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Germany
Trafficking Routes
Germany is a country of origin for trafficking in women and children.
According to a 2003 United Nations (UN) report, Germany is the top destination
country for trafficking in women and children for prostitution.1 Most victims come
from the former Soviet republics and Central and Eastern Europe: Armenia,
Azerbaijan, the Baltic states, Belarus Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Georgia,
Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.2 Other regions of origin are
Asia, Africa, and the Americas, specifically the countries of Brazil, Colombia, the
Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Thailand.
Factors That Contribute to the Trafficking Infrastructure
The sex trade in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, brought in US$7.5
billion in 2003,3 which makes Germany an attractive destination country for
prostitution networks that traffic women and children.
Organized crime plays a role in trafficking women and children to
Germany. Members of the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution
recently told the German newspaper Die Welt that Russian crime syndicates
operating in Germany had close links to the Russian intelligence services and to
“high-ranking officials from politics and industry in Russia,” as well as to German
industrialists. According to German security services, Russian organized crime is
cooperating with intelligence agents in the areas of trafficking in persons, money
laundering, and illegal immigration.4
In January 2005, a parliamentary inquiry opened in Berlin to investigate
whether German diplomats working in Eastern Europe have assisted smuggling
gangs by providing visas for women in prostitution and other black-economy
workers. Allegedly, tens of thousands of visas have been issued illegally in
recent years from German embassies in Albania, Russia, Ukraine, and other
countries. The investigation is examining whether embassy employees “made it
possible or easier” for women in prostitution, victims of trafficking, and others to
enter Germany.5
Forms of Trafficking
UN Maps Human Trafficking,” Associated Press, 14 May 2003.
Joanna Apap and Felicita Medved, Protection Schemes for Victims of Trafficking in Selected EU Member
Countries, Candidate and Third Countries (Geneva: International Organization for Migration, 2003).
3
Fabien Novial, “Germany, a Gateway to the West for Eastern Europe’s Trafficked Women,” Agence
France Presse, 26 January 2004.
4
“Russian Organized Crime Reportedly in Pattaya,” RFE/RL Organized Crime and Terrorism Watch 2, no.
32, 12 September 2002, http://rferl.org/corruptionwatch/2002/09/32-120902.asp.
5
Hugh Williamson, “German Embassies Accused of Aiding Gangs,” Financial Times, 20 January 2005.
1
2
Women are primarily trafficked to Germany for sexual exploitation. In
2002, 811 victims of trafficking in persons were recorded by the
Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Office for Criminal Investigation), compared with
987 in 2001. In terms of actual number, countries of origin (in decreasing order)
were Russia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Latvia,
Nigeria, and Thailand. Also represented were other European countries; other
countries of Africa, Asia, and the Americas; and victims of unknown origin.
Clearly, 87 percent of victims came from Central and Eastern Europe. Lithuania
was the most affected by crimes in trafficking in persons to Germany relative to
the female population in the 15 to 30 age group. Only 4.7 percent of the victims
were minors. In 2002, 821 suspects were recorded, which represented an
increase of 9.9 percent over 2001. German nationals headed the list of suspects
at 9.9 percent, but the number of suspects from Central and Eastern Europe
increased each year from 1999 to 2002.6
The report gathered information on the recruitment of 595 of the 811
victims. Of the 595, 53.5 percent were misled about the purpose of their entry
into Germany, 38.7 percent were recruited professionally through agencies or
newspapers, 15.8 percent were recruited through violence, and 26.6 percent
agreed to work in prostitution. Of the 595 victims, 422 entered Germany legally.
