ROMA living in segregated settlements become the most frequent victims of human trafficking in Slovakia. The most endangered groups are young people aged 16-25 and men aged 25-35, the study of the People in Need Slovakia humanitarian organisation showed.
According to Timea Stránska, head of the organisation, Roma are abused, especially for forced work, mostly in countries like Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Germany.
“In Great Britain this concerns especially cities like Peterborough, Sheffield, Leicester, Derby and Birmingham,” Stránska said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Another revelation shows that victims of human trafficking are lured directly in the settlements after meeting with traffickers.
“Often it also happens that the victim is recruited by their distance relatives or someone from their surroundings,” Stránska added.
Except for forced labour, the human trafficking victims are also abused for prostitution and begging. In cases of children, there are mostly cases when young Roma girls are forced to be prostitutes.
“We found out that in human trafficking the so-called cumulated exploitation starts to be used, which means that the victims are abused in two or three ways,” Stránska said, as quoted by TASR.
She also pointed to the fact that Roma from segregated localities only seldom turn to the police, mostly because of fear, mistrust or weak legal awareness. Therefore in 2013 police officially reported only 11 such crimes, she added.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
