Most of the people trafficked into Poland are individuals who will be sold for prostitution, according to a new report by police.
In the as-yet-unpublished police report which was seen by the PAP next agency, Poland is of destination for trafficking victims from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Russia, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh and Thailand.
For their own part, Poles are trafficked to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France and even Japan.
Poland is used by crime rings as a transit hub for trafficking victims from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Russia, Nigeria and India; "shuttled" through Poland as they continue onto Western Europe.
The dominant reason for human trafficking is still sexual exploitation, according to the report on the national situation in 2014.
Last year, the number of female prostitutes on the Polish roadsides increased over 2013. Many were recruited by gangs in Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, Polish and Ukrainians sex workers are used in escort agencies or, more often, in flats rented for the purpose of prostitution.
The authors of the study added that in recent years – particularly following Poland's accession to the EU in 2004 – new forms of trafficking have been observed.
In addition to trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, more and more cases have been observed where victims are forced into begging on the streets, petty crime and forced labour. (rg)
Source: PAP
Photo: Flickr.com/Karoly Czifra
Ewa Malcher
