Prostitution in Austria - Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking

Austria is both a transit and a destination country for women and children trafficked from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Nigeria, and sub-Saharan Africa for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Most trafficked women are brought to Austria with promises of unskilled jobs, such as nannies or waitresses. Upon arrival they are often coerced into prostitution. According to police, there also were some women who knowingly entered the country to work as prostitutes but were forced into dependency akin to slavery. Most victims were in the country illegally and feared being turned over to authorities and deported. Traffickers usually retained victims' official documents, including passports, to maintain control over them. Victims reported being subjected to threats and physical violence. A major deterrent to victim cooperation with authorities was fear of retribution, both in Austria and in the victims' countries of origin.

Traffickers include citizens, who are generally connected with licensed brothels, and foreign nationals, who are involved primarily with unlicensed brothels. Authorities estimated that organized crime groups from Eastern Europe, including Russia, controlled much of the trafficking. Police were also aware of cooperation between domestic and foreign citizens to traffic foreign prostitutes through the country. Some victims are trafficked through Austria to Italy, France, and Spain. Women from Africa are trafficked through Spain and Italy to Austria for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Police and NGOs identified a combined total of 203 trafficking victims in 2008, up from 170 in 2007. In 2007, 30 trafficking offenders for whom trafficking was the leading charge were convicted, an increase from 18 such convictions in 2006. The government improved its funding for victim protection, and continued to undertake proactive prevention campaigns in 2008. The government published a brochure on child trafficking in 2008 to raise awareness and provide advice on assisting this population of victims.