La Strada estimates that roughly 7,000 Poles fall victim to human trafficking each year, and the Polish research agency TNS OBOP (Center for Public Opinion Research) states that 20 percent of Poles have worked abroad. Twenty percent of those polled by TNS OBOP said they would respond to a suspicious job offer of good wages with no qualifications required (Bielawska, 2008; Polish Radio External Service, 2010a). In order to inform Poles about the potential dangers of working abroad, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) collaborated with the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi, MTV Networks Poland, and the Ministry of Interior and Administration on an awareness TV spot. “We hope that the campaign will contribute to better understanding that human trafficking is a fact, and will encourage persons considering working abroad to carry out thorough background checks of their prospective employers and workplaces abroad,” said Anna Rostocka, the head of the IOM office in Poland. “We want them to become suspicious of particularly attractive offers and talk about their plans with friends and family, to leave their contact details behind and keep their travel documents safe. Our aim is for the labor migration to become safe and bring positive changes in people’s lives” (IOM, 2010).
One case of deceptive job recruitment and practices is that of a dozen women from Poland who applied for housecleaning jobs but instead were sold to an escort agency by a trafficking ring located in northern Poland. The four traffickers—two women and two men—recruited women in dismal financial situations and promised them legitimate employment in Germany. Once the victims crossed over the Polish border, the traffickers took away their identification and sold the women to escort agencies that forced the women to work as prostitutes. “The women were intimidated and kept in a closely guarded house,” said Jan Kosciuk, a spokesperson for police in northern Poland. “What made matters worse, they did not speak German” (Polish Radio External Service, 2009a). Another instance of Poles trafficked abroad is that of babysitters and housekeepers who faced forced labor and abuse in Sweden by a 46-year-old mother of four. The workers received $1.00 per day or nothing at all. They were forced to live in a small room in the trafficker’s apartment, were constantly monitored, and were even forced to steal clothing for their trafficker. If they were deemed disobedient the trafficker would shave their heads (Polish Radio External Service, 2010b; Simpson, 2010).
Polish citizens are also trafficked internally. While exact numbers are difficult to obtain, shelter numbers may shed some light on the situation, though these numbers probably include both internal victims and Polish citizens who were trafficked abroad and returned home. Of trafficking victims provided with shelter by La Strada International in 2005 and 2006, 35 were from Poland, 6 from Bulgaria, and 5 from Ukraine (UNODC, 2009b). Poland’s Ministry of Interior reports that of the 934 victims identified in 2009 and 2010, 77.3 percent were Poles (Ministry of Interior and Administration, 2011).
WHAT HAPPENS TO VICTIMS AFTER TRAFFICKING
The government of Poland grants legal protection and temporary stay permits to trafficking victims, while housing, medical, and psychological assistance for victims are typically provided by NGOs (UNODC, 2009a). In 2008 the government increased direct assistance to its sole trafficking shelter by 40 percent (to $70,000) and in April 2009 awarded an additional $215,000 in emergency funding to keep the shelter open through December 2009. The government also expanded its network of specialized crisis intervention centers from 30 to 37. The centers serve victims of domestic violence and human trafficking (U.S. Department of State, 2009). According to Poland’s Ministry of Interior, 611 victims were identified in 2009 and 323 in 2010 (Ministry of Interior and Administration, 2011). The U.S. Department of State provided different estimates, reporting that in 2009 at least 206 victims of human trafficking were identified by the government—123 of whom were children in prostitution—and in 2010 a total of 338 victims were identified, 85 by the government and 253 by NGOs. Half of those identified by NGOs were forced-labor victims, and half were sex-trafficking victims. The government-funded and NGO-run National Intervention-Consultation Center for Victims of Trafficking provides assistance to foreign and Polish victims. The center provided assistance to 253 victims in 2010 and to 133 victims in 2011. The U.S. trafficking reports stated that many of the identified victims received government-funded assistance—most of the 315 victims in 2008 and 193 of the 206 victims identified in 2009. The 2012 U.S. trafficking report stated that Polish police identified 304 victims of trafficking in 2011 (U.S. Department of State, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012; IOM, 2010).
