Presseurop |

Bulgaria | White slave trade profits from the crisis (Sega, Sofia)

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:23:08 +0100

Rendered desperate by poverty and a lack of secure employment, a large number of young women yield to the siren call of recruiters who make use of bogus offers of training and temporary jobs to lure them into prostitution. (Article)

Interview | Saviano: Mafia has conquered Balkans (Foreign Policy România, Bucarest)

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:51:04 +0100

The Italian Mafia has succeeded in colonising the Balkans and Eastern Europe, announces Roberto Saviano, the author of the novel Gomorrah. In Romania, it manages prostitution networks, which are also linked to drug trafficking and money laundering. (Article)

Italy | The end of the end of the line for Berlusconi?

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:44:53 +0100

"Nights of Arcore, the papers against Berlusconi", headlines Corriere della Sera. In the wake of wiretaps suggesting that the then-underage nightclub dancer Ruby and other girls attended erotic parties at the PM's residence, public prosecutors have filed a request to prosecute Berlusconi and members of his clique for “Exploitation of Prostitution.” According to documents, Ruby had sex with Berlusconi – which both of them had previously denied – and asked for €5 million to keep quiet about his "puttanaio" (whorehouse). Berlusconi has defended himself by declaring he enjoys a stable relationship with "a girlfriend" and is no longer chasing women, but the recent partial lifting of his legal immunity and a court case could cause him some further pain. While traditionally light-handed Corriere fears continued government paralysis and admits that Italy is in danger of becoming "the caricature of a western country" abroad, anti-Berlusconi La Repubblica is triumphant, certain this is "the end of the line" for Il Cavaliere.

(News in brief)

European of the Week | Iana Matei, against human trafficking (Adevărul, Bucharest)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:27:25 +0100

Designated "European of the year 2010" by Reader's Digest for rescuing 420 women from forced prostitution, Iana Matei manages a centre where the victims of human trafficking are given a chance to rebuild their lives. (Article)

Romania | Top exporter of call girls

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:24:11 +0100

According to a survey conducted by the non-governmental organization, TAMPEP, between 2006 and 2008, Romania, overtook Russia and Ukraine to become the most common country of origin for sex workers in Europe. "Romania top exporter of prostitution," announces Evenimentul zilei, which notes that "barely three years after its accession to the EU, the country can lay claim to yet another lofty distinction." According to representatives of civil society groups interviewed by the daily, "stricter legislation to curb the sex trade in Romania has contributed to the increase in the number of prostitutes leaving the country to work abroad." In the light of their remarks, EVz raises the issue of a plan to assess the social risks implied by the legalization of prostitution, which was proposed by a presidential commission four months ago, but successfully blocked by civil society groups and the Romanian Orthodox Church.

(News in brief)

Spain | The blight on Barcelona (Le Monde, Paris)

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:00:25 +0100

Over the past 20 years the Catalan capital has been building up its image as a rich, modern, dynamic city where the living is good. But there are limits to what urban marketing can do, and several recent scandals have tarnished this glowing reputation, much to the local authorities’ dismay. (Article)

Romania | Legalizing prostitution may not be easy (Evenimentul zilei, Bucharest)

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:08:03 +0100

Although widespread in Romania and a staple of the country’s economy, prostitution remains illegal there. Its legalisation, currently contemplated by the authorities, might cause some unanticipated quandaries, observes Evenimentul Zilei. (Article)

PROSTITUTION | Czechs turn off the red light (Mladá Fronta DNES, Prague)

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:44:54 +0100

Brothels on the Czech border are disappearing. Their customers, mostly Germans and Austrians also hard hit by the recession, are not coming round any more, writes MF DNES. But there is another reason for the slump: EU enlargement, with sex workers of Romanian or Bulgarian origin now able to travel freely throughout Europe. (Article)