Bulgaria is one of Europe's biggest exporters of prostitutes and has one of the largest and most developed networks of prostitutes in the continent, a new study said Wednesday. In the southern town of Sliven, which has a population of about , people, the Centre for the Study of Democracy CSD estimated that one out of every 15 women aged between 15 and 30 was engaged in prostitution.
The non-governmental think tank found Bulgarian prostitutes working abroad earn the equivalent of about seven percent of gross domestic product GDP , a similar proportion to countries such as Taiwan and South Korea. Given its nature, it is difficult to compile reliable statistics about sex trafficking. But the scope of the problem can be gauged by the number of cases where victims of sexual exploitation contact the police for help.
In Germany, reputed to have one of the most developed sex services markets in Europe, Taking a look at organised crime in general in Bulgaria, the CSD analyst said that the origin, structure and evolution of criminal networks was similar to in Russia. Many of the perpetrators were former police officers, laid off after the fall of communism in , jobless athletes such as wrestlers, and ex-prisoners, the study showed.
During the first few years following the collapse of communism, the government was weak and the justice system inefficient, allowing protection rackets to spring up. Wealthy criminal bosses became involved in drug trafficking in the late s and car theft became so widespread that one out of every three cars on Bulgarian roads in the mids was stolen.
In , another "Russian" phenomenon emerged in Bulgaria, with 60 percent of all stolen vehicles being offered back to their owners in return for ransom, Bezlov said.
