Bulgaria Sex
2004 Country Report on Human Rights in Bulgaria
The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, it was a widespread problem. A survey conducted by the Agency for Social Research (ASR) in 2002 found that approximately 40 percent of women had suffered sexual harassment in the workplace. ... The law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation and provides for the establishment of a nine-member antidiscrimination commission with powers to receive and investigate complaints, issue rulings, and impose sanctions. However, the National Assembly had not appointed the commission members by year's end. A number of cases were lodged for breaches of the Protection Against Discrimination Act, and in July, a Romani woman was awarded damages on the grounds of racial discrimination for being refused service in a shop. ... [Read More]
"Responses to Human Trafficking: Books and Documents" Global Issues, June 2003
PROFITING FROM ABUSE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF OUR CHILDREN ... ACCOMMODATION OR ABOLITION? SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF SEXUAL TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY ... SEX SLAVES: THE TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN IN ASIA ... [Read More]
"Libros, documentos y artículos sobre temas referidos a la trata de personas (en inglés)" Cuestiones Mundiales, Junio 2003
PROFITING FROM ABUSE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF OUR CHILDREN ... ACCOMMODATION OR ABOLITION? SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF SEXUAL TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY ... SEX SLAVES: THE TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN IN ASIA ... [Read More]
IV. Country Narratives: Europe and Eurasia
The Belarusian criminal code provides specific penalties for trafficking for the purposes of sexual or other kinds of exploitation, though many prosecutors pursue trafficking crimes under sexual assault, abduction, or recruitment for sexual exploitation statutes. The government convicted 45 individuals for trafficking or trafficking-related abuses, with a majority of sentences ranging from two to five years. The Interior Ministry reported 191 investigations of alleged trafficking, including the trafficking of women abroad for sexual exploitation, the recruitment of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation abroad, and the abduction and recruitment of minors for prostitution. In April 2003, the Interior Ministry dismantled a criminal organization that had trafficked over 400 Belarusian women to Western Europe and the Middle East since 1997. In addition, it broke up 17 organized criminal groups connected to trafficking crimes. In an effort to improve police anti-trafficking op ... [Read More]
United States and Sweden Join Forces to Protect Women and Girls from Sex Trafficking
to the project, which will operate in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, and Serbia and Montenegro. Ambassador John R. Miller, director of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, called the partnership an important action to reduce the demand for human trafficking. [Read More]
U.S., Sweden Team Up to Fight Sex Trafficking of Women, Girls - US Department of State
"The U.S. and Sweden share common ground in fighting sex trafficking by addressing violence against women, the demand for sexual exploitation and the links between prostitution and human trafficking," said Ambassador John R. Miller, director of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. "By going after buyers, we can dry up the market for prostitution and the demand for sex trafficking while protecting victims." ... The United States opposes legalized or normalized prostitution because it is inherently harmful and dehumanizing and fuels the growth of human trafficking. Sweden has criminalized the buying of sexual services as an important tool in stamping out sex trafficking and gender inequality. The United States Government estimates that nearly 70 percent of all victims trafficked across borders are used for commercial sexual exploitation, and women and girls constitute 80 percent of all trafficking victims. ... [Read More]
Bulgaria
The law does not specifically address trafficking in persons, although other laws may be used to prosecute traffickers. An amendment to the Penal Code introduced longer prison sentences (to existing kidnaping penalties already in force) in those cases where the victim is under 18 years of age, is offered to another person for sexual abuse, or is trafficked abroad for sexual abuse. Inducement to prostitution is punishable by up to 3 years' imprisonment, and the penalty rises to 10 to 20 years if the any of the following factors are involved: If performed by or through an organized crime group, if the victim is a minor under age 18 or legally incompetent, if two or more persons are induced into prostitution, or if the offense is repeated. A proposed amendment to the Penal Code that would have criminalized trafficking for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation was introduced in Parliament in April; however, the proposed legislation was not taken up for a second reading and no ... [Read More]
Bulgaria
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and sexual harassment was a widespread problem. Labor unions reported that sexual harassment occurred in the clothing assembly industry, particularly in the southern parts of the country. A survey conducted by the Agency for Social Research (ASR) during the year found that approximately 40 percent of women had suffered sexual harassment in the workplace. Most incidents were unreported. ... Victims overwhelmingly were women and girls trafficked for the purposes of prostitution. Government authorities and NGO observers reported that thousands of Bulgarian women, as well as women from Romania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, were trafficked for sexual exploitation to Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia (including Kosovo), Bosnia, Italy, Poland, and Western Europe. La Strada, a Netherlands-based NGO, reported that Bulgarian women constituted one of the largest groups of victims of forced prostitution in Western and Central Europe. According to NGO sources, as many as 10,000 Bulgarian women, many from the Romani community or under the age of 18, could be involved in international trafficking operations. A 2001 report from the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor estimated the number of child prostitutes at 3,800 based on rough data from police and from skin and venereal disease clinics. There were no official ... [Read More]
Bulgaria
In September, the National Assembly passed the Protection Against Discrimination Act; the act is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2004 and aims to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. It shifts the burden of proof and provides for the establishment of a nine-member anti-discrimination commission with powers to receive and investigate complaints, issue rulings, and impose sanctions. ... The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and it was a widespread problem, particularly in the clothing assembly industry. A survey conducted by the Agency for Social Research (ASR) in 2002 found that approximately 40 percent of women had suffered sexual harassment in the workplace. ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Chile is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most victims are Chilean minors trafficked internally for sexual exploitation. According to a 2003 study conducted by the Chilean National Department of Children’s Affairs (SENAME), at least 3,700 children were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Traffickers are known to contact victims and their families directly or through advertisements offering jobs as domestic help, models, or product promoters. Chileans have been trafficked to Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, the United States, Europe, and Asia for sexual exploitation. Foreign victims are brought to Chile for sexual exploitation or involuntary domestic servitude from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Bolivia, though authorities find it difficult to distinguish trafficking victims from economic migrants. [Read More]
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