Details on entry were available for 590 victims: 44.4 percent traveled by coach or
train; 42.5 percent traveled by car, and 9.3 percent traveled by airplane. Of 514
victims, 212 of them, or 41.2 percent, reported that physical and psychological
violence was used to force them to enter or remain in prostitution.7
Numerous rings have been uncovered abroad that involved trafficking to
Germany. In 2001, in cooperation with the German Federal Department of
Investigations, Belarusian law enforcement agencies apprehended 16 members
of an international criminal group engaged in recruiting and trafficking women for
prostitution Germany and other Western European countries between 1997 and
2001. The group consisted of Belarusian and German nationals, as well as
others.8 In October 2001, Thai police arrested a German wanted in Germany on
charges of detaining young Thai women and forcing them into prostitution in
Berlin.9
In September 2002, Polish police arrested 12 men who were suspected to
be a part of an international gang that sold dozens of Vietnamese women into
sex slavery in German brothels. The alleged traffickers used small Polish towns
along the German border to smuggle Vietnamese women into Germany.10
In February 2003, a regional court in Latvia convicted two men of
trafficking women and teenage girls for work in Germany’s sex industry, which
6
Bundeskriminalamt, Trafficking in Human Beings 2002 (Wiesbaden: Bundeskriminalamt, 2002).
Bundeskriminalamt, Trafficking in Human Beings 2002 (Wiesbaden: Bundeskriminalamt, 2002).
8
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the United States of America, “Efforts of the Government of
Belarus to Combat Human Trafficking,” July 2004,
http://www.belarusembassy.org/humanitarian/trafficking.htm.
9
“German Engineer, Wanted in Germany, Arrested in Thailand,” Associated Press Worldstream, 4 October
2001.
10
“Polish Police Arrest Sex Slave Traffickers,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 4 September 2002.
7
was the first major trafficking conviction in Latvia.11 In December 2003, Polish
police smashed a trafficking ring based in a western Polish province bordering
Germany. Allegedly, some 300 women were abducted and taken to Germany,
where they were forced into prostitution. The victims were 16 to 40 years old.12 In
December 2003, Czech police dismantled a gang involved in kidnapping young
Czech women for prostitution and the pornography industry in Austria, Germany,
and Spain.13
In November 2004, a judge in Brest, Belarus, handed down a 5-year
sentence to a 25-year old female resident in the region’s first-ever trafficking
case to reach the courts. The woman supplied women to Austria, Germany, and
Poland to work in prostitution.14 Also, in February 2004, Latvian police detained
two men for sending three young women to Germany for sexual exploitation.15
There is no consensus on whether trafficking in minors to Germany for
sexual exploitation is on the increase or decrease. Cases of child trafficking in
Germany are mainly for sexual exploitation or petty crime. Berlin, Hamburg, and
Stuttgart are popular destinations for trafficked children. Reportedly, children from
poor families in northeastern Romania have been recruited off the streets in
Bucharest and have been taken to Germany to be petty thieves. There have
been documented cases of traffickers supplying children with false passports and
smuggling them to Germany through Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Romanian
girls have been forced into prostitution in Germany. Boys from the Czech
Republic, Poland, and Romania have been trafficked to Frankfurt for work in the
sex industry. Child trafficking for the child pornography industry also exists in
Germany. Furthermore, there are known cases of German men targeting women
from poor countries through marriage agencies to gain access to children.16
German sex tourists travel to Brazil, 17 Cambodia,18 Croatia,19 the Czech
Republic, The Gambia,20 India,21 Nicaragua,22 and many other countries. In June
2003, three Czechs were sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum of 18 years
“Two Sentenced in First Major Trafficking Case,” Baltic Times, 27 February 2003.
“Polish Police Break up Woman-Trafficking Gang,” Xinhua General News Service, 4 December 2003.
13
“Czech Gang Is Busted for Luring Women Abroad,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 10 December 2003.
14
“Human Trafficker Convicted in Belarus,” BBC Monitoring International Reports, 25 November 2004.
15
“Latvian Police Detains Two Women Traffickers,” Baltic News Service, 18 February 2004.
16
M. Uwe Pollmann, “Trafficking in Unaccompanied Minors: Germany,” in Trafficking in Unaccompanied
Minors in the European Union (Paris: International Organization for Migration, 2002).
17
Louise Rimmer, “Underage Sex, Driven by Poverty, Lures Paedophile Gringos to a Place in the Sun,”
Independent, 22 November 2003. See also Carmen Gentile, “Feature: Brazil Cracks Down on Sex Crimes,”
United Press International, 6 February 2003.
