Exploited, deceived, kidnapped - the women who are victims of trafficking in Europe are in every case trapped in some way, according to Europol. Some are exploited, although they were aware that they would be working as prostitutes, because they by no means imagined the degrading conditions in which they would have to live.
Some are deceived, initially taken on by dubious agencies to work as waitresses or au pairs, then bled dry. Others are kidnapped, because at no stage did they wish to leave their own country, but they become veritable slaves sold on the human market to the highest bidder.
A survey carried out over a two-year period by the Kosovo office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), for which some 300 victims were questioned, gives us a glimpse of these young women's sufferings, after they have left home in the hope of improving their life and that of their families. Most came from Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, where, according to World Bank figures, between 20 and 30% of the population is living below the poverty threshold.
Despite the partial economic recovery in central and eastern Europe, per capita income is still 30% lower than it was in 1989, over ten years after the transition period began.
