Women trafficked to Glasgow for sham marriages

 

 

Eastern European crime gangs are repeatedly forcing trafficked women into sexual exploitation and sham marriages, a BBC investigation found.

The programme, Humans for Sale, found one Slovakian girl who had been trafficked to Glasgow three times.

Many of the women were forced into sham marriages with men, mainly from Pakistan, who were seeking to apply for residency in the UK.

The women, who are EU citizens, are lured to the UK with false promises.

According to Angelika Molnar, who runs Europol's human trafficking unit, the victims were encouraged to leave poverty and deprivation in countries such as Romania and Slovakia with the prospect of a well-paid job in Scotland.

"It's only upon arrival that they are told there is no work available and they have to be engaged in marriages with Pakistani men," she said.

Ms Molnar said the potential grooms wanted to stay in Scotland but needed marriage to an EU citizen to be able to apply for residency.

"After the marriage, the women are kept under control by the traffickers and are exploited as domestic service by the husband but also raped and sexually exploited by fellow nationals of the traffickers," she said.