Moldova is primarily a source country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. Moldovan victims are often subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour within Moldova and in Russia, Turkey, the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” Greece, United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Israel, Thailand, Germany, Denmark, and Czech Republic. Women and minors are subjected to sex trafficking in Moldova in brothels, saunas, and massage parlours. Moldovan men are subjected to forced labour in agriculture and construction in Ukraine and Russia. Moldovan women are subjected to forced labour in agriculture in Ukraine. Traffickers use fraud, debt bondage, and withholding of documents and wages to compel victims into sex trafficking and forced labour in other countries. Boys were subjected to sex trafficking in Moldova, and girls were subjected to sex trafficking both within the country and transnationally. Foreign tourists, including those from Norway, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, Australia, Israel, and the United States, subjected Moldovan children to commercial sexual exploitation, using the Internet as a tool for recruitment and exploitation.
Moldova is rated as a Tier 2 Country by the US Department of State’s 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report indicating that the Government of Moldova does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.