18
Mark Baker, “Australians Feeding Asia’s Child Sex Trade,” Age (Melbourne), 13 July 2002. See also
“Cambodia Becomes People Market and Brothel,” Samleng Yuvachun Khmer (Cambodia), 5 April 2002;
End Child Prostitution, Pornography, and Trafficking (ECPAT) International Online Database, 22 March
2004, http://www.ecpat.net; and Daniel Foggo, “British Paedophiles Make Mockery of ‘Crackdown,’”
Sunday Telegraph (London), 15 September 2002.
19
“U.S. Official Urges Germany to Do More to Stop Sex Tourism,” Agence France Presse, 10 August
2004.
20
“Gambian Child-Sex Tourism Case Rolled Up,” AFROL News, 28 April 2004.
21
Manjiri Damle, “Tourist Rush in Konkan May Have an Ugly Side,” Times of India, 15 December 2001.
22
“Sexual Exploitation, Child Pornography Studied in Forum,” Europe Intelligence Wire, 18 June 2002.
11
12
for torturing and murdering a German mayor who had allegedly traveled to the
western region of Pilsen as a sex tourist.23
In November 2003, a German national and a Japanese national were
charged by a Phnom Penh court with child sex offenses allegedly carried out
against young girls. They face imprisonment for up to 20 years. 24 In March 2004,
a 30-year-old German tourist was arrested and charged with child sexual abuse
at a southern Cambodia resort town.25 In April 2004, North Bohemian police
accused a 55-year-old German tourist of having sexually abused a 14-year-old
girl from Usti nad Labem. The German man would allegedly go to Usti regularly
to see a girl from a local special school.26
In late October 2003, the German branch of the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) released a report by the German agency KARO asserting that
the Czech border towns were home to widespread pedophilia and child
prostitution.27 The report proclaimed that the German–Czech border region had
become a haven for child prostitution, where minors and infants from Czech
Republic and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe were prostituted by
their families to German sex tourists and pedophiles. Since 1996, KARO has
studied the problem and has observed some 500 children who have prostituted
themselves or have been pimped by their families. KARO also spoke to some
200 children who had escaped the sex trade, older women in prostitution, social
workers, and police officers working on the border. KARO concluded that bus
stops, gas stations, and rest stops on the German–Czech border had turned into
child sex markets for mostly German men from Bavaria or Saxony, as well as
men from Austria and Italy. The children were generally paid between €5 and
€25, and violence and even torture were common. The pimps generally came
from the Czech Republic or Slovakia, but they also included Vietnamese
immigrants.28
The report resulted in a series of accusations and counteraccusations
between the German government, the Czech government, the German office of
“Czechs Jailed for Murdering German Sex Tourist,” Agence France Presse, 12 June 2003.
“German, Japanese Nationals Charged with Child Sex Offences in Cambodia,” Agence France Presse,
27 November 2003.
25
“German Man Charged with Debauchery in Cambodia,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 19 March 2004.
26
“Police Accuse German Tourist of Child Abuse,” CTK National News Wire, 16 April 2004.
27
Andrew Satter, “Child-Prostitution Claims Disputed,” Prague Post, 6 November 2003.
28
Benoit Finck, “German-Czech Border Becoming Haven for Child Prostitution: UNICEF,” Agence
France Presse, 28 October 2003.
23
24
UNICEF, and KARO.29 Czech officials vehemently rejected the report and
accused KARO of making unsubstantiated conclusions and of exaggerating the
problem. KARO and its supporters in the Cheb, where KARO based its work,
accused Czech officials of turning a blind eye to the growing problem. Because
the exploited children are often from Roma communities, the problem is
supposedly not a priority for officials.30 Czech authorities do not dispute that,
along border highways and in small towns such as Cheb and As, prostitution is
visible, but they maintain that the trade involves legally consenting adults.
Nevertheless, after the release of the report, Czech police stepped up
antiprostitution enforcement with operations against nightclubs. For example,
Operation Fantime, a series of raids in mid-October, produced no reports of child
prostitution.31 In late November 2003, however, claims that a child sex trade
exists along the border were strengthened by a ruling in a Prague court, which
handed down a 7-year jail sentence to a mother who forced her 14-year-old
daughter to offer herself to German sex tourists who were driving by. 32
Government Responses
The German Criminal Code explicitly prohibits trafficking in human beings.
