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Child Trafficking
The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation
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About the Factbook
The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation was compiled from media, non-governmental organization and government reports. It is an initial effort to collect facts, statistics and known cases on global sexual exploitation. Information is organized into four categories:
  - Trafficking,
  - Prostitution,
  - Pornography, and
  - Organized and Institutionalized
    Sexual Exploitation
    and Violence.

Sources were not contacted to verify information. Close examination will reveal that there are contradictions in information depending on the sources of information (ex: how many women are in prostitution in Thailand). All statistics are reported with no attempt to evaluate which numbers are more likely to be accurate. In fact, the exact numbers in many cases are not known and estimates come from different sources which use different methods to determine what they report.

We hope these facts will assist people to recognize the harm caused throughout the world by sexual violence and exploitation and catalyze action against this violence agianst women.

This project was made possible with the support of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Rhode Island and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Norway.

If you use this information in your work, please reference this factbook-- The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation, Donna M. Hughes, Laura Joy Sporcic, Nadine Z. Mendelsohn, Vanessa Chirgwin, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 1999.


Recognized by Independent Charities of America

Austria
TRAFFICKING

One half of the victims of trafficking in women to Austria are from Central Europe, and 1/4 from Eastern Europe, yet Austrian policy on trafficking does not reflect this reality. ("International Workshop on Trafficking in Women in Central and Eastern Europe, Budapest," IOM, 4-5 October 1997)

Since 1990, there has been a major increase in the number of women trafficked to Austria from Central and Eastern European Countries. In 1990, the Austrian authorities discovered only 50 cases. Figures for 1994 and the first half of 1995 indicate that there were 318 cases (representing 752 women) reported, with by far the majority concerning women from Central and Eastern Europe." ("Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characteristic, Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, (June 1996), IOM, 7 May 1996)

There were 752 women trafficked from 35 countries into Austria in 1994 and the first half of 1995. Three forths were from the Central and Eastern European Countries. However, only 2 people were convicted of forcing a woman into prostitution, out of a total of 49 cases. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Nearly all foreign prostitutes are illegal immigrants. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996).

Number of Cases of Trafficking Registered and Investigated in Austria
Year Cases Registered Cases Invesigated
1990

50

50
1991

98

93
1992

161

160
1993

88

87
1994

316

313

Source: Minstry of Interior, IOM report 1996

Numbers of Convictions for Trafficking in Austria
  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Austrians 11 13 19 25 35
Foreigners 8 10 6 21 14
Total 19 23 25 46 49
Source: Court Statistics on Crime, Austrian Central Office of Statistics, IOM report 1996

Number of Trafficking Victims Found From 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1995 in Austria
Home Country Number of Victims
Czech Republic 133
Dominican Republic 120
Hungary 118
Slovakia 112
Poland 60
Russia 43
Bulgaria 23
Romania 23
Brazil 18
Thailand 17
Croatia 16
Ukraine 12
Slovenia 7
Austria 6
Former Yugoslavia 5
Other 38
Total 751

Trafficking is often a repeat offense. Of 49 persons convicted, 27 had previous convictions, 10 of these for the crime of trafficking. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Methods and Techniques of Traffickers

There is cooperation between domestic and foreign pimps for organizing the transfer of prostitutes from abroad to Austria. (Police interviews, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Women trafficked from Slovakia are mainly on the streets. They are brought to Vienna by car and live in small hotels with their pimps. (Study, 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1995, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Women trafficked from Hungary have been found mainly in bars. They were formerly prostitutes elsewhere before being trafficked to Austria. (Study, 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1995, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Dominican women trafficked to Austria were open to recruitment because they did not have enough income to pay for food in the Dominican Republic. (Lateinamerikanische Exilierte Frauen in sterreich - Exiled Latin American Women in Austria report 1996, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Women trafficked from Eastern Europe often enter Austria as tourists with valid passports. (IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

