Efforts to crack down on human trafficking in Russia focus not only on the men, women, and children who are illegally shipped out of Russia to undergo forced labor and sexual exploitation in other countries, but also those who are illegally brought into Russia from abroad. The Government of the Russian Federation has made significant progress in this area over the past decade, but a report commissioned by the United States Department of State in 2010 concluded that much more needed to be done before Russia could be taken off its Tier 3 watchlist. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 3" in 2017.
Germany is a European source, point of transit, organization and destination country for women, children, and men subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.
The Bahamas is a destination country for men and some women from Haiti and other Caribbean countries who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, and, to a lesser extent, women from Jamaica and other countries who are in forced prostitution. Haitian trafficking victims are most likely to migrate to The Bahamas voluntarily, but subsequently be subjected to forced labor in agriculture, domestic service, or forced prostitution. Some employers coerce migrant workers – legal and illegal – to work longer hours, at lower pay, and in conditions not permitted under local labor law by changing the terms of employment contracts, withholding travel documents, refusing transportation back home, threatening to withdraw the employer-specific and employer-held permits, or threatening to have the employee deported through other means. Traffickers reportedly lure Jamaican and other foreign women to the Bahamas with offers of employment in the tourism and entertainment fields and subject the women to forced prostitution after their arrival. The Ministry of Education is investigating allegations that some high school girls in Eleuthera may be involved in a prostitution ring. This report is the only indication that Bahamian citizens may be victims of human trafficking.
Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Some children in Barbados are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation in “transactional sex” wherein a third party such as a parent receives a benefit from the child's participation in sexual activity. Researchers identified patterns of transactional sex within families, most often by adult male caretakers such as step-fathers, as well as child prostitution outside the home. Women from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica voluntarily enter Barbados as illegal migrants, and some expect to engage in prostitution. Some of these women are exploited in forced prostitution subsequent to their arrival. Some other foreign women who entered the country illegally are exploited in involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Foreign men have been transported to Barbados for the purpose of labor exploitation in construction and other sectors. Sex traffickers, primarily organized criminals from Guyana, form partnerships with pimps and brothel owners from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and lure women to Barbados with offers of legitimate work. Trafficking victims tend to enter the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers later use force and coercion to obtain and maintain the victims' work in strip clubs, massage parlors, some private residences, and “entertainment clubs” which operate as brothels. Traffickers use methods such as threats of physical harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts, psychological abuse, and confinement to force victims to work in construction, the garment industry, agriculture, or private households.
In 2009, Belarus was a source, destination, and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. The majority of identified Belarusian victims were females forced into prostitution abroad, including in: Russia, Germany, Latvia, other European countries, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, and the UAE. There were reports that women from low-income families in Belarus’ regions were subjected to forced prostitution in Minsk. Belarusian men, women, and children continued to be subjected to forced begging, as well as forced labor in the construction industry and other sectors in Russia. According to the Ministry of Interior, Belarusian single, unemployed females between the ages of 16 and 30 were most at risk of being trafficked. Human traffickers often used informal social networks to approach potential victims.
Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.
Turkmenistan ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2005.
Trinidad and Tobago is a destination, source, and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution, and children and men in conditions of forced labor. Some women and girls from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Suriname who had been in prostitution in Trinidadian brothels and clubs have been identified as trafficking victims. Trinidadian trafficking victims have been identified in the United Kingdom and the United States. Undocumented economic migrants from the region and from Asia may be vulnerable to forced labor and forced prostitution. As a hub for regional travel, Trinidad and Tobago also is a potential transit point for trafficking victims traveling to Caribbean and South American destinations.
Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and women and children in forced prostitution.
Portugal is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Trafficking victims in Portugal are from Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland and some African countries. Children from Eastern Europe, including Romani, are subjected to forced begging, sometimes by their families.
In 2009, Norway was a destination and to a lesser extent, a transit and origin country for women and girls subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution, and men and women subjected to forced labor in the domestic service and construction sectors. Some foreign migrants may have been subjected to forced labor in the health care sector. Victims identified in 2009 originated in 45 countries, but most originated in Nigeria or other African countries and Eastern Europe. Often, victims were from minority groups in their countries of origin. Criminal organizations were often involved in human trafficking in Norway, and trafficking schemes varied by victims' countries of origin. Children in Norwegian refugee centers and migrants denied asylum were vulnerable to human trafficking in Norway; 44 children went missing from refugee centers during the 2009 calendar year.
Hungary is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution, and a source country for men and women in conditions of forced labor. Women from Hungary are forced into prostitution in Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and the United States. Women from eastern Hungary are subjected to forced prostitution in Budapest and areas in Hungary along the Austrian border. Roma women and girls who grow up in Hungarian orphanages are highly vulnerable to internal forced prostitution. Men from Western Europe travel to Budapest for the purpose of adult sex tourism, some of which may involve the exploitation of trafficking victims. Men and women are subjected to conditions of forced labor within Hungary. Women from Romania and Ukraine are transported through Hungary to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and the United Arab Emirates where they are subsequently subjected to forced prostitution; some of these victims may be exploited in Hungary before they reach their final destination country.
