The Ministry of the Interior has prepared a report on preventing and combating human trafficking in Latvia in 2020. It describes the trends and situation of human trafficking in Latvia, including the identification of victims of human trafficking and social rehabilitation and support services for such persons, as well as the measures taken to combat human trafficking and inform the public.
“Statistics show that the number of victims of human trafficking in the world is steadily growing, and Latvia is still a country of origin and destination of victims of human trafficking, as well as victims of human trafficking from Latvia are exploited abroad. I believe that regular public information and awareness-raising, the education of professionals, and the rehabilitation and protection of the victims of human trafficking are important work, both in terms of prevention and prevention of exploitation, which we must all continue to do.
However, in order to prevent a progressive increase in the number of the victims of human trafficking in Latvia, not only in our country, but also in the countries from which migrant workers come, it is necessary to work purposefully to eliminate the causes of human trafficking that make people vulnerable, - inequality that marginalize various groups of the society, poverty and unemployment,” emphasized Dimitrijs Trofimovs, the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior.
In 2020, 48 persons were recognized as victims of human trafficking in Latvia: 34 men, 12 women and 2 minors. Of these, 18 are Tajik nationals, 17 are Latvian, 7 are Indian and 6 are Uzbek.
37 persons suffered from labor exploitation in construction, food industry, agriculture and cleaning, 10 persons - from sexual exploitation (incl. pornography), but 1 person from forced sham marriages.
The most vulnerable groups of society, such as the unemployed, jobseekers, young people, women, people of pre-retirement age and minors, are exposed to the risks of human trafficking.
The risk of becoming a victim of human trafficking is most often caused by difficult financial situation, constant lack of paid work, limited skills and knowledge.
Often Latvians who have lost their jobs and have been psychologically destroyed during the COVID-19 pandemic go abroad without carefull evaluation of the offered job advertisements.
The risk of sexual exploitation has also increased because of the reduce of incomes of private enterprises and the development of the online video sites for adults with earning opportunities for their content creators. People also spend more time on the Internet during the pandemic, where various job offers are available and dating takes place.
The recruiters of victims of human trafficking are mostly acquaintances, employment service providers and family members. There is concluded in the report that Latvia is both a country of origin, destination and transit for victims of human trafficking, as well as human trafficking is happening within the country.
In 2020, 7 criminal proceedings were initiated for human trafficking - 6 for labor exploitation and one for sexual exploitation. Currently, one person has been sentenced to 2.5 years' of nosacīta brīvības atņemšana and probation supervision for 2 years.
The anti-trafficking policy in the country is implemented by the competent authorities within their budget. No additional funding was allocated for this purpose in 2020, therefore the institutions attract, as far as possible, funding for the implementation of anti-trafficking initiatives in both national and transnational projects.
The Ministry of the Interior, in co-operation with the State Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other organizations, has implemented public information campaigns to raise awareness and educate about the signs, risks, consequences and opportunities for receiving help.
On October 19, 2020, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between SJSC Riga International Airport, the national airline airBaltic, the Ministry of the Interior, the Safe House Shelter and the Center MARTA on the prevention of human trafficking in the aviation sector.
Helplines: 24/7 24-hour hotline of the Association “Safe House Shelter” (+371) 28612120; contact telephone number of the association “Centrs MARTA” (+371) 67378539 on working days during working hours; Children and Adolescents Helpline 116111; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Assistance Emergency Telephone +371 26337711; telephone 116006 "Victim Support Service".
The full report is available https://www.iem.gov.lv/lv/parskats-par-cilveku-tirdzniecibas-noversanu-un-apkarosanu-latvija
Prepared by
Gunita Kogane
Public Relations Specialist
Communication Department
The Ministry of the Interior