The government increased victim protection efforts. The government and NGOs identified 154 potential victims and five official victims, compared with 81 potential victims and five official victims in 2020. Of these, 61 were sex trafficking victims, 65 forced labor victims, and 33 victims of multiple types of exploitation; 99 were female, and 60 were male; 112 were children, and 47 were adults; and three were foreign victims, two from Romania and one from Serbia. The government maintained a multidisciplinary national referral mechanism (NRM) with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for identifying and referring victims to services. First responders referred potential victims to law enforcement and state social services, which conducted joint interviews to officially recognize victims. The law provided equal services for both potential and officially recognized victims. MIUs in eight regions, consisting of social workers from NGOs and police officers, identified most of the victims every year, but the units’ sustainability was uncertain due to the lack of permanent staff, formalization, and resources; MIUs identified 126 potential victims (45 in 2020). Experts reported police did not participate consistently in the MIUs despite signing a memorandum of understanding that formalized their participation. Experts also stated law enforcement rarely initiated cases when civil society identified a potential victim, but ASP noted that definitional differences with civil society regarding what constituted trafficking caused obstacles in identification. Observers continued to report border police lacked resources, interpreters, and knowledge to screen consistently or implement SOPs for undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. As in previous years, ASP did not screen individuals in commercial sex for indicators of trafficking during raids and investigations of commercial sex establishments, and the Labor Inspectorate lacked the training to identify victims of forced labor. Law enforcement justified cases of potential domestic servitude and forced labor in forced marriages involving Romani and Balkan-Egyptian communities as traditional cultural practices and customs.
The government operated one specialized shelter and supported three specialized NGO-run shelters. The government allocated 22 million leks ($207,650) to NGO-run shelters to support 30 staff salaries, compared with 17.6 million leks ($166,120) in 2020. The government provided an additional 6.8 million leks ($64,180) for food support to NGO-run shelters in 2021 and 2020. The government allocated 20.9 million leks ($197,260) to the government-run shelter, compared with 29.3 million leks ($276,550) in 2020. The government also transferred 10.2 million leks ($96,270) to a fund of seized criminal assets for victim support services, compared with 4.6 million leks ($43,420) in 2020. Although the government increased resources to NGO-run shelters in 2021, NGO-run shelters continued to operate under financial constraints and relied on outside sources for operating costs. NGO-run shelters reported no funding delays from the government, as in previous years. However, experts reported the bidding process for social programs with municipal governments was not transparent and that no funds were dispersed to shelters.
The four specialized shelters constituted the National Coalition of Anti-Trafficking Shelters (NCATS); victims who required services not available in one shelter were referred to another shelter within the coalition. NCATS and the government provided assistance to all official and potential victims in both 2021 and 2020, including food, mental health counseling, legal assistance, health care, educational services, employment services, assistance to victims’ children, financial support, long-term accommodation, social activities, vocational training, and post-reintegration follow-up. NGO-run shelters allowed adult victims to leave the shelter voluntarily; the state-run shelter required victims to receive permission from the shelter director for their security. One NGO-run shelter provided specialized services for victims younger than the age of 18 and rented apartments for male victims, where they received assistance from NGOs. Observers reported the shelters in the NCATS had professional staff and good quality of care, and the government reported good cooperation between NCATS and government institutions. The government and NGOs provided vocational training for 109 victims; however, experts reported a lack of resources for long-term care, employment, and other reintegration efforts, particularly for child victims and victims with children. National Employment Services offices prioritized jobseekers from vulnerable groups, including trafficking victims; 43 victims registered with the employment office for employment opportunities. Foreign victims had access to the same services as domestic victims; the law provided foreign victims a three-month “reflection period” with temporary residency status and authorization to work for up to two years. The government did not provide any temporary residency statuses but repatriated two victims to Romania.
Due to a lack of formal identification procedures and as it had reported in previous years, the government may have detained or deported some potential victims, including women in commercial sex, irregular migrants, and asylum seekers. The government reported five victims cooperated in investigations and prosecutions and received legal assistance. SPAK possessed equipment that allowed testimony via video conferences, though it did not record how often it was used (one case in 2020). Victims who testified against traffickers had access to the witness protection program, though no victims participated in the program. The government reported interviews and testimonies took place in the presence of a psychologist, and prosecutors separated victims and defendants during trials to prevent re-traumatization. The government maintained the Development Center for Criminal Justice for Minors with four part-time prosecutors and a judicial police officer responsible for child protection in criminal proceedings. The government maintained 22 victim assistance coordinators who provided legal assistance and guided victims in accessing services; the government appointed victim assistance coordinators to all victims assisting in prosecutions. Victims could obtain restitution through criminal proceedings or compensation through civil suits. However, judges generally rejected restitution in criminal proceedings, and civil suits required victims to submit new testimonies, causing re-traumatization. Additionally, civil courts dismissed or closed civil suits if criminal courts dropped the case or acquitted the defendant. Courts granted compensation to only two victims in cases from 2010 and 2018 but did not disburse compensation to the victims—the case from 2018 remained under appeal.