The sex industry in Austria is controlled mainly by Austrians who cooperate with partners in Eastern Europe, who provide enough women for there to be a high turnover of prostitutes. The trafficked women normally only have contact with transporters and recruiters, therefore can provide only limited information to police. (Interviews with police, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Eight women were placed in a bar or nightclub, and nine women in apartments. "They were picked up and carried to and from work." Eight of the women in Graz were prostituted daily, with no time off, so they had no chance to develop contact with persons outside the prostitution scene. Six women were prostituted five days a week. On the average, the women had 2 to 8 male buyers a day. Five women were not allowed to reject the men, and eight women did not answer this question)"(IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Women trafficked from Eastern Europe were bought by 2-8 men a day. Most women were not allowed to reject them. (IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

In the past, women in the trafficking industry were dominantly Austrian, and Latin American, especially Dominican women. Although trafficking from the Dominican Republic remains prevalent, the majority of prostitutes in many areas of Austria are from the Central and Eastern European Countries. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Dominican women in Austria were brutally beaten, treated as slaves, and kept in inhumane conditions by their pimps, brothel keepers and traffickers. One woman was so mistreated she tried to commit suicide. They lived in the same unsanitary rooms where the men who bought them raped them. (Lateinamerikanische Exilierte Frauen in sterreich - Exiled Latin American, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Women, aged 19-42, were susceptible to traffickers because of high debts and unemployment in their home countries. 1/3 of the women were beaten by their fathers in their homes. The majority of women were not engaged in prostitution in their own country. Of 1/4 of the women, their husband or boyfriend has contacts with pimps. (IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Latin American and Eastern European women sent money transfers to their home countries regularly. Women from the Dominican Republic reported that they transferred US$ 1,000 home to their relatives monthly. (IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Women are trafficked from countries with relatively high standards of living, such as the Czech Republic, which challenges the common assumption that only economic circumstances in home countries is the root cause of trafficking. (IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Health and Well-Being

Domincan women in Austria were brutally beaten, treated as slaves, and kept in inhumane conditions by their pimps, brothel keepers and traffickers. One woman was so mistreated she tried to commit suicide. They lived in the same unsanitary rooms where the men who bought them raped them. (Lateinamerikanische Exilierte Frauen in sterreich - Exiled Latin American, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Law and Policy

Prostitution is legal and viewed as a taxable source of income for Austria, provided women register with authorities and undergo health checks. In Graz, police are prepared to register women as legal prostitutes even though these women do nothave either an Austrian residency permit or work permit. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Foreign women are in danger of deportation if they seek to be registered as prostitutes. There is a quota for immigrant labour which makes it nearly impossible for foreigners to obtain regular work in Austria. One exception is for artists, and this loophole fosters illegal prostitution in the form of nightclub dancing, because for most foreign women it is the only way to receive a work and residence permit. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Unregistered prostitution is an offense, and grounds for expulsion from the country. Therefore, trafficked women do not report to police because they risk being deported. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Official Response and Action

Only 1/3 of reported cases of trafficking led to a conviction. There is little action taken against owners of sex establishments, and it is difficult for witnesses to cooperate in investigations. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

The majority of the sentences against traffickers have been imprisonment, most of which are suspended. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Of 49 convictions for trafficking, in only one case was there a prison sentence for over 12 months. In only one case was the fine over ATS50,000 (US$5,000). All others received suspended or partially suspended sentences. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Many bars and nightclubs have secret exits and alarms used during police raids, making capture and arrest difficult. Apartment prostitution is difficult to investigate, because the police are only allowed to take action if there are complaints from neighbors because of the noise. Police charges against prostitutes working naked in bars have been deemed to be against the law by an Independent Administrative Board. One policeman said that there was no coherent action action against organized crime, illegal prostitution and trafficking. (Interviews with police "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Case

An Austrian brothel owner in Upper Austria forced 100 Dominican women into prostitution in 1994. (Study, 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1995, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

In 1994, two club owners were convicted for "offering" two Dominican women rooms for prostitution. This was the first time that not the act of leading women into prostitution but of forcing them to remain in prostitution resulted in a conviction. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Official Corruption and Collaboration

