On 28.09.2023 in Hall 119 of the Municipality of Sliven, was held a regular meeting of the Local Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (LCCTHB), Sliven. The meeting was held on Thursday, 28th of June, in the Municipal Council of the Ministry of Human Trafficking. The meeting was attended by the members of the Local Commission, representatives of the following institutions: Municipality of Sliven, District Prosecutor's Office - Sliven, Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior Sliven, Child Protection Department at the State Social Welfare Service - Sliven, Regional Department of Education - Sliven and Doctors of the World Association - Sliven.
During the regular session, statistics on the cases of human trafficking monitored by the District Prosecutor's Office - Sliven in 2023 were presented. For the period January - September 2023, 10 cases concerning the crime of "Trafficking in human beings" were pending at the Regional Prosecutor's Office - Sliven. One case was initiated in 2022, two cases were initiated in 2021 and the remaining seven cases were initiated in previous years. One of the cases is supervised by the territorial department of the Regional Prosecutor's Office - Sliven in the town of Nova Zagora, the remaining cases were filed by the Regional Prosecutor's Office - Sliven. There were 48 victims of trafficking in the above cases. Of these, 31 were men and 8 women victims of trafficking for labor exploitation. The remaining victims were women trafficked for sexual exploitation. There were 10 persons convicted of the offense.
The texts under which the above criminal proceedings were conducted are as follows:
Art. 159g, Art. 159b, para. 1, Art. 159a, para. 1 of Article 159(1) of the Criminal Code - international trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the conditions of dangerous recidivism - 1 pc;
Art. 159b, para. 159a of the Criminal Code - international trafficking for sexual exploitation - 5 pcs;
Article 159b, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code - international trafficking for forced labor - 38 pcs;
Article 159a, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code - domestic trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation - 3 pcs;
Article 159a (2) (4), in par. 1 of the Criminal Code - international trafficking in human beings for forced labor - 1 pc;
The current trends in the commission of the crime of human trafficking on the territory of Sliven region, monitored by DG BOP, Unit 12, Sector 02, were discussed. The main form of trafficking in human beings in Sliven region is trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, with cross-border trafficking in human beings (to EU countries) being the main one. According to unofficial data from the police services of the Kingdom of Belgium, no large number of prostituted women from Sliven district have been identified in cities in the Kingdom of Belgium at the moment. In the territory of the town of Sliven a small number of women have also been detected prostituting themselves in the areas of roads and in the city. As a rule, most of these girls were also practicing the profession abroad. They are mainly of Roma origin, working on the principle of one pimp - one prostitute. There has been a sharp decline in females willing to cooperate with the police and testify against their pimps. This is probably due to the fact that almost all arrangements made between the two previously are kept by the pimp. There is a relatively higher number of women who go into prostitution on their own, or current prostitutes who continue in this line of work after they have ended relationships with their former pimps. As for those who decide to work alone and go abroad for this purpose, it is typical that in most cases they are assisted by their friends or acquaintances who also work as prostitutes. The large number of persons of Roma origin who prostitute themselves in various cities in Germany remains. During the period under review, partial information was received from the police services of the Swiss Confederation about the presence of a limited number of prostituted women from Sliven in the territory of this country.
There has been an increase in the number of cases of Internet-related crimes against minors. This is often a precondition for them to be blackmailed and subsequently lured into human trafficking. At present, Sector 02 is working on one case of a female being solicited for prostitution in the territory of other countries. Work on the case is at an early stage.
During the regular session, the current trends in the risk groups of children in the municipality of Sliven were presented. At present, the Child Protection Department of the SSP - Sliven, is working on 1054 cases of "children at risk", against whom a protection measure has been taken, provided for in the provisions of the Child Protection Act. Of these, a total of 35 children have been placed in a family of relatives or close people, 30 children in professional foster families, and 26 children in a residential social service. In the remaining cases, a family protection measure was taken under Article 23 of the Child Protection Act - "Assistance, support and services in a family environment" and Article 4, paragraph 10 of the Child Protection Act - "Provision of preventive measures for the safety and protection of the child". Different social services are provided to some of the children and families, depending on their needs.
The main groups of children at risk in the cases in which the DPO/SPA Sliven is involved are:
Minors, pregnant mothers and their children;
It is important to bear in mind that underage pregnant women and mothers interrupt their education, which is a prerequisite for social exclusion and inability for professional realization in the future. There are also many cases of children who have never been enrolled in school.
