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'Albania a transit gateway for prostitution'/ AFP: Girls are promised jobs, but end up in prison
2026-03-09 20:31:51 / AKTUALITET
International criminal networks are using Albania as a transit gateway for foreign women with the promise of profits from prostitution, although most of the latter are unaware that this act is illegal in the country.
According to an investigation by the French agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), many of the women who have been brought here come from poor countries, promised well-paid jobs and the opportunity to enter Europe more easily.
Some of these women told AFP that they were unaware that prostitution is prohibited by law in Albania, and that they would have acted differently if they had known.
A woman from Venezuela said that “we didn’t know it was illegal, otherwise I would have left immediately and it would have saved me time in prison.”
Another woman from the Dominican Republic said that criminal structures provided them with jobs and took half of the profits, forcing them to pay about 50% of their income in support.
"They contacted someone and that person provided us with a place to work. We pay them 50% of what we earn with our bodies, with the services we provide," she says.
According to AFP, Albanian authorities have cracked down on some of these networks, arresting people and prosecuting dozens of foreign women for prostitution, but activists and experts raise concerns that many victims do not seek help from authorities due to fear and threats from traffickers.
"In the past, Albania was a country of origin, where Albanian women were trafficked to other countries. Now we have a major change in the trend. Albania is no longer a country of origin, but a transit country for foreign nationals who come to the country in various ways, legal or not ," says Geranda Gjeta, commissioner of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit in Tirana.
Under Albanian law, anyone who engages in prostitution can be sentenced to up to three years in prison unless they are considered a victim of human trafficking. For this reason, according to AFP, many of these women and girls end up in prison.
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