Trafficking In Women In Bosnia And Herzegovin (Bih)
Reported, January 12, 2012
During the war in BiH, thousands of women and girls were exposed to rape and other forms of sexual violence. The violence did not stop with the end of the war in 1995. Slavery and other forms of sexual violence continued in the form of trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of forced prostitution, which has become a major problem. The first instances of trafficking in women and girls were observed toward the end of the war in BiH. Following the end of the armed conflict and the arrival of large numbers of foreign troops as part of the UN peace mission, the number of night clubs and foreign nationals working there grew suddenly. Most of the bars were opened in the vicinity of military bases, indicating that foreign troops, if not the
most frequent visitors, were at least the best clients.
Trafficking in persons has a very pronounced gender aspect. In almost all transition countries, including BIH, the feminization of poverty and discrimination of women in all segments of society represent the key reasons for the existence of a vulnerable female population. Women and girls in these environments are lured into chains of trafficking that are difficult to escape, and even if escape is possible, such violence inflicts grave and lasting harm to a victims physical and mental health. All victims of trafficking identified in BiH by local police, international police forces (IPTF until early 2003 and now the EUPM) or non-governmental organizations have been women. Those offenders who have been prosecuted for trafficking, pimping or enslaving women until now have all been men, although some victims have indicated that they had been recruited by women. Still, data shows that some of those female recruiters were usually themselves victims of trafficking.
II.Causes of trafficking in persons in BiH
Causes for the sudden boom of both domestic and international trafficking in women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are as follows:
· The deployment of foreign peace troops without prior gender-sensitization, which opened a
profitable new market in BIH;
· The immunity of SFOR and IPTF members from criminal prosecution in BiH and the
failure to prosecute or sanction them in their countries of origin;
· The pervasive discrimination against women in all segments of society, especially of women
found in prostitution;
· The lack of appropriate laws and the existence of inappropriate penal provisions, along with
the failure to harmonize inconsistent entity and state laws;
· The porous nature of the state border;
· The general lack of the rule of law, which creates greater possibilities for illegal business
activity, including activities involving sexual violence against women, and in the absence of
any significant likelihood that anyone would ever be adequately punished for such criminal
activity;
Some local NGOs report that as many as 50 percent of the clients are foreigners, mainly SFOR soldiers. According to IPTF, the percentage is somewhat lower, around 30 percent. Still, 70 percent of the profits are estimated to be from foreigners, who pay higher prices for the ‘services’ and spend more money in bars than local clients.. Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe: Current Situation and Responses to Trafficking in Human Beings in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania; Report by Barbara Limanowska, supported and published byUNICEF/UNOHCHR/OSCE-ODIHR, 2002; pp. 64, 65.Bosnia and Herzegovina
NGO Shadow Report to the UN CEDAW Committee
· The strength of organized criminal networks and the lack of a clear strategy for combating organized crime;
· The widespread corruption in BiH; and
· The large number of displaced families, particularly women who are the primary economic providers for their families, within a very difficult post-war economy.
BiH is located on the key international Balkan route for trafficking in persons. Although it appeared as a consequence of the deployment of foreign military and police forces, trafficking in persons was quickly recognized as a very profitable business by local traffickers, who quickly established links with international crime circuits. According to information provided by the UN Mission in BiH (UNMIBH), as of October 2002, there were indications of more than 227 night clubs and bars involved in trafficking across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Data provided by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) indicate that there are some 2000 women and girls from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in forced employment in BiH brothels. The
International Organization for Migration (IOM), which organized temporary shelter and voluntary repatriation for 498 victims of trafficking from BiH over the period from August 1999
to October 2002, registered victims as young as 13 years of age.
III . Trafficking in Women from BiH and within BiH
Even eight years after the war ended, the economic situation in BiH remains bleak. The consequences of the weak economy affect women disproportionately. The 2003 UNDP Human Development Report Millennium Development Goals indicates that although women make up 50.4 percent of the total population, and 60 percent of the able-bodied working age population,their participation in the labor market stands at a mere 37 percent, lower than any other country in Southeast Europe. In such a situation, poverty affects women with disproportionate intensity, and gender is the primary indicator for one of the four high-risk groups that are most likely to fall below the poverty line.
Young persons similarly lack employment choices or opportunities. The 2002 UNDP Human Development Report Youth indicates that 62 percent of young people in the country would leave BiH and move to a developed country if given an opportunity.
Given the existence of trafficking networks, this then identifies a potentially high risk group.
Because of the difficult economic situation, the lack of employment opportunities affecting women in particular, the large number of displaced persons, the pronounced level of domestic violence in the post-war environment, and the level of general discrimination facing women in all spheres of life, Bosnia and Herzegovina has also become a country of origin for trafficking. Data indicates that women and girls in BiH have become victims of trafficking, often lured by false job offers and sold into slavery within BiH, but also in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Albania and Israel.
NGOs have been identifying an increasing number of cases of domestic trafficking, which generally involve minors.
J.N. is a fourteen year old girl who was taken from her home in a village in western Bosnia by deceit. She was
incarcerated in a small town in Herzegovina and was forced to work as a prostitute from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. When she asked to get in touch with her father, she was abused by the woman who had kidnapped her. She came to the La Strada shelter starved and exhausted and she stayed there for 4 months. She spent the first ten days in the shelter sleeping, waking only..
To date, NGOs have led the response to internal trafficking in persons in BiH. These NGOs are raising alarm over the increasing number of domestic victims and the collapse of the system that is supposed to provide likely victims with necessary assistance, including social work centers. Although the assistance of the international community has been very important in responding to domestic trafficking, over the longer term, trafficking-related assistance and victim service delivery should be provided and owned by domestic authorities and the local NGO community. International organizations and agencies have an important role to play in supporting such domestic efforts, but they should not control all of the programs or collect all donor funds
earmarked for direct services, as internationally-led programs remain a short-term investment. Instead, the state should cooperate with the NGO sector to develop programs of assistance for victims of trafficking, emphasizing the importance of a long-term plan for rooting out the causes of internal trafficking and providing adequate assistance to the victims. The international community should be invited to support a comprehensive program of action.
Credits:
UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)
More Information at:
http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/pdf/Bosnia&Herzegovina_SR.pdf