Around 120,000 women and children are trafficked in the Balkan countries of Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia each year, according to the International Organisation of Migration. The victims of human trafficking work in the prostitution industry, forced into arraigned marriages, work as slaves in houses and agriculture fields, while the children are forced to be beggars on the streets.
The Red Cross states that people who are already in at-risks populations are targets of human trafficking in the region. This includes refugees in camps, children without parents and people facing economic challenges.
(Victims of human traffickers and their prices.)
Source: Ivana Jovanovic, “Balkan countries join effort in battle against human trafficking,” SETimes, November 15, 2012.
