Trafficking in Greece
When you think of Greece, you probably don’t think of human trafficking. However, Greece is known as a center for human trafficking. It is a transit and destination country, making it one of the primary gateways for trafficked victims to enter the European Union. Additionally, because of the influx of immigrants and refugees, more individuals are in vulnerable positions to be trafficked. In Greece, prostitution is legal, making trafficking even harder to eradicate. So let’s talk a little about trafficking, in order to bring awareness to the issue and understand why Threads of Hope does what we do.
So, what is human trafficking?
Trafficking is defined as:
“The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit.” This is done by means of force, deception, coercion, assault, manipulation, threats, exploitation of vulnerability, or monetary bribery or bondage to gain control of an individual.
“Human trafficking is modern slavery, a crime,” and “Stealing freedom for profit.”
It is a multibillion-euro criminal industry. There are various kinds of trafficking, including sex trafficking, forced labor, bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, child labor, begging, and others. Sex trafficking makes up 50% of human trafficking, followed by forced labor which makes up 38%.
Let's talk numbers
There are approximately 50 million individuals in modern day slavery worldwide. In Europe, it is estimated that 42% of victims that are trafficked are women and 15% are minor girls. Worldwide, it is estimated that 46% are women and 34% are children. In Greece, it is estimated that about 20,000 women, including 1,000 girls from age 13-15, are in the Greek sex industry. One report by EKKA found that a majority of trafficking victims were less than 25 years old. The victims are often from Eastern and Southern Europe, Southern and Central Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
How does trafficking happen?
Most victims are promised a better life. Traffickers prey on vulnerable individuals through social media, job advertisements, refugee camps, and in-person meetings. The common trafficking “schemes” include:
Lover boy- a trafficker grooms and builds trust with a victim, manipulating them into a false romantic relationship. Once the relationship is built, they encourage them to move to a new country with them to start a new life together, where they will be betrayed and forced into sex labor.
Migration- While migrating to a new country, victims might be transferred to traffickers by a smuggler. Refugees may be trafficked in the camps.
Job offers- One of the most common schemes, victims are promised a job in a different country but upon arrival are often forced into sex labor. Either their travel documents are taken or they are in debt to their trafficker and are forced to work to pay off their debt.
Kidnapping- Victims are violently abducted against their will and sent to a different country where they are forced into sex labor.
Traffickers are continuously coming up with new schemes and tactics in order to avoid being caught and to prey on victims undetected.
How do traffickers keep control?
There are many ways traffickers keep victims under their control.
Victims are often in a new country, don’t speak the language, and are vulnerable. Some may not be in the country legally and are afraid of facing deportation or arrest. Traffickers will also use tactics such as:
Making false promises about income/payment
Physical violence and abuse
Psychological violence and abuse
Sexual violence and abuse
Withholding travel documents
Threats of violence against family
Debt bondage and blackmail or having to pay off a debt they continually increase
Isolation from friends or family
Shame and fear
Why can't they get out?
Victims are also often mentally abused to the point that they are unable to hope for freedom. Even if given the opportunity for freedom, one of the biggest challenges for an individual who wants to leave prostitution is how she will support herself and make a living. Current reports show that only 1% of those who leave prostitution will manage not to fall back into it again. 80% of them state that they could not find another job, forcing them back into prostitution. Many of the women come from a background with little to no education and poor language skills. Finding a job in a country with a very high unemployment rate is practically impossible. Many of the women have children they need to support, making the situation even more desperate. These are the women that Threads of Hope focuses on.
But, there's hope.
This is why we do what we do. To offer hope and healing to women who have survived trafficking. To give them training and opportunities to support and empower themselves.