| Population: 7,707,495
Population Growth Rate: –1.14%
Birth Rate: 8.06 births/1,000 population
Life Expectancy: total population: 71.2 years; male: 67.72 years; female: 74.89 years
Literacy Rate: total population: 98%; male: 99%; female: 98%
Net Migration Rate: –4.9 migrants/1,000 population
Unemployment Rate: 17.7%
Gross Domestic Product per Capita: US$6,200
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%; Muslim 13%; Roman Catholic 1.5%; Uniate Catholic 0.2%; Jewish 0.8%; Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1%
Languages: Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown
Ethnic Groups: Bulgarian 83%; Turk 8.5%; Roma 2.6%; Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, and others
Capital: Sofia |
Bulgaria is primarily a country of origin for the trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation. Bulgaria’s political transition over the past 10 years, compounded with economic hardships, has had disastrous consequences on women and children. Recent United Nations (UN) statistics reflect that Bulgaria ranks first in eastern Europe in sustained unemployment of women. The International Organization for Migration reports that as many as 450,000 young Bulgarian women are likely to take a risky job abroad.[1]
In 2000, Bulgarian women and young girls were rescued in Bosnia as suspected victims of trafficking. The UN mission in Bosnia and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that they dealt with 40 cases of suspected trafficking, involving 182 women from foreign countries.[2] A case involving women trafficked from Bulgaria to Scandinavian countries is being considered by the Stockholm high court. The traffickers allegedly took 13 women from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria into Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Belgium. Among the accused are three men and one woman from the former Yugoslavia.[3] Bulgarian girls were also among 26 young girls rescued when police raided a bar in Pristina.[4] In a report that was broadcast on German television, a 15-year-old Bulgarian girl claimed that she was sold to a nightclub in Tetovo (near Macedonia’s northern border with Kosovo) and that hundreds of German soldiers were among the men who paid for sex with her. A German soldier acknowledged that he knew the girl from visiting the nightclub and that he knew several other KFOR soldiers who frequented brothels where underage girls were being kept.[5] Soon after the media spread that story, 100 girls and women were rescued from 16 bars in raids in the towns of Tetovo and Gostivar.[6] A human rights group reported that 10,000 Bulgarian women, many under the age of 18, have been forced into the sex trade. Most of these women were lured by advertisements promising well-paid work as models, dancers, waitresses, and cleaning ladies. Activists report that girls as young as 14 have been kidnapped and smuggled over the border.[7] It is believed that 1,200 of the 10,000 Bulgarian women who are trapped in prostitution reside in Poland. Most of them are under 18 years of age and are of gypsy or ethnic Turk origin.[8] New routes from eastern Europe to the Middle East have also been established, helping to account for the fact that Bulgarian women make up 70 percent of foreign women in prostitution in Dubai.[9]
Reports of illegal border crossings are also prevalent in this region. The border patrol in the region of Petrich reported 2,400 attempts at illegal border crossings; 7,400 people of 40 nationalities were caught. Among them were nationals of Romania, the countries that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States (including Moldova and Ukraine), Afghanistan, and other developing countries. A total of 6,789 files were opened for such cases; 985 people were convicted.[10] In another incident, 31 foreigners were detained in an attempted illegal immigration to Greece from Bulgaria on 12 January 2001 in the regional border area of Petrich. The police reported that among them were 21 Romanians, 8 Ukrainians, and 2 Indians. Also, the police arrested two Bulgarian youths who organized the smuggling ring. The foreigners were noted as entering Bulgaria with legitimate documents, and the fee paid to organizers was about DM 500 to DM 1,000 (US $ 430-860) per person.[11] Bulgaria is primarily a country of origin. Two main routes are used for trafficking women out of Bulgaria: the first goes through Poland and the Czech Republic to Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The second route goes to Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Turkey, and Greece.[12] Bulgarian women and children are noted for being trafficked to Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, and Poland. Some are also sent to France, Germany, and the Netherlands.[13] Bulgaria also serves as a transit country. According to reports, Bulgarian customs agents stopped 1,230 women, including 560 Romanians and 420 Moldovans, last year as they moved from country to country.[14] Prostitution is legal in Bulgaria. However, persuading a female to practice prostitution or procuring a female for acts of lewdness or sexual intercourse is prohibited by the Criminal Code.[15] The offense is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to 3 years. The code also forbids providing premises for sexual intercourse or acts of lewdness. Punishment for the offense is a fine and imprisonment of up to 5 years.[16] Abducting a female for debauchery is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to 10 years.[17] The imprisonment may increase to 12 years if the abducted person is under 18 years of age[18] or, in cases of international trafficking, when “the abduction has been carried out for the purpose of placing the person at disposal for acts of debauchery beyond the borders of the country.”[19] The code also prohibits involving a minor in acts of debauchery.[20] Punishment for the offense is imprisonment from 2 to 8 years.[21] Furthermore, the code prohibits forcing a minor to engage in prostitution.[22] Punishment for the offense is imprisonment of up to 5 years.[23] Bulgaria has enacted the 1998 Law on Measures against Money Laundering. The Bureau of Financial Intelligence was established to implement the law. In addition, article 253 of the Criminal Code prohibits money laundering as a separate offense. The code provides for the confiscation of the proceeds of a crime. On 22 December 1998, Bulgaria ratified the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. The Immigration Law prohibits the entry of a foreigner when there is reason to believe that such a person intends to enter the country to commit crimes or violations of the public order.[24] The law imposes a fine on a foreigner who makes use of an invalid or false travel document.[25] Bulgaria has ratified the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. Bulgaria has ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention (105) on the Abolition of Forced Labor; the ILO Convention (182) to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor; the UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery; the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography; and signed the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. However, Bulgaria has not signed the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
[1] “International Project to Protect Women,” Associated Press, 22 June 2000. [2] “UN, SFOR Involved in Bosnian Prostitution,” Reuters (Sarajevo), 18 May 2000. [3] “Stockholm High Court Begins Proceedings in Sex Trade Case,” CTK National News Wire, 20 September 2000. [4] Steve McKenzie, “Kosovo Scots Rescue 26 Sex Slaves,” Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail, 1 February 2001. [5] KFOR is a NATO-led international force responsible for establishing a security presence in Kosovo. [6] “FYR of Macedonia—Trafficking,” Stop-Traffic News, 23 December 2000. [7] “International Project to Protect Women,” Associated Press, 22 June 2000. [8] “Bulgaria, Poland to Fight Trafficking in Women,” Reuters, 16 November 2001. [9] “Czech Republic: Streets of Dubai Lined with Brothels and Prostitutes,” CTK National News Wire, 19 September 2000. [10] “Police Intercept People-Smuggling Ring on Greek Border,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 17 January 2001. [11] Ibid. [12] “Bulgaria, Poland to Fight Trafficking in Women,” Reuters, 16 November 2001. [13] Vessela Sergueva, “Bulgaria Declares War on Classified Ads Seeking Prostitutes,” Agence France Presse, 17 March 2000. [14] Ibid. [15] Article 155(1). [16] Article 155(2); the sentence can increase to 6 years if the premises were identified in a public advertisement. [17] Article 156(1). [18] Ibid.. [19] Article 156(3). [20] Article 155. [21] Ibid. [22] Article 188. [23] Ibid. When the “physical, psychic or moral development” of the victim has been affected, the punishment may be increased to 6 years. [24] Article 7(1)(c). [25] Article 34.
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