Children born into so-called socially weak families who are unable to provide them with the necessary environment and conditions for their upbringing and development;
Children born with disabilities, in a serious health condition, requiring treatment and medical interventions, who are placed in social and integrated health and social services for residential care on medical grounds;
Children who have dropped out of the education system or are at risk of dropping out due to unexcused absences or those who are not included in the education system for various reasons - migration of families to different locations, residence abroad, parents' refusal to ensure their presence at school, disinterest, etc.
Children, perpetrators of antisocial acts, against whom actions have been taken in accordance with the relevant legislation (by the Pedagogical Councils, the ICBPMN and the RS).
In the current year 2023, the OPD officers have participated in 57 meetings of the ICBPM. Most often the deviant behavior of children and their antisocial behaviors are due to: criminality in the family, conflict and violence in the family environment; the lack of positive behavior patterns, low education and culture of parents, problems in communication between parents and children; irresponsibility and impunity of parents, weak parental control and their disinterest in the problems of children, emotional alienation in the family and neglect of children, etc. The number of cases of children, including minors (dominated by females), using psychoactive substances (according to their data - pico, "drugged tea", marijuana, etc.) is increasing. In the last 2023, the OPD/SPA-Sliven has not worked on cases of trafficked or unaccompanied children. From the Association "Doctors of the World" in Sliven information on activities implemented in 2023 on prevention of trafficking in human beings by providing psychosocial support to vulnerable children and teenagers living in precarious conditions in the district of "Nadezda" in Sliven. Association "Doctors of the World" - Sliven branch expands its overall program activities in terms of psychosocial support for children and teenagers living in risky environments and conditions to be victims of violence, exploitation and human trafficking. With children and teenagers from district Nadezhda in Sliven daily preventive work is carried out to mitigate the harmful effects of the surrounding environment and to prevent various dangerous processes. Very often deep poverty also leads to preconditions for falling into dependence on persons who exploit children and teenagers later on.
A major part of the work of Doctors of the World Association is the implementation of activities to build a good relationship of trust with children - potential victims of exploitation and trafficking, by involving them in daily informal activities. This trust relationship can be a good basis for the implementation of more effective models and sustainable long-term programs for the prevention of various dangerous processes that are often premised on the poverty of children and their families in the district Nadezhda in Sliven. From the work with children and teenagers, it is found that most of them have difficulty expressing what they think. Therefore, part of the program in 2023 includes the implementation of more activities to help children express what they feel and understand, to improve the way they express themselves when communicating with others, and to share more about cases of violence, exploitation and possible trafficking.
The establishment of a center for daily work with children of the Association "Doctors of the World" in the district Nadezhda, impacts on improving the "toxic" environment and has a preventive impact on potential victims of exploitation and trafficking.
The prevention activities that Doctors of the World is carrying out in 2023 include:
Discussion of topics regarding human trafficking, exploitation and other dangerous processes that accompany the lives of children, through informal conversations by members of the Association's team.
Through informal activities and discussions in individual and group form, the scope of the trusting relationship with children - potential and possible victims of sexual and labor exploitation is extended.
Individual and group psychosocial support by the psychologist of the Association "Doctors of the World", aimed at children at high social risk of falling into sexual and labor exploitation.
Mobilization of external resources from partnerships of the Association "Doctors of the World" with institutions and organizations that are actively working on the ground in the district.
Nadezhda in Sliven, regarding prevention and psychosocial support activities for children and teenagers at high risk of being involved in exploitation and trafficking. From October 2022 to March 2023, in partnership with the Community Support Centre (Klutsochor district), joint work was carried out to provide psychosocial support to 2 children (possible victims of sexual exploitation). Psychologists and educators have worked in the center of "Doctors of the World" in Nadezhda with 2 children at high risk of sexual exploitation by a pedophile for 1 hour a week individually. Together and separately, teams from "Doctors of the World" and the "Community Support Centre" have made several visits to the homes of the 2 children who are likely victims of sexual abuse. Individual support has also been provided by allowing several children to use the bathroom at the "Doctors of the World" center in Nadezhda because even the lack of the possibility to use a bathing facility can cause dependence on adults who provide "free access" to their bathroom.
The number of children and teenagers who regularly (2-3) visit the "Doctors of the World" center in the district Nadezhda January - June 2023:
40 children aged 6-8 years;
Almost 200 children aged 9-12 years;
30 adolescents aged 13-17.
The total number of regularly attending young people ( 6-17 years) is 270.
150 children came only once a week or less frequently - once a month, together with the regular attendees of the LNC center, the coverage that was reached for the age group 6-18 years was 10% (according to an age pyramid from a study of the "Doctors of the World" Association for the district Nadezhda by 2021).