AboutCampaignsFact BookResourcesCalendarDonateContactHome  

Child Trafficking
The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation
  About the Factbook
  Contents
      Asia
      Europe
      Oceania
      Africa
      Middle East
      Central America
          & the Caribbean
      South America
      North America
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

Bulgaria
TRAFFICKING

Poland is a destination country for trafficking in Bulgarian women it is a transit country for women from Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. At least 3,500 Bulgarian prostituted women are in Poland and more than 1,000 from Ukraine and Belarus (source: Polish Deputy Interior Minister). In 1997, police registered 200 cases of attempted smuggling of women to Western brothels. (Piotr Bazylko, "Poland, Ukraine to fight sex slave industry," Reuters, 16 July 1998)

Official Response and Action

Bulgaria has created an inter-agency body to fight the illegal traffic in women and girls. ("Rights - Women: Women Denied Rights Everywhere," IPS, 2 February 1998)

At least 3,500 Bulgarian women and 1,000 Ukrainian and Belarusan women are in prostitution in Poland. (Piotr Bazylko "Poland, Ukraine to fight sex slave industry", Reuters ,16 July 1998)

PROSTITUTION

There are approximately 90 clubs for prostitution in Sophia, the first of which opened as a massage parlor in 1992. (Simeon Simeonov, Sophia Police directorate, "Bulgaria sex club urges lawmakers to legalize prostitution," EDT, 12 September 1997



AboutCampaignsCalendarResourcesFact BookContact