Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern EuropeVictim Referraland AssistanceSystem andGaps Therein• Information from friends, family or NGOs from their home country,who contact NGOs or the police in the countries of transit or destination;• Termination of the contract with the club owner and his/her agreementto departure.But the questions: “who is the victim of trafficking?” and “how to recognisetrafficked women among foreign illegal migrants, who usually work in prostitution?”remain.While it is not possible to estimate the exact numbers of trafficked women andchildren in the region, it is possible to make some generalisations based oninformation collected from various sources, including IOM, local NGOs andpolice. For the purpose of this chapter, the estimates refer to percentages andnot to total numbers, and do not describe the situation in any particular countrybut the average estimated rates for the region.• 90% of all migrant sex workers are trafficked,according to the Palermo Definition;• Victim referral and assistance system reachesonly 1/3 of foreign trafficked women;• No special protections for children under 18;• No system exists for identification, referralor assistance of internally trafficked womenand children;• No system exists for identification, referralor assistance for children trafficked for forcedlabour.According to local NGOsworking on trafficking in theregion, at least 90 percent offoreign migrant sex workersin the Balkan countries canbe recognised as victims oftrafficking, according to thePalermo Definition. However,the identification processand the referral andassistance system in thecountries of transit and destinationreaches only a small group of trafficked persons, estimated to representonly 1/3 of all foreign trafficked women and girls. There is no system toidentify or refer internally trafficking women and children, children traffickedfor forced labour or younger children trafficked for prostitution.In reviewing the current programmes of assistance for the victims of traffickingin SEE described in this report and the gaps in those programmes, somecommon principles and patterns can be observed and identified. For the purposeof the analysis, these can be grouped into four areas:1.Identification and referral2.Assistance3.Reintegration4.ProsecutionThe issues of prevention and reintegration are linked, but this chapter will onlyfocus on the victim referral and assistance system and reintegration assistance.The whole area of prevention warrants a separate comprehensivereview. Prevention and programmes to raise awareness need to be evaluatedfor their effectiveness and impact.140Prevention campaigns are usually aimed at potential victims of trafficking (orhigh risk groups), youth, journalists, people working with high risk groups(social workers, teachers), law enforcement agencies, policy makers or thegeneral public. In general, the most effective are those campaigns, which areorganised by or in close co-operation with local groups, and are reaching particularcommunities or target groups. Knowledge about the existence of trafficking,after years of media attention, is quite wide spread. What is lacking isthe recognition that trafficking is a problem or potential problem for particulargroups/communities and the lack of involvement of those groups in counter-