Human trafficking is an organized criminal industry that affects every nation. While the statistics can seem overwhelming, it is important to remember that every number represents the life of a victim. The A21 Campaign has recognized a significant need in the region of Europe, and is committed to combating this injustice through rescuing one life at a time.

LIFE FOR A SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIM

After a trafficking journey that typically involves deception, rape, beatings, and constant threats, victims are often forced to live in confining and unsanitary conditions. Once formally put to work, human trafficking victims can be forced to service from 40 to 110 customers in one day¹. Malnutrition, sleep deprivation, as well as emotional and physical abuse become part of the day-to-day routine.

In addition to the abuse, forced abortions and the contraction of STI's, Hepatitis B and C, and AIDS are ever looming probabilities. Life for a victim of sex trafficking is hell on earth. This injustice is the reason The A21 Campaign exists.

THE STATISTICS: FOCUS EUROPE

• Human trafficking is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately 31.6 billion USD each year. Specifically, trafficking for sexual exploitation generates 27.8 billion USD per year².
• There are 1.39 million victims of commercial sexual servitude worldwide³.
• Over 25 percent of sex trafficked victims are trafficked from Southern and Eastern Europe⁴.
• 90% of victims trafficked into the European Union member states will end up in the sex industry⁵.
• Tragically, only 1-2 percent of victims are rescued, and only 1 in 100,000 Europeans involved in trafficking are convicted⁶.

GREECE - A PRIMARY DESTINATION

Greece is known as 'the center of trafficking in Europe.⁷ A primary destination and transit country for human trafficking, Greece is the primary gateway for trafficked victims to enter the European Union, host to 90% of all EU illegal immigration⁸. Trafficked victims are moved frequently, both internally and across borders, to evade detection. Human trafficking is a hidden crime here, with most citizens unaware of the gross human rights abuses occurring in their own city. Approximately 20,000 women, including 1 000 girls between the ages of 13-15, remain in the Greek sex industry⁹. According to The Trafficking in Persons Report, these victims are primarily from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Nigeria.

UKRAINE - A KEY SOURCE

Ukraine is a source country for trafficked women, and is currently one of the largest exporters of women to the international sex industry¹⁰. The "exotic beauty" of Ukrainian and Russian women has made them the most valuable commodities in the current international sex trade¹¹. Over 420,000 Ukrainian women between the ages of 15 and 27 have been trafficked in the past decade¹², just less than the 440,000 people in Ukraine with HIV, considered one of the most severe HIV/AIDS epidemics in Europe¹³. One study reveals that one in every 10 Ukrainian persons knows someone in their community who has been trafficked¹⁴. The majority of Ukrainian women are trafficked to Turkey, Russia, Poland, and other western European nations¹⁵.

Widespread poverty, lack of employment opportunities (75% of unemployed are women) and discrimination against women has caused a large trend for young women to search for jobs in the EU¹⁶. Working abroad is most Ukrainian women's dream, and most young Ukrainian girls grow up with no awareness of human trafficking, or the high demand for Ukrainian women in the international sex industry¹⁷. Thus, the rate of trafficking from the Ukraine continues to rise¹⁸ and the majority of convicted traffickers continue to receive no time in jail in the Ukraine¹⁹.

RE-TRAFFICKING

While in Asia, 20-25 percent of survivors are re-trafficked, in Eastern Europe an estimated 80 percent of rescued women end up retrafficked²⁰. Most of this re-trafficking occurs within the first two years of their escape. Since the year 2000, over 7,000 victims of trafficking have been repatriated back to the Ukraine²¹. The need for transition and reintegration assistance for these victims has been recognized by the Ukrainian government. However so far efforts to supply this assistance have been limited by a lack of funding²².

UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE IN EUROPE

While human trafficking is a global issue, the growth of trafficking of women from Eastern and Southern Europe (the former Soviet Bloc) into Western Europe over the past 20 years has been unparalleled anywhere else on the globe²³. This trend has developed due to a specific combination of factors:

Fall of Communism:

The fall of communism had devastating results for the nations of the former Soviet Bloc, where "widespread poverty, social inequalities, booming shadow markets, corruption, and rampant conflicts" soon became the norm. ²⁴ Floundering economies resulted in a "devastating reduction in living standards for the majority, with poverty emerging as a widespread issue."²⁵ From the perspective of human traffickers, the fields became ripe for harvest. ²⁶

Impact of Poverty on Women:

A characteristic of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the return to a traditional male dominated family structure with a shortage of labor positions that unevenly affected women²⁷. Unemployment rates for women soared, ranging between 70 and 80 percent in most of the former Soviet republics²⁸. Out of desperation to gain financial security, women have been more likely to take risky recruitment offers, leaving them prey to the deceptions of traffickers promising decent employment in another country²⁹. Even more concerning, with the depressing prospects in their countries, many women have lost "all self esteem and hope for the future" and have become more likely to accept offers they know are linked with the sex industry due to the belief that "it cannot be worse than their present lives."³⁰

EU Immigration Restrictions:

Heavy entry restrictions into Western Europe created a "strong demand for clandestine migration, readily supplied by criminal networks. Many of these criminal networks took advantage of the vast numbers of willing migrants and diversified from human smuggling into the more lucrative sex trafficking industry. Thus, thousands of women from eastern Europe attempting illegal migration with hopes of employment, peace, and a better life, found themselves enslaved as prostitutes upon arrival in Western Europe."³¹

International Organized Crime:

Generating US$12 billion annually, trafficking in women has become the second largest global organized crime today³². Criminals formally involved in illegal drugs and weapons trafficking are finding that profit margins are higher in human trafficking and are now using their extensive networks and well-worn trade routes for sex trafficking³³. In the Soviet Bloc, shadow economies were relied upon under communism to supply necessary goods and services undersupplied by the state³⁴. However, since the fall of communism, these shadow economies have quickly grown and mutated, absorbing desperately unemployed men and women as both traffickers and the victims of trafficking³⁵. Additionally, corruption amongst border officers, police, soldiers, and government officials undergirds and sustains human trafficking³⁶.

Demand for Prostitutes:

"The prevalence of sexually transmitted disease, emotional breakdowns, violence-induced injuries, pregnancy and constant demand for young and 'innocent' women have created high turnover rates in the sex industry. This high demand creates a strong market for migrant and trafficked women. Whilst this demand is facilitated by brothels, pimps, clubs and bars owners, it originates from the clients." ³⁷ Ultimately, the whole human trafficking network comes down to the clients who pay for sex, and as long as they continue to offer their money; the multi-billion dollar sex trafficking industry will flourish.

With a critical awareness of the overarching factors that cause trafficking in Europe, A21 has developed our strategy to combat this injustice.

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