Moldova and Human Trafficking

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Everyday men, women and children are trafficked in and out of Moldova; some are transported willingly, others are tricked, and some are kidnapped. Hundreds are daily losing their freedom and becoming slaves to the will of their exploiters. While the trafficking of persons can be for forced labor, a study from 2000 reports that one fourth of global trafficking is for sexual purposes. Sadly, in Moldova trafficking for the purpose of sex constitutes 80% of the total trafficking in the country and a 10% of the Moldovan population has been trafficked. Today in Moldova a human being can be purchased for as little as $150 (US dollars). This is a true crisis of human rights. What is the cause of this crisis? According to Kligman and Limoncelli, “the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 has since provided new resources – geographical and human – for the sex trade and traffic.” Is this true? Did the dissolution of the USSR play a factor in this violation of human rights or is it a simple matter of chance? In the following pages we will take a look at the collapse of communism and the lasting effects of its breakdown. I believe that the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the economic downfall in Moldova, as well as the militarization of the surrounding area, which has expanded the magnitude of the sex trade in Moldova.
In the next section I will explore the history of Moldova and what set it up for the political and economic stress it incurred. Next I will look at the effects the economic crisis had on Moldova and how the poverty is produced affected the expansion of the sex trade in the country through migration, a massive orphan crisis and corrupt law enforcement. I will then analyze the political unrest in the countries...

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...g with NGOs working in Moldova, as well as working towards complying with international trafficking laws. As of 2006 they started working on prevention programs to deter girls and young women from ever entering the sex trade to begin with. Little success has yet been seen from the steps that have been taken to prevent and end the trafficking of persons in Moldova. Some suggest that this is because the poverty levels are still so high, while others believe it is simply because women have yet to reach equality in Eastern Europe. Either way the issue of sex trafficking is a rampant problem in Eastern Europe, and specifically in Moldova. The collapse of the Soviet Union sent Moldova on a spiraling path toward economic struggles and corruption that left lasting effects. The consequences of which are still seen today through the atrocious industry of human trafficking.

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