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Trafficking in children in Denmark
Children are sold to Denmark from impoverished countries to participate in crime, prostitution or both. This was documented in a study published by Save the Children Denmark in December 2003.
They come to Denmark from poor Eastern European countries such as Rumania and Albania. Their families cannot offer them a future. And one day, a stranger might come by, "I can give your child a better life in Western Europe." And the child goes along. The child is possibly sold to a ringleader, transported over borders under the cover of darkness. The offer of a better life turns out to be a life on the streets. Perhaps in Copenhagen. The children are schooled in crime. The path to prostitution can be short. And the road back home very, very long.
Save the Children Denmark is familiar with this problem, called trafficking, from our work in developing countries. The impoverished allow their children to be taken or sell them outright to ringleaders. One less mouth to feed. And a slight chance for a better life for their children.
Save the Children Denmark had a suspicion that trafficking in children also occurred across Danish borders, which proved to hold true.
Via a thorough study of the area, Save the Children Denmark acquired knowledge of Eastern European children coming to Denmark and participating in various forms of crime. Save the Children Denmark has also acquired knowledge of four children who have come to Denmark under false pretenses, who were subsequently exploited in prostitution.
Plan of Action wanted!
This problem is not as pressing in Denmark as is the case in England, for example. Nevertheless, there are many reasons to take trafficking in children seriously. Save the Children Denmark calls the Danish Government to compose a comprehensive plan for how best to combat trafficking in children in Denmark. In the absence of co-ordinated measures, Denmark can become a magnet for traffickers to the detriment of even more children in the future.
Save the Children Denmark believes that it is decisive to find solutions in Denmark capable of protecting children from the trafficking ringleaders and guaranteeing a humane return to their native country.
In the spring of 2004 the Socialist People's Party presented a proposal for a Danish plan of action for the prevention of trafficking in children that was partly drawn up on the background of the Save the Children Denmark study.
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