La Strada Documentation Center

Rapid Assessment of Trafficking in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in Albania

Document number
1224
Date
2003
Title
Rapid Assessment of Trafficking in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in Albania
Author/publisher
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
Research/Study/Analysis,
Keywords
Child Trafficking, Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, Labour exploitation, Best Interests Principle, Child Victims of Trafficking, Separated Migrant Children, Unaccompanied minors, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Child protection systems,
Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The International Labour Organization (ILO), under its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and in collaboration with other relevant ILO departments (DECLARATION and MIGRANT), launched a subregional programme entitled ‘Prevention and Reintegration Programme to Combat Trafficking of Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in the Balkans and Ukraine’, focusing on Albania, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. The programme comprises preparation of a strategy for action document based on a comprehensive situation analysis developed through Rapid Assessment surveys; and the implementation of a comprehensive programme for prevention of child trafficking and reintegration of victims. The present study was carried out as part of the first component of this programme. The study was undertaken using Rapid Assessment methodology as described in the Manual for Rapid Assessment on Trafficking in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation prepared by the FAFO Institute for Applied International Studies. Standardized information from questionnaires, qualitative information from semi-structured interviews and existing information were the main research tools used. Children who had been trafficked and released, and children who had never been trafficked, completed 83 questionnaires. In addition, 63 semi-structured interviews were done with children released from trafficking, children who had never been trafficked, parents of trafficked and nevertrafficked children, and key informants. Twelve group discussions were held in Tirana, Vlora, Elbasan and Korça, the cities chosen for the Rapid Assessment. Girls exploited in prostitution were especially difficult to reach. Access to trafficking victims became more difficult as children were identified but then often re-trafficked or moved across borders illegally. The Rapid Assessment survey focused on identifying push and pull factors influencing child trafficking; sketching profiles for different categories of children who had been trafficked or risk being trafficked; detailing the trafficking process and ways of exploiting children. This was partly achieved by drawing up a picture of the daily life of trafficked children: the work they have to do, the control exerted by traffickers, the ways in which children exit the trafficking net and the process of rehabilitation and social reintegration of children who have exited trafficking. The study results are provided alongside an overview of the legislative and action framework that exists to combat trafficking: Albanian legislation on trafficking with a focus on children, current government and non-government policies addressing child trafficking, and related institutions concerned with implementation of anti-trafficking policies are surveyed in this report. The study also presents first-hand and related accounts of the experiences of trafficked children.
Related documents