Forced marriages, sexual exploitation not only of women but also of men and young boys, removal of organs from the body - these are part of the forms of one of the most hideous crimes nowadays - trafficking in human beings. October 18 marks the EU Anti-Trafficking Day. On this occasion the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (NCCTHB) has organized a campaign aimed to challenge public indifference to this worsening problem. NCCTHB senior expert Desislava Ivanova points to different vulnerable strata of Bulgarian society:  

„The profile of the victim is not strictly categorized, as anybody could become a victim of trafficking. Traffickers use not only violence but also know how to use human psychology. So in the recent years a trend has emerged of people becoming human trafficking victims of friends and acquaintances.”  

On the whole, people from economically poor regions tend to be under greater risk of trafficking, as well as people with low education and with irregular access to information about this kind of crime. Very often victims are fooled by promises for a better future and a better life outside the country. More often than not the bait is a well-paid job abroad.  

„It is also a fact that a great part of trafficking victims come from small ethnic communities or from ethnic communities that are capsulated and have specific traditions and culture like for example Roma Gypsies“, Desislava Ivanova adds. “However, I should like to make a point that although most victims share this profile we also have a few signals about victims - both men and women, who come from good families, have good education but have been lured by the illusion of a better life and a better job abroad.”  

Which are the destinations for Bulgarian nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings?  

„Looking at the past 3 years we have had the most signals from Germany, France, Britain and Spain, i.e. industrialized democracies that by definition can offer higher wages and better living. As a matter of fact however, we also had many cases in the Czech Republic last year. They had to do with labor exploitation of men in the industry, especially in meat processing, and also in agriculture. We most often talk about exploitation of workers in countries with advanced agriculture and about sexual exploitation in West Europe”, Desislava Ivanova explains.  

And although human trafficking is one of the crimes that are most difficult to expose, Bulgaria has been in part successful. In figures from the Prosecutor's Office investigation was underway for 316 lawsuits for sexual exploitation, 22 for exploitation of workers, 1 for forced removal of bodily organs, 2 for forced detention and 17 for sale of babies. Without conclusive information in 85 new cases filed in 2015, the number of victims is at least 100. Desislava Ivanova points to two reasons making human trafficking difficult to expose:  

„In the first place, trafficking in human beings as a crime is not often seen in its pure form - it is rather a mix of several crimes - apart from exploitation also violation of state borders and labor laws, tax evasion etc. The second reason is that almost no one files signals to institutions about human trafficking because this is a crime that people know very little about.”  

There is also the phenomenon that victims do not often think of themselves as victims of a crime. They usually work abroad and are paid wages that are more or less OK. It is very hard to persuade such people to testify in a possiblelawsuit so as to helpuncover the criminal network, which often involves relatives and friends of the victims, Desislava Ivanova says and adds:  

“When the victim realizesthat he or she is a victim, he or she still refuses to cooperate, but for another reason - fear. Victims are afraid that traffickers are still after them because they usually threaten the victims' families too.”

English Daniela Konstantinova