Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern EuropeRepublic ofSerbia(excludingKosovo)Republic of Serbia(excluding Kosovo)1. Overview1.1. Migration, prostitution and traffickingThe geographical position of Serbia makes it a central transit point for the traffickingof women and girls into BiH, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia and WesternEurope from Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Russia and Bulgaria. Serbian womenand girls are trafficked mostly to Italy and Greece, although there are alsocases of women from Serbia working in the sex industry in Kosovo, Montenegroand Albania.Belgrade is a major transit centre. Women are transported from Central andEastern Europe and kept in private houses before they are trafficked to otherlocations. Due to control and raids by the police, the number of bars hasdecreased and part of the trafficking business has moved from the centre intothe suburbs and less obvious locations.No reliable data on the migration of women is available, as the Serbian authoritieskeep no gender-differentiated statistics. According to the police, a totalof 1,260 women from Eastern European countries (Romania, Ukraine, Moldovaand Russia) tried to enter FRY illegally in 2000 and were stopped at theborder. 87 Young women from Moldova who are suspected of being prostitutes(on unclear grounds) are refused an entry visa at the border. 88 However, themajority of women from Romania and Moldova come in groups, for whichtravel has been organised by travel agencies operating in their own countries,and so they have legal documents. According to a survey of 58 foreign sexworkers carried out by a Serbian NGO, the majority of women come for purelyeconomic reasons, having found work via job agencies in their countries, andare expecting to work in professions other than the sex industry. 891.2. Trafficking of childrenPractically no information exists on the trafficking and commercial sexualexploitation of children. Anecdotes of child prostitution around train and busstations, mainly of Roma children, are common. There are some reports thatRoma girls and children from FRY are sold to Italy for the sex industry and forbegging. There are also reports of Romanian children and adolescents in Belgradeliving on the streets because they are too old to be placed in institutions.The Romanian Embassy is not interested in repatriating these childrenand adolescents, and no special programmes or services exist for migrant childrenliving on the streets.1.3. Victim identification, referral and assistanceAt present, in the absence of a structured referral system, women come to theattention of the police mainly though police raids on brothels and clubs. Duringthe period from January 2000 to July 2001, the police stopped and ques-7887.Interview with the police, Belgrade, 11 November 2001.88.According to existing regulations, Moldavian citizens can obtain a FRY tourist visa at theborder.89.Report on a survey “Voice to Victims of Sexual Exploitation in Serbia”, Beosupport, 2001.