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Austria
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The information below is
compiled from The European Parliment report Trafficking
in Women, the World
Sex Guide, Donna Hughes' Factbook
on Sexual Exploitation, and NGOs.
Population: |
10 million |
Number of prostitutes: |
12,000
- 30,000 |
Of which migrant: |
5,500
- 10,000 |
De Jure |
Prostitution: |
No crime of prostitution per se, but
"the exploitation of another person's immoral activity can be
prosecuted (irrespective of consent)" |
Trafficking:
|
1-15 year sentence if found ‘guilty of traffic
in women’
|
Age
of (female) consent: |
16 |
The law of 13 April 1995 contains penal provisions
relating to the punishment of trafficking in human beings, child
pornography and sexual abuse of minors. In particular a specific
offence of trafficking in human beings is introduced: |
Article 380b of the Penal Code is amended to
introduce the exploitation of prostitution as an aggravating
circumstance permitting harsher penalties for offenders (Articles 2a
to 4); the courts are given the power to order the closure of
premises and the confiscation of goods (Article 5); it is made
illegal to advertise 'sex tourism' or to publish advertisements that
operate as a smokescreen for trafficking in women and children |
De Facto |
Every large city in Belgium has a red light
quarter or an avenue full of prostitutes' bars. However, local
attitudes differ markedly: the nature of the systematic controls
practised (at the levels of the police, the administration, the
social services and the tax authorities) varies greatly between
regions. Until
the fifties, there was an official prostitution policy with
registration and health checks etc. That was abolished, but certain
cities have re-implemented this policy unofficially. |
The high degree of tolerance attached to the
exploitation of prostitution in Belgium has been fully taken
advantage of by eastern European traffickers. No coherent policy of
controls exists as regards asylum requests. In both the Brussels
region and Antwerp, the problem of the abuse of asylum procedures
for trafficking in human beings and exploitation of prostitution is
such as to require urgent action. |
In Antwerp, checks are carried out by the city
police ('police communale'), while the 'gendarmerie' is responsible
for legal cases relating to trafficking and the 'police judiciaire'
deals with the financial aspects of cases. Despite this division of
labour, the leniency of the legal authorities continues to work to
the benefit of the pimps and 'window' owners, who can draw on the
resources of a highly developed organisation |
According to the report on the IOM's STOP
programme102, in 1997 49 cases of trafficking were investigated,
none of which reached the courts; in 1998 there were 57 such
investigations, of which only one resulted in the conviction of the
traffickers. |
"The owners of brothels play an
active role in the exploitation of prostitution. In Liège, Antwerp or
Ostend each 'window' is worth several million BEF to its owner. In
Brussels, the hotel brothels in rue d'Aerschot, behind the Gare du Nord in
the borough of Schaerbeek, generate an annual turnover estimated at BEF 1
bn".
Belgian policy on trafficking in persons
can be considered a positive example: considerable progress has been
achieved by comparison with other EU Member States. However, much still
remains to be done. The laws have to be adapted to changing trends in
society: the number of victims appears to be greater every year. For
example, 1998 was marked by the further growth of organised crime in the
Antwerp area, where most of the victims brought in are exploited as
prostitutes"
European
Parliament 2000 (pdf)
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