The UK is a major European destination, where the police believe 4000 women have been brought in to work as prostitutes, many of which are from Eastern Europe. The selling price of these women is between £2000-£8000.7 On entry to the destination country, their passports are taken away from them, serving as restraint to keep them from running away. The expectations of these girls are to work in restaurant jobs, or as maids or child minders. Some expect to work as lap dancers or escorts—but not prostitutes. For those who know they will be working as prostitutes, they are lied to about the conditions. These women can be expected to work for 16 hours and service as many as 30 men a day, sometimes physically locked in brothels for months.8

With no passports and under the threat of their pimps, they have nowhere to run. Many of them fall ill or become pregnant. They are moved about frequently and sold from dealer to dealer. They work as a means of paying their “debts” to the traffickers, who take all the money leaving them with no chance of ever paying the debt. Other main European destination countries are France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Austria. However, the flow of these victims could be anywhere from poor to more affluent countries. It is estimated that there are 10000 victims in the United Arab Emirates, again many of whom are from Eastern Europe.9

Trafficking routes are many, and they change constantly with the changing routes of migration. A route that has been found out to bring victims to the UK starts in Moscow being the trafficking center. Victims then travel a long journey via Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to Poland and the Czech Republic. From there the route to the UK is less understood; however, some direct flights are used from Moscow to the UK. Two trafficking routes to the UK involve Turkey, where 60% of the victims are Ukrainian or Moldovan. The Balkans also provide a trafficking route on to Italy and Greece, with Belgrade and Sarajevo being trafficking centres.

Some of the countries are serious about solving this problem since they aspire to join the European Union. However, global efforts are hampered by lack of accurate data. The data was also often found to be misleading in these regions. The number of trafficking victims appeared to be decreasing because traffickers use newer, more improved methods. Private apartments are used for sexual exploitation and more use is being made of phone and internet communications. The use of female pimps and legal travel documents all contribute to many cases not making it to the fact sheets. For some countries, there appears to be less of a problem than others because the reporting is less accurate than in countries that might be following more rigid documentation.

That said, the problem is obviously too big to ignore, no matter how discrepant the numbers. Thinking of the big picture is essential when putting a solid plan to fight this problem. The root causes of the problem are poverty and lack of proper child development programs. A major factor that is rarely addressed is gender discrimination and the devaluation of women. These components should be well included in the information campaigns that usually generate more fear than answers.

The most compelling information for the young women in the most vulnerable places in villages, small towns and in cities should be provided. These include showing movies, TV and radio talk shows, hotlines and promotional stickers along with any other distributed material. Information campaigns should also be easy to evaluate so that the governments can gauge their success or lack thereof.

Every country in that region must have a national plan legitimized by law to tackle the problem of human trafficking. These laws should aim at reducing demand, targeting the criminals who usually face a low rate of convictions and protecting the victims who are usually criminalized. Protecting the victims proves to have more than just a humane virtue. If the victims are guaranteed protection, they can testify against their aggressors.

They are usually too scared to speak and are sometimes prosecuted and threatened by their previous abductors even after their escape. Dorina is one such victim from Moldova.10 She stayed at the Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Trafficking that has not made its existence and address public for security reasons; many girls receive threatening phone calls from their former pimps. But simply protecting the victims is not enough, as the plans usually lack proper integration of these individuals into society.

Not only are they usually looked at as criminals or simply prostitutes themselves, but they are not given some of their basic needs. In the case of Dorina, she cut her long blonde hair and dyed it black to avoid being recognized even by her own village, where the stigma is unavoidable. Therapy is an obvious need for these women to slowly start building their trust in the people around them.