Men more likely to become victims of human trafficking, study

The men more often become victims of trafficking in human beings, says a study conducted by the International Center for Women Rights Protection and Promotion “La Strada” in Moldova. According to the research study, the phenomenon of trafficking has extended in the past years and covers now new risk groups – men, children, mothers with small children – and has new exploitation forms. At a news conference on December 17, Vice President of “La Strada” in Moldova Daniela Nichitin said that the number of phone calls made by men to the hotline 0800 77777 has significantly increased in 2007. Unlike the previous years, the men take the first position by the number of trafficking cases involving them in 2007, while the trafficking of men for labour exploitation is the key exploitation form, Daniela Nichitin said. The research shows that most often the men are exploited in constructions. The men are told that they will be paid when the works are completed or when they return to the country. If they oppose, they are blackmailed and manipulated or their children are kidnapped, Daniela Nichitin said. As a rule, the men are recruited in group by male recruiters, while the women by female recruiters. Usually, the recruiter is a person from the community who, most of the times, does not accompany the trafficked person and is used by the trafficker to manipulate the victim upon the return to the country. The recruitment does not necessarily take place in Moldova. This can happen in other countries, especially in those that do not require visas, mainly in train or at the station. Daniela Nichitin said that Moldova also becomes a country of destination for trafficked people. According to her, five cases of trafficking in children from Asian countries, who were exploited sexually and forced to beg and work in Moldova, have been discovered recently. In most of the cases, these are vagrant children and it is practically impossible to find their parents, the cited source said. These cases are now being investigated by the law enforcement bodies. The study also says that the men appeal to the court more often, especially in group, in order to punish the recruiter and to get the money back. The women prefer to receive rehabilitation and social reintegration assistance, to re-establish the relations with the family and to find a job in Moldova. The population continues to consider that the young women are the most exposed to the risk of trafficking (94%), while over half of the respondents (68%) think that the children are also exposed to this risk. A campaign for raising awareness of the new tendencies in human trafficking had been conducted by the International Center for Women Rights Protection and Promotion “La Strada” between September and November 2007. It included TV and radio spots, informative seminars and others. The study was commission by “La Strata” and carried out by the company Magenta Consulting SRL. The preliminary data have been collected through 400 interviews conducted in different regions of the country.