A penalty of imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine applies to any person who,
“Czech Minister Calls on UNICEF to Provide More Info on Child Prostitution, BBC Monitoring
International Reports, 2 November 2003. See also “Schily, Too, Asks UNICEF, KARO to Submit
Evidence on Prostitution, CTK National News Wire, 6 November 2003.
30
Andrew Satter, “Child Proof?” Prague Post, 13 November 2003. The KARO report does not provide a
demographic breakdown of the alleged victims, and officials with the agency maintain that they do not
even record such statistics. However, a source familiar with the compilation of the study confirms that
more than half the children supposedly being sold for sex are Roma.
31
Andrew Satter, “Child-Prostitution Claims Disputed,” Prague Post, 6 November 2003.
32
“Court Case Spotlights Child Prostitution on Czech–German Border,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 25
November 2003.
29
with the knowledge of another person’s “vulnerability” in a foreign country,
causes that person to engage in illicit sexual practices.33 The penalty is
enhanced to imprisonment for 6 months to 10 years for anyone who “exerts
influence” on another person with the knowledge of that person’s “vulnerability” in
a foreign country, or on a person under 21 years of age, to engage in or continue
prostitution.34 In addition, the code imposes a punishment of imprisonment for 1
to 10 years for “serious trafficking in human beings,”35 which the code describes
as trafficking committed by using force or threat of appreciable harm or trickery,
by abducting a person, or by professionally recruiting a person into prostitution
with the knowledge of that other person’s “vulnerability.”36
The Criminal Code asserts that, with respect to trafficking in human beings
and the slave trade,37 its provisions apply irrespective of the law at the place
where an act is committed, because the law considers such an act to be
committed against internationally protected legal rights.38 The code states that
“German criminal law shall further apply, regardless of the law of the place of
their commission, … [to] trafficking in human beings and serious trafficking in
human beings.”39 The Criminal Code also applies to the sexual abuse of children
committed by Germans abroad.40 This external application of the law is designed
to combat child sex tourism.
The code criminalizes trafficking in children.41 It imposes imprisonment for
6 months to 10 years on any person who “acts for profit, professionally, or as a
member of a gang, which has combined for the continued commission of
trafficking in children”42 or if “the act places the child or the procured person in
danger of a substantial impairment of his physical or emotional development.”43
The German Criminal Code prohibits the promotion of prostitution. The
code provides for a penalty of imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine for any
person who maintains or manages a commercial operation in which individuals
engage in prostitution and are held in “personal or economic dependency.” 44 The
penalty also applies if the practice of prostitution is promoted through measures
that exceed merely providing a dwelling, accommodation, or residence, as well
as the ancillary services commonly associated with providing such a place.45
33
Section 180(b)(1).
Section 180(b)(2).
35
Section 181(1).
36
Section 181(1).
37
Section 6.
38
Such acts include, in addition to trafficking and slave trading, genocide; commission of felonies
involving nuclear energy, explosives, and radiation; attacks on air traffic; illicit distribution of narcotics;
distribution of pornographic writings; counterfeiting of money and securities; commission of fraud
regarding eligibility for a subsidiary; and acts that, on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement binding
on the Federal Republic of Germany, are to be prosecuted even if they are committed abroad.
39
Section 6(4).
40
Per an amendment made on 1 September 1993.
41
Section 236.
42
Section 236(4)(1).
43
Section 236(4)(2).
44
Section 180(a)(1).
45
Section 180(a)(1).