Police has generally tolerate the prostitution of foreigners, and investigating possible cases of trafficking in women has not been a priority for the police. (Interviews with police, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

PROSTITUTION

Nearly all-foreign prostitutes are illegal immigrants. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

In Vienna in 1990 there were 800 registered prostitutes and about 2,800 illegal prostitutes. By 1995, the number of registered prostitutes had declined to 670, but the number of illegal prostitutes had climbed to 4,300. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

In Graz, in the late 1980s there were 120 registered prostitutes, most of them Austrian. Now, there are over 300 registered prostitutes, 55% of them Austrian. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

The large influx of migrant women in prostitution began in the 1980s from Latin America (Dominican Republic and Brazil), Southeast Asia and Africa (Ghana, Kenya); and in the 1990s from Central and East European countries (Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic). (Licia Brussa, "Transnational AIDS/STD Prevention Among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe," TAMPEP, 1996)

A large percentage of Latin American women in prostitution have a regular migrant status as dancers and artists in Austria. (Licia Brussa, "Transnational AIDS/STD Prevention Among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe," TAMPEP, 1996)

There are 4,000-5,000 illegal foreign prostitutes, approximately 80% of the total number of prostitutes, in Vienna. (Maximilian Edelbacher, Major Crime Bureau of the Federal Police of Austria, European Race Audit Bulletin No. 25, The Institute of Race Relations, London UK, 25 November 1997)

Women in prostitution said that men offered much more money for intercourse without condoms. (IOM interviews in Graz, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Health and Well-being

Migrant women in prostitution are forced to have sex and live in bad sanitary health conditions. (Licia Brussa, "Transnational AIDS/STD Prevention Among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe," TAMPEP, 1996)

Cases

An Austrian brothel owner in Upper Austria forced 100 Dominican women into prostitution in 1994. (Study, 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1995, "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

In 1994 two club owners were convicted for "offering" two Dominican women rooms for prostitution. This was the first time that not the act of leading women into prostitution but of forcing them to remain in prostitution resulted in a conviction. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Policy and Law

Prostitution is legal and viewed as a taxable source of income for Austria, provided women register with authorities and undergo health checks. In Graz, police are prepared to register women as legal prostitutes even though these women do not have either an Austrian residency permit or work permit. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Foreign women are in danger of deportation if they seek to be registered as prostitutes. There is a quota for immigrant labor that makes it nearly impossible for foreigners to obtain regular work in Austria. One exception is for artists, and this loophole fosters illegal prostitution in the form of nightclub dancing, because for most foreign women it is the only way to receive a work and residence permit. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Unregistered prostitution is an offense, and grounds for expulsion from the country. Therefore, trafficked women do not report to police because they risk being deported. ("Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Foreign prostituted women from non-European Union countries often call themselves "artist" on their work permits, which gives them a legal right to work in Austria. (European Race Audit Bulletin No. 25, The Institute of Race Relations, London UK (25 November 1997)

Prostitution is legal in Vienna but, in order to be registered, a prostitute must have a residence permit. Thus, nearly all foreign prostitutes are illegal. (European Race Audit Bulletin No. 25, The Institute of Race Relations, London UK, 25 November 1997)

Official Response and Action

Many bars and nightclubs have secret exits and alarms used during police raids, making capture and arrest difficult. Apartment prostitution is difficult to investigate, because the police are only allowed to take action if there are complaints from neighbors because of the noise. Police charges against prostitutes working naked in bars have been deemd to be against the law by an Independent Administrative Board. One policeman said that there was no coherent action action against organized crime, illegal prostitution and trafficking. (Interviews with police "Trafficking in Women to Austria for Sexual Exploitation," IOM and the Austrian Minister for Women’s Affairs, June 1996)

Austria discarded the principle of double jeopardy, so a person can be prosecuted for extra-territorial crimes of sex exploitation both in the country where the crime is commited and in Austria. ("Child sexploitation within law's reach," The Nation, 2 July 1997)



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