Foreign victims of trafficking, whether third-country nationals or EU citizens, are entitled to receive the same social welfare benefits provided to Polish citizens, including crisis intervention assistance, shelter, food, clothing, and a living allowance. Foreign victims are granted a 90-day reflection period during which they are allowed to stay in Poland and obtain assistance while they decide whether to cooperate with law enforcement. The reflection period is underutilized: only two foreign-trafficking victims used it in 2008, none used it in 2009 or 2010, and two used it in 2011 (U.S. Department of State, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). Foreign and Polish victims are no longer required to be identified by or to cooperate with local law enforcement in order to receive government-funded emergency assistance, though reports indicate that police encouraged victims to cooperate immediately with law enforcement and forgo the reflection period. International organizations state that foreign victims who declined to participate in law enforcement investigations were not classified as trafficking victims or offered the reflection period and related services. Those foreign victims who choose to cooperate are allowed to stay in the country during the investigation and prosecution of their trafficker (U.S. Department of State, 2009, 2010). The victim/witness support is initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and implemented by La Strada Foundation but is available only to those who agree to cooperate with law enforcement. Again, some experts are concerned that victims who choose not to cooperate with law enforcement may not be granted victim status and thus may not receive emergency victim assistance. Twenty-one victims assisted law enforcement with trafficking investigations in 2008, and 22 in 2009. Two foreign victims were granted temporary residency permits to stay in Poland while awaiting completion of the prosecution against their traffickers in 2009 (U.S. Department of State, 2009, 2010). Aside from the victim/witness support program, La Strada provides social assistance to all migrant trafficked persons, regardless of whether they aid law enforcement (Buchowska, 2007). Of course, without temporary residency permits granted by the government, foreign victims who do not cooperate with law enforcement remain in a vulnerable position. To address this issue, in October 2011 the Polish government signed an agreement with the IOM to ensure that assistance is provided to foreign trafficking victims regardless of whether they cooperate with law enforcement. Additionally, the agreement requires a risk assessment for each victim to ensure that the person will be safe upon return to his or her nation of origin (U.S. Department of State, 2012).
Another critical obstacle to the prevention of re-trafficking and the rehabilitation of victims is that victims—regardless of whether they are returning to Poland as their country of origin, were trafficking within the nation, or whether Poland was the destination for trafficking—face isolation, stigmatization, marginalization, and social exclusion. These factors can make victims hesitant to step forward; furthermore, the victims themselves often do not recognize that they are victims of a serious crime. The onus on proper identification rests with the government, as does creating apparatuses of social and labor inclusion so that victims can more easily reintegrate into society, which helps to diminish the risk of further vulnerability and exploitation of identified victims. To develop and implement a model of social and labor inclusion, the pilot project IRIS (Identification—Reintegration—Independence—Sustain-ability) was launched in 2006. The pilot was designed to offer Polish nationals a full range of support such as identification and crisis intervention; motivation, empowerment, coaching, and vocational training; and internships and employment. The model was developed and implemented by a formal partenership among NGOs, La Strada Foundation, the Center for Empowerment of Women, the Labor Office of the city of Warsaw, the Warsaw Social Welfare Center, and the Ministry of Social Policy and Labor (Buchowska, 2007). While this is exactly what Poland and all other nations need, the pilot focuses only on the social and vocational occupation integration of women victims of trafficking (Wroblewski, 2009; Ministry of Interior and Administration, 2011).
In 2009 the government allocated $298,000 to assistance for victims of human trafficking, including $59,000 for a shelter designed for adult female victims. In 2011 the government allocated $250,000 for victim assistance. As of now, there are no specialized shelters for male trafficking victims. Although the government has made significant strides in providing male victims with assistance and shelter, many of them are housed in shelters for the homeless as well as halfway homes for recently released prison inmates. In January 2010 the government housed seven male trafficking victims in a government-run crisis center and enrolled them in the Victim/Witness Protection Program to ensure that they had access to care. In 2011 male victims were housed in coed crisis centers (U.S. Department of State, 2009, 2010, 2012). There is no specific law concerning protective measures for child victims of human trafficking in Poland, though children who are identified by law enforcement as victims of trafficking are granted the same aid as adults—including medical, psychological, and social support, legal assistance, safe shelter, and an interpreter if needed. Unaccompanied minors are directed to care centers for minors, and the custodial court appoints them legal representatives. Foreign unaccompanied minors may apply for a residence permit (European Union, 2012).
