Where do victims of human trafficking come from?

Human trafficking occurs throughout the world, and nearly every region and corner of the globe is in some way affected by the phenomenon today. This has resulted in the noticeable increase in cases of potential victims of human trafficking (primarily women and children) who have been trafficked from a number of different countries to Denmark.

Sender-, transit- and receiver countries

The terms 'sender-, transit- and receiver' are often used to describe a country's involvement in the phenomenon of human trafficking. A country can be both a sender- and a receiver country, or a transit- and receiver country. Spain and Italy are examples of transit- and receiver countries, while the Czech Republic is an example of both a sender- and receiver country. Denmark can be characterized as a receiver-country.

The majority of women trafficked to Western European countries are from Central- and Eastern European countries. Countries often reported as sender-countries are Lithuania, Albania, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary. Furthermore, female victims of trafficking from Nigeria, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Russia and Moldavia are also reported.

According to Europol, the past five years has seen an increase in victims of human trafficking originating from and being transited through Central- and Eastern Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation in EU countries. In Denmark and Norway, in particular, an increase in Nigerian women trafficked into street prostitution has been observed.

The expansion of foreign prostitutes in European prostitution arenas

The general development of foreign women in prostitution throughout European prostitution arenas, of which some could be victims of trafficking, is described below.

• 1970's: Primarily women from East Asia - especially Thailand and the Philippines - are observed in Western European prostitution arenas.
• 1980's: Women from Latin America and the Caribbean - especially from the Dominican Republic, Basil and Columbia, but also from Ecuador and Chile are observed.
• Since 1989: An increase in women from Central- and Eastern Europe is observed.
• Since 2004: An increase in women from Africa, primarily Nigeria, is observed.
• Since 2007: An increase in especially Romanian, but also Bulgarian women, most likely a result the countries' recent EU membership, is observed.

A slight increase in the number of foreign women in prostitution in Denmark from Brazil and other South American countries has also been observed in the past few years.

Sources:

Europol 2008: Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union: A Europol Perspective

Norli, Bjørg 2006: Utenlandsk prostitusjon i Oslo. Pro Sentrets kunnskap og erfaringer. Pro Sentret. Oslo.