34
Promoting sexual acts by minors is punishable by imprisonment for 3 to 5
years and a fine.46
Exploiting another person who engages in prostitution or supervises
another person’s engagement in prostitution for a material benefit is punishable
by imprisonment for 6 months to 5 years.47 Professionally promoting another
person’s engagement in prostitution by procuring sexual traffic is punishable by
imprisonment for up to 3 years and a fine.48
Punishment for kidnapping49 and abduction50 is imprisonment for at least 1
year.51 In addition, the code forbids coercion52 and wrongful deprivation of
liberty.53
The German Basic Law54 prohibits forced labor. It states that “forced labor
may be imposed only on persons deprived of their liberty by the judgment of the
court.”55
The country’s Code of Criminal Procedure does not allow questions that
could discredit a witness or invade the privacy of such a witness, except if
deemed indispensable.56 A reason for excluding such questions is to prevent
victims of sexual trafficking or other forms of sexual abuse from having to answer
questions concerning previous sexual experiences. The code requires the
presence of the accused and the witness at the court proceeding. 57 However, the
court may order the defendant removed from the courtroom while the witness is
testifying if it is concerned that the witness will not tell the truth in the presence of
the defendant58 or if the witness is a minor under 16 years of age.59
In accordance with the Crime Victims Protection Act of 1987, the public
may be excluded from a trial to protect the life of a witness.60 The law also
provides for the protection of an endangered witness and the witness’s
relatives.61 According to the Law for Combating Organized Crime of 1992, a
witness at risk may be permitted to keep personal information confidential in a
criminal trial or to disclose only that information concerning his or her previous
identity if the court is concerned that disclosure of the witness’s current identity
may endanger his or her life.62
46
Section 180.
Section 181(a)(1).
48
Section 181(a)(2).
49
Section 234.
50
Section 234a.
51
Sections 234 and 234a.
52
Section 240.
53
Section 239.
54
The German Basic Law was promulgated on 23 May 1949.
55
Article 12(3).
56
Section 68, para. 1.
57
Section 243.
58
Section 247.
59
Section 246.
60
Section 171(b).
61
Section 68.
62
Section 68, para. 3.
47
Under the Crime Victims Protection Act of 1987, a victim of trafficking may
assert a civil claim that arises from a criminal offense during the criminal
proceedings.63 The Civil Code allows victims of trafficking offenses to demand
civil damages whether the damages are material or moral.64 Moral damages
include compensation for pain and suffering.65
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, a victim of a crime may file a
complaint for civil damages.66
The Aliens Act provides for deportation of trafficked persons. However,
immediate deportation may be postponed in cases in which individuals to be
deported are willing to testify as witnesses in criminal proceedings against the
perpetrator of the trafficking offense. Administrative regulations to the Aliens Act,
which were adopted on 9 October 2000, grant trafficking victims a grace period
either to prepare to return to their country of origin or to decide to testify against
their traffickers.
The law does not allow a foreigner who holds a residence permit to be in
prostitution. In Germany, prostitution is considered self-employment and is not
generally permitted to foreigners.
German law regarding foreigners suspends the expulsion of a foreigner
who violates the immigration rules if he or she testifies in legal proceedings. 67
The law prohibits the deportation of a foreigner to a country where he or she
would be subject to serious danger to life or bodily harm.68 Similarly, the law
forbids the deportation of a foreigner to a country where he or she would be
subject to danger on the basis of his or her social group.69
On 10 November 1998, Germany ratified the Convention on Combating
Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
Germany has also ratified the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in
Criminal Matters.
The Law on International Assistance in Criminal Matters70 provides for the
extradition of a criminal on a reciprocal basis; that is, extradition will be granted
only if, according to assurances given by the requesting state, it can be
anticipated that the state would honor a comparable German request. 71
The main government agency working on the problem of trafficking in
persons is the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and
Youth. Other agencies, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice,
and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, play an important role, as does the Ministry for
63
Section 403 ff.
Section 823, paras. 11 and 12.
65
Section 847.
66
Article 395.
67
Section 55 III.
68
Section 53 VI.
69
Section 55.
70
The law was enacted on 23 December 1982.
71
Section 5.
