Human trafficking in Montenegro - our harsh reality

That human trafficking is not just a creepy story from the olden days or a belief that it takes place somewhere far away, but a real problem that Montenegro also faces, which happens right here, perhaps right in our neighborhood, was shown by a series of investigative stories prepared by the Society of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG).

Journalists who have been dealing with this topic for years, as well as our young colleagues, investigated various forms of human trafficking, and with respect for the ethical standards of journalism, the presumption of innocence and the protection of the rights of minors, with unofficial information supported by official statements and documents, they published stories that have shed light on various aspects of this criminal act.

In the story that was published last, and which caused great public reactions, the details of a crime within the family are described, about how two children from Montenegro lived for four years in a hell of drugs, beatings, hard physical work, and begging. All thanks to grandfather and father.

Through a special research story, we pointed out the problem of "modern" slavery in Montenegro, that is, human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation. We talked to a potential victim of human trafficking - a young man who worked in Podgorica for several months just for housing and food, whose confiscated documents were returned only after he threatened to report the case to the police, and the money he earned was never paid to him.

We learned from our interlocutors from the non-governmental sector that there is a place in Podgorica, a kind of prefab catering facility where sexual exploitation takes place, that is, mediation in prostitution, that there are minors among the victims, as well as addicts who provide sexual services. In the story of women who are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation we also pointed out the ways in which traffickers "recruit" victims, as well as the fact that from 2015 until today, only one person has been convicted of the criminal offense of human trafficking in connection with sexual exploitation.

Whether there are police officers in Montenegro who are involved in human trafficking or whether the state authorities are not doing their job is a topic we dealt with in a separate text. The Montenegrin police officers who were arrested in actions to prevent human trafficking were not even charged with that crime in the end. Our interlocutors agree - if police officers participate in human trafficking, they should be held accountable the most. It is the first step to stop human trafficking. This is how it is performance for the public.

The story with which we opened the series of articles on human trafficking is about crime under the veil of tradition. We talked to a Roma woman whose parents married her off when she was 13 years old. We have also come across data that, according to the estimates of Roma non-governmental organizations, two out of three, or even three out of four, Roma women get married before they reach adulthood. It is not known how many arranged marriages there are. But the "price" of the bride is known. Mostly from 200 to 4.000 euros, in some cases even more.

DPNCG thanks all colleagues who participated in the production of journalistic stories, as well as interviewees who pointed out the problems faced by victims of human trafficking, as well as institutional failures in finding and sanctioning the perpetrators of this criminal act.

Investigative stories were created with the support of the Resilience Fund of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

The opinions and views expressed in them are the sole responsibility Society of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG) and do not necessarily reflect the views of donors.