Human Trafficking in Eastern Europe

• Author: Georgi Petrunov
• Published date: 01 May 2014
• Date: 01 May 2014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0002716214521556

162 ANNALS, AAPSS, 653, May 2014

DOI: 10.1177/0002716214521556

Human

Trafficking in

Eastern

Europe: The

Case of

Bulgaria

By

GEORGI PETRUNOV

521556ANN The Annals of the American AcademyHuman Trafficking in Bulgaria

research-article2014

Eastern Europe is among the major sources of migrants

who travel for work to other European nations. In this

research, in-depth interviews and analysis of legal cases

of migration in Bulgaria reveal that the typical kinds of

human trafficking in the region are sexual exploitation,

labor exploitation, forced servitude, and trafficking of

pregnant women for the sale of their babies. For each

type, I examine victim profiles, recruitment strategies,

transportation, and the types of control and exploitation

that traffickers use. Comparisons are drawn between

the Bulgarian findings and patterns in other Eastern

European nations.

Keywords: human trafficking; organized crime;

Eastern Europe; Bulgaria

Eastern European countries are among the

most affected by human trafficking. Due

largely to socioeconomic conditions in these

nations, they are major sources of migration

from the East to richer countries in Western

Europe. Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania,

Russia, and Ukraine are among the most impor-

tant source countries of human trafficking

within Europe, according to Europol (2009)

and the International Labour Organization

(2005).

Researchers point out that human traffick-

ing exploits both restrictive migratory policies

and the desire of people to seek a better liveli-

hood (Cameron and Newman 2008; Dinan

2008). Trafficking flows from Eastern Europe

run parallel to general migration patterns in the

region: trafficking is higher in high-migration

areas because traffickers benefit from lower

recruitment costs (due to preexisting networks)

and because traffickers can more easily deceive

Georgi Petrunov is chief assistant at the University of

National and World Economy and research fellow at

RiskMonitor. He is a member of the Expert Group of the

National Commission for Combating Trafficking in

Human Beings, Council of Ministers, Republic of

Bulgaria.

RESULTS: TYPES AND PROFILES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN BULGARIA 163

those wishing to depart high-migration areas (Omar Mahmoud and Trebesch

2010). After the Communist regimes collapsed in Eastern Europe in the late

twentieth century, there was a sharp increase in migration flows (Kaczmarczyk

and Okólski 2005; Mansoor and Quillin 2006). Between 1990 and 2000, for exam-

ple, more than ten million people from the Balkan peninsula (e.g., Albania,

Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova) migrated to other countries, out of a total

population of some eighty million in this region (Baldwin-Edwards 2006). The

reasons for this mass migration included the lifting of the ban on free movement

of people living under the previous Communist regimes in these countries, as

well as low income, increasing unemployment, and (in some of the countries)

political repression. In the early 1990s, large sectors of the population were mar-

ginalized and their living standards fell abruptly (Marc and Kudatgobilik 2002).

Research shows that poverty, scarce jobs, and social inequality were and remain

the main drivers of both migration and trafficking in Eastern Europe (Akee et al.

2007; Anastasijevic 2008; Aronowitz 2001; Bruckert and Parent 2002; Cameron

and Newman 2008; Chand 2008; International Organization for Migration

[IOM] 2006). In addition to these socioeconomic conditions, other factors (illit-

eracy, corruption, and certain policies and laws) increase migrants’ vulnerability

to fraud, trafficking, and exploitation (Demir 2003; Pizarro 2008; Rajbhandari

2008; Shahinian 2008).

Recent studies of migration and trafficking from Eastern Europe to the West

suggest that many migrants do not consider themselves victims even if they expe-

rienced some degree of deception or coercion in the process (Agustín 2007;

Breuil et al. 2011; Davies 2009; Siegel and Bovenkerk 2000; Siegel and Yesilgoz

2003; Verhoeven and van Gestel 2011). Trafficking operates within the context of

people’s desire for work, and many trafficking victims depart their countries on a

voluntary basis but may be unprepared for the risks they experience during and

after the relocation process (Demir 2003; ILO 2005; Omar Mahmoud and

Trebesch 2010; Surtees 2005; Tyuryukanova 2005). Regarding migration into sex

work, researchers point out that the decisions to migrate are often motivated by

a desire for personal advancement or to support family members back home and

that many women were already working as prostitutes in their home countries

(Agustín 2007; Aronowitz 2009; Kapur 2008). The main reason for working in the

sex industry is the relatively large amount of earnings compared with what these

individuals would earn if they stayed in their home country (Agustín 2007;

Kligman and Limoncelli 2005; Skilbrei and Tveit 2008).

But migrants are also at risk of exploitation by other actors. Eastern European

countries have been identified as sites where transnational criminal organziations

are involved in human trafficking. According to Europol (2011), Bulgarian,

Romanian, Chinese, and Nigerian crime groups are actively involved in the

European Union (EU). They exploit the strong desire of residents to improve

their standard of living and employers’ demand for cheap labor or for sex workers

(Mansoor and Quillin 2006; Omar Mahmoud and Trebesch 2010; Shelley 2010).

This article explores human trafficking in Bulgaria—which reportedly is among

the most affected countries in Europe—in terms of causal factors for migration,

the types of trafficking, and the trafficking trends.