Organised by the National Anti-Trafficking Agency in Romania, the County Police Department and local NGOs, including World Vision, the week-long event used lectures, documentaries, informative campaigns, a ‘flash mob’ and painting contest to raise awareness around child and youth trafficking for sexual and forced labour purposes.

The main group targeted consisted of students aged 14 to 18, considered vulnerable to being trafficked over Romanian borders but also inside the country.

“Some of the teenagers were able to give examples of people who had been trafficked in their own circle of friends. Teenagers lured to work abroad, who ended up as work slaves, threatened with death for leaving or trying to alert the police – I was very impressed by their awareness”, said one of the volunteers who helped in the informative campaign.

The recruiters come from the victim’s close circle, maybe a friend, even parents when we talk about beggary. This is why cases and victims of human trafficking have become more difficult to be identified

“It’s good to see that some of the students from the rural areas are quite well informed about the phenomenon”, said Gratiela Anghelus from Ratiu Foundation for Democracy, “but there is also a number of teenagers who believe that this is not a serious threat, that things are not happening in their immediate vicinity, and this shows the need to continue spreading the information”, continued Anghelus.

Youth showed a lot of interest in the key messages of the documentary but also in the stories shared by their peers. They learnt valuable tips about how to check the information if approached for work abroad and also vital clues to apply if they ever need to escape some form of abduction.

The most recent report of the National Anti-Trafficking Agency, released in August 2009, speaks about figures declining in the first half of 2009 and also in the couple of years following Romania’s accession into the EU, in 2007.

There is however a dramatic rise in the percentage of people trafficked for beggary, from 7% in 2008 to 17,5% in the first half of 2009, among the total number of trafficked persons. Minors are most at risk to being trafficked for beggary.

“I am mostly concerned about two aspects revealed by this study: the increase in internal trafficking and the increased percentage of minors involved in human trafficking”, said Anamaria Simon, psychologist and inspector at the Regional Centre of the National Anti-Trafficking Agency.

“In any situation in which we talk about violence and constraint, the figures represent the tip of the iceberg only and do not reflect the real magnitude of the phenomenon”, comments upon the study Anamaria Simon. “Figures decreasing may show that we are confronted with a refinement of the recruiting techniques, more dangerous and difficult to be discovered. The recruiters come from the victim’s close circle, may be a friend, even parents when we talk about beggary. This is why cases and victims of human trafficking have become more difficult to be identified”, explains Simon.

A report issued by the US State Department in June 2008 affirms that Romania continues to be “a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour”. It also recognises the Romanian Government’s efforts to reduce human trafficking but at the same time affirms that it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

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