Since the 1990s and the early 2000s, the phenomenon of child trafficking in Southeast Europe, especially in the form of child begging among migrant Roma communities, has grown and over time changed in nature. This report explores trafficking by focusing on Roma migrant children in Greece. It is specifically interested in the trafficking of children for the purposes of begging, pick-pocketing and sexual exploitation of boys. In the thoroughly transnational context that defines the phenomenon of trafficking, Greece is treated as a destination country, where a significant number of people of Roma origin migrate from other countries in Southeast Europe, such as Albania, Romania and Bulgaria. The purpose of this report is to present and analyse the findings of our research on the existence and extent of three forms of child trafficking in Greece. It also examines the challenges that child protection services and law enforcement agencies are confronted with when addressing these cases and to highlight best practices.

The report is available here.