WUNRN
Protocol
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime - http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-a&chapter=18&lang=en
Signature
Ratification
Bulgaria |
13
Dec 2000 |
5
Dec 2001 |
_________________________________________________________________________
Bulgaria has ratified the Council
of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings - http://www.coe.int/t/DG2/TRAFFICKING/campaign/Flags-sos_en.asp
_________________________________________________________________________
Deutsche Welle
28.11.09
Many women don't know how to escape prostitution
Slavery isn't a word that comes to mind as
you stroll along
According to Risk Monitor, an NGO working
to prevent organized crime and corruption in the country, trafficking may have
become more visible with the collapse of communism 20 years ago. But it has a
history that reaches back to the days of the regime.
"During communism in
When the communist government was ousted in
1989, organized criminal groups took over the trade in forced human labor.
"These criminal organizations were
created by the state during communism," Puskarova said. "They just
separated themselves from the state after the fall of communism."
Lured abroad under false pretences
Because of her work, Pushkarova has become
familiar with the stories of many women and girls who have been forced into
crime or prostitution by human traffickers - girls like Rosaria, who was
married off to a man 10 years her elder when she was only 16. Her husband
took her to
"He took
me to the owner of a restaurant, and during this meeting, the owner gave my husband
a lot of money," she recalled. "I didn't understand why. They said I
would live in the restaurant because it was safer than walking home every
night. I was taken to a room and I started to understand I was sold as a
prostitute."
Rosaria was not the only Bulgarian girl
being held captive in the rooms above the restaurant. She said that when she
told the others that she wanted to escape, they told her it was too dangerous.
The owner of the restaurant had the support of the local police.
Eventually, one of the girls gave Rosaria a
pamphlet from an organization which rescues and protects people who have been
trafficked. Rosaria hid the pamphlet until she could convince a client to let
her use his mobile phone.
Two weeks later, the owner of the restaurant
found out that the Bulgarian police were searching for Rosaria, and threw her
out. She found the local police station and returned home to
In many cases, though, it's not safe for
victims to return home after they've been rescued. And those who do, often
struggle to overcome the trauma they've experienced, said Svetlin Markov of
Animus. The organization in
"We try to help empower women to be
more confident about the future, to be more confident in society, and to see
that even though they were victims of trafficking in this society, there are
individuals who can help," Markov said.
Lack of government commitment
But Markov said that, for the Bulgarian
government, trafficking simply isn't a priority. That's reflected in a lack of
funding for Animus, meaning the crisis center can only accommodate survivors
for one month. After that, they need to find their own accommodation. It's an
almost impossible task, as they have no money and there are no shelters.
"Under the
anti-trafficking law in
Raising funds to fight trafficking is a
difficult task in a country which saw its EU funds stopped last year because of
corruption and poor administration. Both Markov and Pushkarova said funding,
improved social policy and education were the keys to preventing trafficking.
"You need to address the roots of the
problem and the roots of the problem are social," Pushkarova said.
"They come from being completely uneducated, to being marginalised from
society, to being unemployed for a very long time."
She said that while there's a long road
ahead, there have also been some improvements.
"My research shows that the Bulgarian judiciary and police have done an enormous amount of work in the last year," she said. "We are on the brink of a great wave of successful court proceedings, and at present, we're in the midst of social change."
Author: Saroja
Coelho (dc)
Editor: Sabina Casagrande
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