, prostitution is a business, an administrative offense in Moldova, where the women, not the traffickers, sell their bodies as a commodity and pocket the profits. Prostitutes are not slaves and are not controlled by the traffickers.
Are the victims of human trafficking criminals?
No. They are tricked into going abroad. They are told lies. They are often cheated out of their money and documents. Because they are forced into sexual labor and other work, they are the victims, not the criminals.
Who is at risk?
Girls as young as five are sold into sexual slavery. Boys as young as 11 are strong-armed into militias to serve as child soldiers or to perform forced labor. The prime risk group is the 100,000 women and girls in Moldova between the ages of 16 and 24. These girls and women often lack education and have no prospect for gainful employment. They live in desperately poor villages with no running water, indoor plumbing and virtually no hope for a better future. Eighty nine percent of the victims have at least two children and are often looking for work to support their family. They are easy targets for the traffickers who lure them abroad with promises of jobs and the dream of a better life. Using force, fraud and corruption, coercion and other horrible means, traffickers prey on the powerless, the desperate and the vulnerable.
What happens to the girls and women who are the victims of human trafficking?
The vast majority go abroad and are never heard from again. We know from those who have returned that the traffickers use every means of intimidation to compel their victims' obedience. The criminals force their victims into submission through the cruelest and most inhumane forms of intimidation and humiliation. These include rape, torture, death threats, beatings, imprisonment and starvation. They are sold multiple times as modern day slaves. The sales prices range from $200-$20,000 and up.
What are the destination countries?
The majority of the girls and women trafficked from Moldova end up in countries with lax law enforcement and a history of political instability. The traffickers thrive where local authorities look the other way or lack the resources or political will to crack down on these criminal enterprises. Destination countries include the Balkan states (Macedonia, Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo). They are also sent to Western Europe, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Israel. In the Balkans, the demand is fueled by locals, but also by foreign troops stationed on peace-keeping missions. Elsewhere, the victims are sold into sex slavery rings and used as forced labor.
How are the victims recruited?
The traffickers are well-organized, often in large international and mafia criminal organizations. They can recruit through newspaper ads offering opportunity and work abroad and through a network of local recruiters who lie and cheat to catch the victims. The recruiters can also be friends or community members the victims have come to know and trust. They are often women who easily build trust with their desperate countrywomen. Each criminal network can employ up to 40 people, who deal with everything from housing to travel arrangements. They often include phony employment, travel and modeling agencies, passport forgers, truckers in human cargo and brothels. In a recent case, a mother sold her 12 year-old daughter into a trafficking ring. The girl is now pregnant and has been abandoned by her family.
How hard is it for a victim to escape?
Girls and young women usually are discovered by police during raids on brothels and other locations where the victims are forced to work. In a handful of cases, the victims escape on their own, but this is rare because the victims are imprisoned in cramped apartments and houses and closely guarded. They are told that if they escape they will be killed, their families murdered and, if they go to the local police, they will be deported back to their host country under a cloud of shame. About 30 percent of the victims we know about have been rescued as a direct result of a call to the La Strada information hotline. Those who do escape have been so brutalized that they experience life-long psychological trauma, and, according to psychologists, only 30 percent fully recover to live a normal life.
How can I stop a trafficker and how can I help?
The best way to stop trafficking is to offer a young girl a job so she can provide for her family. The biggest challenge to combating trafficking in Moldova is the lack of jobs and economic opportunity. You can also help by working with law enforcement to identify and stop the traffickers. Recognize some of the signs, and be particularly aware of men or woman who offer forged passports, contracts and visas to work abroad.
How many victims are minors?
About 20 percent are girls under the age of 18. Young girls are more desirable and fetch a higher price. The majority of those who manage to return to Moldova are over 18. The IOM rehabilitation center does have a wing designed just for minors, including specially trained psychologists and social workers.
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