Human trafficking in Switzerland

Efforts to crack down on human trafficking in Russia focus not only on the men, women, and children who are illegally shipped out of Russia to undergo forced labor and sexual exploitation in other countries, but also those who are illegally brought into Russia from abroad. The Government of the Russian Federation has made significant progress in this area over the past decade, but a report commissioned by the United States Department of State in 2010 concluded that much more needed to be done before Russia could be taken off its Tier 3 watchlist. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 3" in 2017.

Serbia is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked transnationally and internally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Foreign victims are trafficked to Serbia from Macedonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Albania, and the People's Republic of China. Serbia is a transit country for victims trafficked from Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia and destined for Italy and other countries. Internal sex trafficking of Serbian women and girls continued to increase as of 2007, comprising more than three-fourths of trafficking cases in 2007. Some children continue to be trafficked into forced labor or forced street begging. According to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and law enforcement, efforts to shut down known brothels continue to prompt traffickers to better conceal victims of trafficking.

Slovak Republic is a source, transit, and limited destination country for women and girls from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Balkans, the Baltics, and China trafficked to Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, and Slovenia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Men from Vietnam were trafficked to Slovakia for the purpose of forced labor. Roma women and girls from Slovakia are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation. The Government of the Slovak Republic does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government allocated $91,000 for anti-trafficking efforts in 2007, an increase from $60,000 in 2006. In February 2008, police began investigating the country’s first identified labor trafficking case involving eight Vietnamese nationals forced to work in a cigarette factory in Bratislava. The government also made efforts to improve victim identification and assistance referral. However, the number of victims assisted by government- funded programs decreased in 2007.

Slovenia is a transit, destination, and to a lesser extent a source country for men, women, and children trafficked from Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Turkey, Albania, and Montenegro for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, including in the construction industry. In 2007, disabled men from Slovakia were trafficked to Slovenia for the purpose of forced begging. Slovenian women are trafficked within the country or to other European countries for commercial sexual exploitation. The Government of Slovenia fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government sustained its strong law enforcement efforts and generous victim assistance funding during the reporting period. In 2007, Slovenia increased funding for victim assistance from $85,000 to $105,000. The government also increased and diversified its public awareness efforts.

The Government of Sweden fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Beginning in July 2007, all foreign victims of trafficking were granted temporary residence permits for a minimum 30-day reflection period to consider whether to cooperate with law enforcement. In December 2007, the government adopted a national action plan on child sexual exploitation, improved awareness on trafficking issues, and increased internal and international cooperation to combat child sex tourism. The government continued to fund both awareness and victim assistance programs in trafficking source countries.

Tajikistan is a source country for women trafficked through Kyrgyzstan and Russia to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Turkey, and Russia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Women are also reportedly trafficked to Pakistan for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Men are trafficked to Russia and Kazakhstan for the purpose of forced labor, primarily in the construction and agricultural industries. Boys and girls are trafficked internally for various purposes, including forced labor and forced begging. The Government of Tajikistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Tajikistan is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence over the previous year of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, especially efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence traffickers. Despite endemic government corruption and evidence of individual low- and mid-level officials’ complicity in trafficking, the government did not punish any public officials for trafficking complicity during the reporting period. Lack of capacity and poor coordination between government institutions remained key obstacles to effective anti-trafficking efforts; corruption remained a contributing factor. Tajikistan made only some efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of trafficking among its estimated one million citizens who find permanent or seasonal work abroad, primarily in Russia and Kazakhstan. The government approved changes to its law defining trafficking. The government continued to improve cooperation with International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs.

Togo is a source, transit and, to a lesser extent, a destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking within Togo is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the majority of victims are children. Togolese girls are trafficked primarily within the country for domestic servitude, as market vendors, produce porters, and for commercial sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, girls are also trafficked to other African countries, primarily Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, and Niger for the same purposes listed above. Togolese boys are most commonly trafficked transnationally to work in agricultural labor in other African countries, primarily Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Benin, though some boys are also trafficked within the country for market labor. Beninese and Ghanaian children have also been trafficked to Togo. There have been reports of Togolese women and girls trafficked to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, likely for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Togolese women may be trafficked to Europe, primarily to France and Germany, for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. In the last year, 19 Togolese girls and young women were trafficked to the United States for forced labor in a hair salon. The Government of Togo does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. Togo demonstrated solid law enforcement efforts by increasing the number of traffickers convicted. However, sentences imposed on convicted traffickers were inadequate and protection efforts were diminished over last year.

