Hungary is primarily a country of origin and transit for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation, and a source country for men and women trafficked for labour exploitation. Arising from its geographical situation Hungary is a transit country of illegal migration, it lays in the crossroad of east-western and south-eastern migration.
Most of the identified victims were subjected to sexual exploitation. The vast majority of Hungarian women engaged in prostitution abroad are aged between 18 and The perpetrators usually get them to work by means of deception.
In the context of sexual exploitation, the main destination countries continue to be Western European states, especially Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As a result of joint cooperation with the Dutch and Belgian authorities, Hungarian criminal groups were significantly forced out from these two countries.
The perpetrators typically recruit victims in their neighbourhoods, from the poorer regions of the country, mainly targeting undereducated persons. As far as vulnerability to trafficking is concerned, trends in this regard remained largely unchanged compared to previous years. A more recent phenomenon with the wide availability of smart phones and access to the internet is that minor girls ran away with boyfriends they met online.
High-risk groups for trafficking include undereducated young adults residing in poor conditions or who had lived in state-provided welfare homes or juvenile correctional facilities previously. Most of the victims are single younger women. They have very few employment or higher education options, and often have very weak or non-existent family support networks.