Compensation is a significant factor in making victims whole, or as close to it as possible, after surviving human trafficking. According to Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, an award of compensation by the court is “an important aspect of redressing loss of earnings, violation of human rights and harm suffered in general” (OHCHR, 2009b). In Poland, victims can claim compensation within a civil action and/or within criminal proceedings. Despite the existence of this framework, Stana Buchowska noted that in only a small number of cases do victims receive compensation. “It is due to the lack of experience and knowledge [of] how to proceed” (Buchowska, 2007). Ezeilo pointed out that judicial proceedings in trafficking cases are also inordinately long: on average they last about two years. In her preliminary report she suggested that “efforts should be made by the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to shorten the period and provide early case closure that will bring succor to victims and reduce trauma suffered, while redirecting focus to victims’ full reintegration and rehabilitation” (OHCHR, 2009b).
Victims do sometimes face arrest, prosecution, and punishment for crimes they committed while under duress or in relation to their trafficking scenario. This occurred in the previously mentioned case of the Thai trafficking victims arrested for immigration violations. Also, in 2011 the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported that a Polish court prosecuted three identified victims of human trafficking as members of an organized crime syndicate despite evidence that the victims’ families were threatened and that the victims’ salaries were withheld (U.S. Department of State, 2012).
WHAT HAPPENS TO TRAFFICKERS
One hurdle that prosecutors faced until May 2010 was the lack of a clear legal definition of human trafficking in Poland’s Penal Code (U.S. Department of State, 2009, 2011). In lieu of a clear definition and comprehensive law, prosecutors turned to trafficking-related laws. Under Article 203, whoever subjected another person to practice prostitution—through force, illegal threat or deceit, or by abusing a relationship of dependence or by taking advantage of a critical situation—faced between 1 and 10 years’ imprisonment (Interpol, 2009). Article 204 of the code prohibited benefiting financially from the prostitution of other persons, luring or abducting other persons abroad to prostitute, or inducing or facilitating other persons to prostitute in order to benefit financially. Penalties ranged from up to 3 years’ imprisonment for the exploitation of adult victims to up to 10 years’ imprisonment when the victim was underage (Sykiotou, 2007; Interpol, 2009). Article 253 was used to prosecute forced labor and illegal adoption. The act of trafficking persons, even with the victim’s consent, was subject to imprisonment for no less than three years. In addition to prohibiting the buying and selling of human beings, the article banned the organization of illegal adoption of children, carrying a prison sentence of three months to five years (Sykiotou, 2007; Garnier, 2009).
Nowhere in these articles was human trafficking actually defined. Additionally, Articles 203 and 204 focused solely on forced prostitution. One possible solution would have been to amend Article 253 to include a thorough definition of human trafficking and to broaden the number of prosecutable offenses to criminalize all forms of human trafficking—including but not limited to debt bondage, involuntary servitude, peonage, slavery, organ trafficking, forced marriage, and forced prostitution.
Each year roughly 80 percent of traffickers brought to trial in Poland’s courts are citizens of Poland; the remainder are primarily Bulgarians and Ukrainians. A significant number of cases—up to 36 percent—are dismissed on the basis of nonoccurrence of a crime or lack of evidence (Ministry of Interior and Administration, 2011). The statistics provided by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office reveal no clear pattern in the number of persons charged with human trafficking. To date, 2003 saw the largest number of persons (134) charged with human trafficking. The number decreased to 39 in 2004, 42 in 2005, and 36 in 2006. In 2007, 62 persons were charged (UNODC, 2009a). There were 57 persons convicted of human trafficking in 2008, 52 in 2009, 28 in 2010, and 28 in 2011 (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2012).