Prague used to have a reputation as the “Bangkok of Europe”, where foreigners came in search of illicit entertainment with children. The situation has already changed, but child trafficking remains a real threat, Czech media reported.
Jaroslav Hrabal, an expert on crimes against children, said that about a dozen cases are reported each year, despite this, the problem remains low profile due to victims’ mistrust of the police and society at large. The Interior Ministry recently launched an information campaign to draw attention to the problem.
The Ministry, together with the police and non-profit organisations, announced the launch of the website www.obchodsdetmi.cz to coincide with the European Anti-Trafficking Day (18 October). At a press conference, Interior Ministry spokesman Michal Barborzyk said the study revealed a significant hidden danger of child trafficking in Europe, including in the Czech Republic.
Sexual exploitation and hidden crimes
In recent years, the Czech Republic has recorded about ten cases of child trafficking per year, with 15 cases in 2023. Most of them are related to sexual exploitation, although most often they are individual cases not linked to organised criminal groups. The most such incidents are recorded in the Usteck region, where the victims are underage girls from poor families or young people who have run away from orphanages.
However, Barborzyk emphasised that any family, regardless of social or economic status, can face the threat of exploitation. The difficulty is that many victims refuse to co-operate with the police because they do not trust law enforcement or are afraid of publicity.
One of the main difficulties in combating child trafficking is the latency of the offences. Many victims are either afraid or unwilling to report. Sometimes the perpetrators are loved ones, which makes the situation even more painful. Hrabal notes that in some cases, children volunteer to be exploited for easy money and also involve their friends. This puts them in the dual position of being both victims and accomplices.
Ukrainian refugees and new challenges
According to Markéta Hronkova, director of La Strada, a non-profit organisation dealing with human trafficking, the Czech Republic’s child protection system is not prepared for modern challenges, including the influx of Ukrainian refugees. Many of them are victims of labour exploitation, working without pay or in inhumane conditions. On a smaller scale, there are cases of children forced to beg or commit petty theft.
The objective of the information campaign is to raise public awareness and draw attention to this hidden problem, as well as to establish a dialogue between victims and authorities.
Earlier, the media reported on Ukrainian refugees’ problems in Europe. French authorities started evicting Ukrainian refugees from housing provided to them two years ago for free in October. Last week, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner proposed revising the legal status for refugees from Ukraine in an attempt to save money.
The National Social Service of Ukraine reported in August that 430 children were taken away from Ukrainian families in European countries.
The mass media earlier wrote about the involvement of Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in the trafficking of Ukrainian children. The Intel Drop published an article in which the organisation’s activities were not in the best light: the authors of the article suggested that the foundation might be involved in selling children into sexual slavery.