64
Economic Cooperation and Development, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry
for Labor.72
In 1997, the government set up the Federal Working Group on Trafficking
in Women. The working group is represented by the federal ministries dealing
with trafficking in women, the Länder (or states), the Federal Office for Criminal
Investigation, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Federal
Association against Trafficking in Women and Violence against Women in the
Migration Process (KOK), Arbeitsgemeinschaft gegen internationale sexuelle und
rassistische Ausbeutung (Agisra), and Solidarity with Women in Distress
(SOLOWODI). Tasks include exchanging information among the various
components of the working group, analyzing challenges to combating trafficking
in women, and drafting recommendations and proposals for joint action to tackle
the problem. Cooperation and coordination with NGOs and international
organizations takes place through the working group and through direct contacts
between concerned agencies.73
The Federal Office for Criminal Investigation provides annual training on
trafficking in persons for officials of the Offices for Criminal Investigation of the
Länder.74
In January 2003, the federal government agreed to a national action plan.
The plan contains several prevention and intervention measures, such as raising
increased awareness of trafficking among the public; improving education for
legal professionals on the subject; improving education for child and youth
workers; promoting cooperation among police, legal organizations, and youth
welfare services; and raising awareness within the tourism industry. The Federal
Working Group on Trafficking in Women will monitor implementation of the
plan.75
In January 2002, German police arrested the Azerbaijani head of an
international criminal gang engaged in smuggling Eastern European women into
Germany and exploiting those women in the commercial sex industry. 76 In
September 2002, German police busted a ring that lured Eastern European
women to the country and forced them into prostitution.77 In October 2002,
German police smashed a ring that was trafficking women for prostitution. The
M. Uwe Pollmann, “Trafficking in Unaccompanied Minors: Germany,” in Trafficking in Unaccompanied
Minors in the European Union (Paris: International Organization for Migration, 2002).
73
Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, “Trafficking in Human Beings: Country Report of Germany,” PC.DEL/648/02,
Vienna, 2 September 2002.
74
Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, “Trafficking in Human Beings: Country Report of Germany,” PC.DEL/648/02,
Vienna, 2 September 2002.
75
Mechtild Maurer, “Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes: Update Country Report—Germany,”
Joint East–West Research Project on Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes in Europe, 30 January
2004, http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/promoting_law/East-West_Research2004/Germany_ENG.pdf.
76
“German Police Arrest Suspected Head of International Vice Gang,” Agence France Presse, 29 January
2002.
77
“German Police Bust Sex Slavery Ring,” Agence France Presse, 4 September 2002.
72
ring had allegedly brought some 300 Lithuanian, Polish, and Romanian women
into the country.78
In April 2003, a German judge was charged with pimping and arranging
sex sessions at his own home with women he had forced into prostitution. He
was accused of forcing a Slovak woman and a Polish woman to take part in sex
sessions three times a week at his home.79
In October 2003, German authorities smashed a trafficking ring that was
smuggling women from Eastern Europe into northern Germany and forcing them
into prostitution. Nine women smuggled from Lithuania, Poland, and Romania,
who were forced to work in three brothels allegedly run by the ring, were also
taken into custody.80 Also in that month, German authorities smashed a
trafficking ring accused of forcing Eastern European women into prostitution in
Nordrhein Westphalia. The victims were primarily women from Bulgaria and the
Baltic states who were lured to Germany with false promises of legitimate jobs
and then were forced to work in the sex industry.81 In November 2003, three
men faced a Berlin court charged with illegally bringing 15 Eastern European
women into Germany to work in prostitution.82
In January 2004, hundreds of German police raided overnight the homes
and offices of suspected members of a crime ring smuggling women into
Germany through Poland to work in prostitution.83 In April 2004, German police
cracked a trafficking ring bringing in 40 women from Poland and Russia to work
in prostitution.84 In April 2004, a German woman and her male friend faced
charges of attempted child trafficking after putting the woman’s daughter up for
auction on the Internet.85 A probe against the three bidders was also launched.
The pair claimed that the auction was meant as a joke and was intended to test
the limits of the Internet.86 In June 2004, German police raided 22 brothels
across the country in a coordinated sweep and launched investigations against
20 women in prostitution on illegal immigration charges. All the women were from
Eastern Europe.87
Nongovernmental and International Organization Responses
KOK88 is an umbrella organization of 38 German agencies and NGOs
working to combat trafficking in women.89 Agisra, a member of KOK, works to
“Prostitution Ring Smashed in Germany: Police,” Agence France Presse, 10 October 2002.
