Several sources indicate that prostitution in Poland is on the rise National Catholic Reporter 28 Jan. Unofficial estimates put the number of prostitutes in Poland between 10, and 20,, of whom 25 per cent are not Polish PAP 17 July The majority work with 1, escort agencies existing in the country ibid. Some unnamed experts also refer to the emergence of a new "sexual tourism industry" in Poland using minors AFP 12 Apr.
Estimates provided by the Polish Deputy Interior Minister put the number of Bulgarian prostitutes at about 3, ibid. In this regard, the proportion of women aged between 15 and 18 has been increasing ibid. According to the Organized Crime Bureau of the National Prosecutor's Office, international criminal rings organize transfers of women to Poland where they stay as long as is needed to pay for their "passage" to western countries PAP 17 July According to unofficial data provided by the Polish Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, several thousands of women are sold as prostitutes in western countries every year ibid.
With regard to the traffic in Polish women, a representative of the Polish non-governmental organization La Strada made references to cases of abducted young Polish women who were then taken to Germany or other countries Le Monde diplomatique Feb. The representative indicated that 36 such cases had been reported to the NGO between April and May ibid.
She further said that most young Polish women, victims of traffickers, choose to leave Poland after a relative, a friend or an advertisement promises them a "well-paid" job in a Western country, such as waitress, au pair babysitter, or domestic ibid. However, they find out once abroad that there are no such jobs and then become prostitutes to survive ibid. In a 28 April telephone interview, a researcher who wrote a book entitled Trafficking in Migrants Through Poland , stated that these women often have to rely on a trafficker in order to obtain travel documents, go through customs, and survive in a country when they do not speak the language ibid.
According to the researcher, there are two main types of criminal groups involved in trafficking of women in Poland. The first type comprises small groups made up of Polish citizens who "recruit" women in Poland and then sell them to foreign traffickers ibid.