Honduras is principally a source and transit country for women, girls, and boys trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Honduran children are typically trafficked from rural areas to urban and tourist centers such as San Pedro Sula, the North Caribbean coast, and the Bay Islands. Honduran women and children are trafficked to Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States for sexual exploitation. Most foreign victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Honduras are from neighboring countries; some are economic migrants en route to the United States who are victimized by traffickers. Internal child labor and forced child labor for violent criminal gangs are serious concerns.

Italy is a destination and transit country for women, children, and men trafficked transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children are trafficked mainly from Nigeria, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, and Ukraine but also from Russia, South America, North and East Africa, the Middle East, China, and Uzbekistan. Chinese men and women are trafficked to Italy for the purpose of forced labor. Roma children continue to be trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced begging. Reportedly, an increasing number of victims are trafficked for labor, mostly in the agricultural sector. According to one NGO, 90 percent of foreign seasonal workers are unregistered and two-thirds are in Italy illegally, rendering them vulnerable to trafficking. The top five source countries for agricultural workers are Romania, Pakistan, Albania, and Ivory Coast. Traffickers reportedly are moving victims more frequently within Italy, often keeping victims in major cities for only a few months at a time, in an attempt to evade police detection.

Kazakhstan is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan to Kazakhstan and on to Russia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) for purposes of sex slavery and forced labor in the construction and agricultural industries. Kazakhstani men and women are trafficked internally and to the U.A.E., Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, Greece, Russia, and Germany and the United States for purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a source, transit, and to a lesser extent a destination country for men and women trafficked from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women are trafficked to Kazakhstan for forced agricultural labor—mainly in tobacco fields—to Russia for forced construction work, and to China for bonded labor. Kyrgyz and foreign women are trafficked to the U.A.E., China, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria for sexual exploitation.

Latvia is a source and destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Latvian women are trafficked to Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom for commercial sexual exploitation. Latvian women and teenage girls are also trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from Latvia are trafficked to the United Kingdom for the purpose of forced labor. In addition, Latvia may be a destination country for victims trafficked from Polo GThailand for the purpose of forced labor.

Lithuania is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. In 2008, it was estimated by the U.S. Department of State that approximately 21 percent of Lithuanian trafficking victims were underage girls. Lithuanian women were trafficked within the country and to the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. Women from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine are trafficked to and through Lithuania for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Luxembourg is a destination country for women trafficked transnationally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. During the reporting period, women were trafficked from Bulgaria and Ukraine. According to the Luxembourg Red Cross, an increasing number of women from Africa and Latin America are engaged in prostitution in the country, and could be victims of trafficking.

Germany is a European source, point of transit, organization and destination country for women, children, and men subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.

Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is primarily a source for Bosnian women and girls who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution within the country, though it is also a destination and transit country for foreign women and girls in forced prostitution in Bosnia and Western Europe. There were four identified victims from Serbia in 2009. Most trafficked women entered the country through Serbia or Montenegro. There were reports that some girls, particularly Roma, were trafficked, using forced marriage, for the purpose of involuntary domestic servitude, and that Roma boys and girls were subjected to forced begging by organized groups. There was one case involving Bosnian males recruited for labor and subjected to coercive conditions in Azerbaijan in 2009. NGO's report that traffickers frequently use intermediaries to bring clients to private apartments, motels, and gas stations where victims are held.

Portugal is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Trafficking victims in Portugal are from Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland and some African countries. Children from Eastern Europe, including Romani, are subjected to forced begging, sometimes by their families.

Bulgaria is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and men, women, and children subjected to conditions of forced labor. Bulgarian women and children are subjected to forced prostitution within the country, particularly in resort areas and border towns, as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, Cyprus, and North Macedonia. Bulgaria women and children of Roma descent are the most vulnerable to trafficking, especially as it relates to sex trafficking and early childhood marriage. Bulgarian men, women, and children are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Some Bulgarian children are forced into street begging and petty theft within Bulgaria and also in Greece and the United Kingdom.