“German Judge Charged with Prostitution Offenses,” Xinhua General News Service, 29 April 2003.
80
“German Police Bust Human Trafficking Ring in Major Sting,” Agence France Presse, 7 October 2003.
81
“German Authorities Swoop on Sex Slavery Ring,” Agence France Presse, 16 October 2003.
82
“Three Face German Court over Highclass Eastern Europe Callgirl Racket,” Agence France Presse, 18
November 2003.
83
“German Police Swoop on Ring Smuggling Prostitutes from Poland,” Agence France Presse, 18 January
2004.
84
“German Police Crack Human Trafficking, Prostitution Ring,” Agence France Presse, 26 April 2004.
85
“German Pair Auction Child for One Euro,” Reuters, 21 April 2004.
86
“Three Bidders for Girl on Internet Probed in Germany,” Agence France Presse, 21 April 2004.
87
“German Police Launch Nationwide Sweep on Brothels,” Agence France Presse, 4 June 2004.
88
KOK can be found on the Internet at http://www.kok-potsdam.de/.
78
79
influence the legal system into passing laws that condemn trafficking in women
and violence toward female migrants and to recognize those deeds as human
rights violations.90 Agisra Frankfurt works with women in prostitution from Africa,
Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America.91
The following organizations offer a variety of services to women in
prostitution, such as counseling on social and legal issues, workshops, and other
forms of support. Some organizations offer temporary shelter and
accompaniment during a legal trial. Hydra (in Berlin) works with women in
prostitution mostly from Germany but also with migrant women from Brazil,
Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, Poland, Russia, and Thailand. Ban Ying (in
Berlin) works with women in prostitution from the Philippines and Thailand.
Nitribitt (in Bremen) works with workers mostly from Germany but also from Latin
America, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. Bella Donna (in Frankfurt an der Oder,
which is on the Polish border) works with women from Central and Eastern
Europe. Amnesty for Women (in Hamburg) targets women from Africa, Central
and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Koofra (in Hamburg)
works with women from Central and Eastern Europe. Phoenix (in Hanover),
Agisra (in Cologne), Mimikry (in Munich), Huren Selbsthilfegruppe (in
Saarbrücken), and Fraueninformationszentrums (in Stuttgart) are some other
organizations.92
SOLWODI assists women who have been brought to Germany as victims
of trafficking or for arranged marriages. SOLWODI cooperates with other
organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe to fight the exploitation
and abuse of women.93
The International Federation Terres des Hommes is currently a network of
national organizations located in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Syria. Terres des
Hommes supports hundreds of development and humanitarian aid projects in 72
countries and campaigns for the rights of children.94 In November 2004, Terres
des Hommes organized a conference in Osnabrück, Germany, titled “Stop Child
Trafficking.” The conference was meant to round off the Terres des Hommes
International Campaign against Child Trafficking, which was launched in October
2001.95
International Organization for Migration, “Trafficking in Germany,” Trafficking in Migrants, no. 27
(June 2003).
90
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, “Arbeitsgemeinschaft gegen internationale
sexuelle und rassistische Ausbeutung, e.V.,” September 2005,
http://www2.gtz.de/traffickinginwomen/english/links.htm#deutschland.
91
Femmigration, “Useful Addresses—Germany,” July 2004,
http://www.femmigration.net/addresses/addresses_germany.html.
92
Femmigration, “Useful Addresses—Germany,” July 2004,
http://www.femmigration.net/addresses/addresses_germany.html.
93
SOLWODI can be found on the Internet at http://www.solwodi.de/.
94
The International Federation Terres des Hommes can be found on the Internet at
http://www.terredeshommes.org/about.php.
95
“Stop Child Trafficking,” Human Trafficking.org, August 2005,
http://www.humantrafficking.org/collaboration/regional/eur/events/2004_09/childtrafficking.html.
