site.btaLabour Exploitation Victims Increase - Expert

More people are falling victim to labour exploitation, official figures from the Prosecutor's Office and the anti-trafficking commission show

A total of 89 people were formally identified as victims of trafficking by the end of 2023, Antoaneta Dimitrova of the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (NCCTHB) said in an interview with BTA, citing official data from the prosecutor's office.

Last year, a total of 72 alerts were submitted to the Commission, of which 60 concerned cases of human trafficking. The total number of victims of trafficking is 63, Dimitrova said.

According to the data, from the beginning of the year until 15 October, a total of 51 alerts were submitted, the total number of victims of trafficking is 55. Of these, 41 were women and 14 were men.
As coordinator of the National Mechanism for Referral and Support of Trafficked Persons, the Commission receives alerts of cases of trafficking in human beings, which can be submitted by phone, by e-mail or through the websites and social media accounts of the Commission, and via a hotline for trafficking in human beings maintained by representatives of the non-governmental sector, other institutions, international or non-governmental organizations.

Sexual exploitation is the predominant form of exploitation, although there is an increasing trend of trafficking for labour exploitation. According to official statistics from the Prosecutor's Office, in 2023, 49 women were victims of sexual exploitation, 14 women and 25 men were victims of labour exploitation.

The final destination of trafficking for sexual exploitation is usually European countries where prostitution is legally regulated. Traffickers target precisely those countries where their victims can legally work to provide of sexual services, using various forms of coercion to force them to do so, while at the same time circumventing the laws and rules governing this activity, showing flexibility and making profits by exploiting their victims.

In recent years, the number of men reporting labour exploitation has increased. However, it is not only men who are involved in forced labour and labour exploitation schemes. Particularly at risk are sectors in Western European countries linked to seasonal or temporary employment.

Currently, seven specialized services for trafficking victims are operated under the anti-trafficking commission: four residential services and three consultative services - in Varna, Burgas and Sofia, which are fully funded by the commission.

The services are managed by NGOs with many years of experience in providing support and protection to victims of trafficking and.

A total of 45 individuals were supported in specialist services by 31 December 2023. In some of the cases, placement of female victims together with their children (13 children) was also undertaken in view of the need for protection.