U.S. Department of State 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Hungary

Hungary (Tier 1)

Hungary is primarily a transit, and to a lesser extent a source and destination country for women from Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, the Balkans, and China trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation to Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the United States. Hungarian women are trafficked primarily to Western and Northern Europe and to North America.

The Government of Hungary fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Hungary demonstrated a sustained commitment to fighting trafficking; it significantly improved its victim assistance and protection efforts. Police improved efforts to identify and care for victims. In July 2006, the Hungarian Border Guard was granted the authority to investigate trafficking cases; seven new trafficking investigations were launched as a result. Although the government did not establish a national action plan nor create a central office to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts, it did draft a national anti-trafficking strategy and is expected to present it to Parliament in 2007. The government should continue to provide training for police, prosecutors, and judicial officers and take steps to ensure more convicted traffickers serve time in prison. Police should continue to utilize established victim identification and referral procedures. The government should work to establish a systematic method to document victims. Hungary should consider measures to reduce the domestic demand for commercial sex acts.

Prosecution

The Hungarian government sustained strong law enforcement efforts over the year. Hungary prohibits all forms of trafficking through Paragraph 175/b of its criminal code, though prosecutors rely on trafficking-related statutes to prosecute most trafficking cases. Penalties prescribed under 175/b range from one to 15 years' imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes. During the reporting period, police and border guards conducted a total of 22 trafficking investigations, down from 28 investigations in 2005. Authorities prosecuted 23 traffickers in 2006, compared with 27 in 2005. Convictions were obtained against 21 traffickers in 2006; conviction data was unavailable for 2005. Only nine convicted traffickers served sentences ranging from one to five years, while the remaining 12 served no time in prison; this is an inadequate deterrent to trafficking.

Protection

Hungary demonstrated improved victim assistance efforts during the reporting period. Authorities continued to implement the government's victim referral process, established in 2005; 23 victims were referred for assistance, compared with 12 in 2005. The government allocated more than $50,000 to NGOs for victim protection during the year. Police received sensitivity training throughout the year and in January 2006, the Hungarian National Police issued a directive to all precincts providing guidance on the identification and treatment of victims and potential victims to police officers at all levels; several NGOs reported a noticeable improvement in the police's treatment and referral of victims as a result. Historically, poor victim treatment or failure to identify potential victims of trafficking has been an issue among street and low-level police. Victims are not penalized for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. There were no reported cases of abuse of trafficking victims by authorities. Although authorities encouraged victims to assist in trafficking investigations and prosecutions, few victims choose to participate due to lack of information provided to victims, language barriers, and fear of retribution by traffickers. Victims are granted a reflection period and subsequently can apply for a six-month temporary residency permit if they choose to cooperate with law enforcement.

Prevention

The government implemented trafficking prevention efforts throughout the year in partnerships with NGOs and IOM. It continued to fund trafficking awareness programs for police, border guards, prosecutors, consular officers, and judicial officials. The government provided partial funding for anti-trafficking education programs in 100 schools, reaching more than 8,000 students.