Human trafficking in Georgia is common, with people being subjected to forced prostitution and forced labor. In 2009, women and girls from Georgia were forced into prostitution in Georgia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Greece, and in recent years, cases of forced prostitution of Georgian victims have also been documented in Russia, Germany, and Austria. Men and women have been forced into labor in Georgia, Libya and Turkey. Men from Turkey are also forced into labor in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, which is outside the Georgian government's control.
North Macedonia is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Macedonian women and children are trafficked internally within the country. Women and girls from Albania, Bulgaria and Kosovo were reportedly subjected to forced prostitution or forced labor in Macedonia in 2009. Macedonian victims and victims transiting through Macedonia are subjected to forced prostitution or forced labor in South Central and Western Europe. Children, primarily ethnic Roma, are subjected to forced begging by their parents or other relatives. Girls were subjected to conditions of forced labor in Macedonian bars and nightclubs. A small number of Macedonian men were allegedly subjected to forced labor in Azerbaijan. Traffickers continued to operate in more hidden, private sectors in an attempt to conceal their exploitation of victims from law enforcement.
In 2010 Mongolia was a source country, and to a much lesser extent, a destination for men, women, and children who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Mongolian men, women, and children were found in these conditions in China, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea, and Hong Kong. Mongolian men and women were found in conditions of forced labor in Turkey, Kazakhstan, and the Czech Republic. Visa-free travel of Mongolians to Turkey resulted in a significant increase in the number of both labor and sex trafficking cases of Mongolian labor migrants in Turkey. There remained concerns about involuntary child labor in the Mongolian construction, mining, and industrial sectors, where children were vulnerable to injury and face severe health hazards. The problem of Mongolian women subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude after engaging in brokered marriages - mainly to South Korean men - continued. Trafficking within Mongolia often involved women and girls forced to work in saunas or massage parlors where they were subjected to forced prostitution. Anecdotal reports continued to indicate that South Korean and Japanese tourists engaged in child sex tourism in Mongolia.
Montenegro ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2006.
In 2009 Morocco was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Children were trafficked within the country from rural areas to urban centers to work as maids or laborers, or for commercial sexual exploitation. Moroccan men, women, and children were exploited for forced labor and prostitution in European and Middle Eastern countries. Young Moroccan girls from rural areas were recruited to work as child maids in cities, but often experienced non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse, and sometimes faced restrictions on movement. These practices indicate that these girls are subjected to involuntary servitude. Moroccan boys experienced forced labor as apprentices in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops. A few Moroccan men and boys were lured to Europe by fraudulent job offers, and are subsequently forced to sell drugs. In addition, men and women from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Philippines entered Morocco voluntarily but illegally with the assistance of smugglers; once in Morocco, some of the women were coerced into prostitution or, less frequently, forced into domestic service. Nigerian gangs, who engaged in a variety of criminal activities like human smuggling and drug trafficking, competed to control the trafficking of sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco.
Bulgaria is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and men, women, and children subjected to conditions of forced labor. Bulgarian women and children are subjected to forced prostitution within the country, particularly in resort areas and border towns, as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, Cyprus, and North Macedonia. Bulgaria women and children of Roma descent are the most vulnerable to trafficking, especially as it relates to sex trafficking and early childhood marriage. Bulgarian men, women, and children are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Some Bulgarian children are forced into street begging and petty theft within Bulgaria and also in Greece and the United Kingdom.
Burkina Faso is a country of origin, transit, and destination for persons, mostly children, subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. The Government of Burkina Faso provided data from the Ministry of Social Action showing that, in 2009, security forces and regional human trafficking surveillance committees intercepted 788 children Burkinabe and foreign children, 619 of whom were boys, destined for exploitation in other countries, principally Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Niger. Child trafficking victims who remain inside Burkina Faso are usually found in large cities such as Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Nouna, and Hounde. Child victims face conditions of forced labor or services as plantation and mining hands, laborers on cocoa farms, domestic servants, beggars recruited as pupils by unaccredited Koranic schools, or captives in the prostitution trade. To a lesser extent, traffickers recruit Burkinabe women for nonconsensual commercial sexual exploitation in Europe. Women from neighboring countries like Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Niger migrate to Burkina Faso on the promise of respectable work, but are subjected to forced labor in bars or forced prostitution.
Denmark is primarily a transit and destination country for women and children from Baltic countries, East and Central Europe, Nigeria, Thailand, and South America subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. There was one report last year of a male teenager from Nigeria rescued from the commercial sex trade in Denmark. The government did not report any cases of forced labor during the reporting period, though the Danish Anti-Trafficking Center highlighted that workers in domestic service, restaurants, hotels, factories, and agriculture, may be vulnerable to forced labor in Denmark. There were unconfirmed reports of foreign children being forced to engage in organized street crime. The government released a report in 2010 about increasing evidence that "au pair" organizations could be used as front companies for human trafficking. The hundreds of unaccompanied foreign minors who arrive in Denmark every year are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. The United States Department of State placed the country in "Tier 2" in their 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report. Denmark is back to Tier 1 in 2023.