89
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography, and Trafficking of Children
for Sexual Purposes) Germany is an alliance of 28 organizations and institutions
working for children’s rights. It focuses on and raising public awareness of
commercial sexual exploitation of children, developing prevention strategies and
protection services for child victims of sexual exploitation, and implementing a
code of conduct to protect children from sex tourism.96
The German office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
announced plans to develop a comprehensive strategy—in line with the
recommendations of the Brussels Declaration—to address the needs of
trafficking victims. Since 1999, victims of trafficking have been eligible for
assistance under the IOM Assisted Voluntary Return Program, which is funded
by the federal government and the Länder. In 2002, IOM assisted 130 victims. 97
Multilateral Initiatives
In November 2003, officials of the Czech and German Interior Ministries
agreed to create a liaison group to strengthen coordination in the struggle against
cross-border crime, most notably child prostitution.98
Germany is a member of the European Union (EU). In July 2002, the
Council of the European Union adopted the Framework Decision on Combating
Trafficking in Human Beings. This decision obliges member states to penalize
trafficking acts and to “establish effective, proportionate, and dissuasive criminal
penalties.” In September 2002, the European Conference on Preventing and
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings—Global Challenge for the 21st Century
took place in Brussels, Belgium. The Brussels Declaration was the final outcome
of the conference, and it aims to further develop “European and international
cooperation, concrete measures, standards, best practices, and mechanisms to
prevent and combat trafficking in human beings.”99 The European Commission
introduced the declaration at a working group level to Justice and Home Affairs
representatives of the member states, and in May 2003, council adopted the
conclusions of the declaration. In March 2003, the commission established an
experts group on trafficking in human beings, as was recommended in the
declaration. In October 2002, the council reached a political agreement on the
Draft Framework Decision on Combating the Sexual Exploitation of Children and
96
ECPAT International Online Database, August 2004, http://www.ecpat.net.
International Organization for Migration, “Trafficking in Germany,” Trafficking in Migrants, no. 27
(June 2003).
98
“Czech–German Group Combatting Child Prostitution Formed,” Czech News Agency, 26 November
2003.
99
Council of the European Union, European Union Annual Report on Human Rights, Council of the
European Union, Brussels, 10 October 2003,
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/doc/report03_en.pdf, p. 24.
97
Child Pornography. The decision provides common definitions of these crimes
and criminal penalties of a maximum 5 to 19 years’ imprisonment.100
The EU’s 2002 STOP II Program provided financial support for 16 projects
on antitrafficking and sexual exploitation. The program expired at the end of
2002, and in July 2002, the council adopted the Agis Framework Program on
Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters. Agis will run from 1 January
2003 to 31 December 2007.101 The Daphne program was launched in 2000 and
covers the general issue of violence against women and children, including
trafficking.102
The EU financially supports antitrafficking projects in Eastern and
Southeastern Europe, and the council and commission coordinate activities with
international organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe,
and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.103
In March 2004, the European Parliament adopted a resolution to provide
support for child victims of trafficking. The resolution specified that member
states must ensure that unaccompanied minors be given special protection in
terms of immediate and long-term shelter.104
In May 2005, the Council of Europe adopted the Convention on Action
against Trafficking in Human Beings. The Convention goes beyond the United
Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children and enhances the capacity of member states to
prevent and combat trafficking in persons and protect the human rights of victims
of trafficking. The 46 member states of the Council of Europe represent countries
of origin, transit, and destination for victims of trafficking.105
100
Council of the European Union, European Union Annual Report on Human Rights, Council of the
European Union, Brussels, 10 October 2003,
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/doc/report03_en.pdf, p. 25.
101
Council of the European Union, European Union Annual Report on Human Rights, Council of the
European Union, Brussels, 10 October 2003,
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/doc/report03_en.pdf, p. 25.
102
“Prevention and Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings—A European Union Strategy since 1996,”
Rapid, 17 September 2002.
103
Council of the European Union, European Union Annual Report on Human Rights, Council of the
European Union, Brussels, 10 October 2003,
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/doc/report03_en.pdf, p. 25.
104
Lisa Kurbiel, “Reining in Child Trafficking in the New EU,” Migration Information Source, 1 July
2004.
105
Council of Europe, Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and
its Explanatory Report, Warsaw, 16 May 2005,
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/Equality/PDF_Conv_197_Trafficking_E.pdf.