The Chairman of the National Commission and the Director of the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime Launched the Campaign "Blind Betting: Don't Play with Their Fate!"

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior and Chairman of the GDCOC Boyko Rashkov and Director of the DGCPO Chief Commissioner Kalin Stoyanov announced the start of the second stage of the "Blind Betting" campaign under the slogan "Don't play with their fate!"

For the 15th time in a row, the European Community is celebrating the European Day against Trafficking in Human Beings and the attention of the public is focused on this crime. This abuse of human rights and dignity remains a serious criminal threat in the EU, despite the progress made over the years. Fighting human trafficking and protecting victims is a national priority, said Boiko Rashkov, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior and Chairman of the National Commission for Combating Human Trafficking, at the briefing. He outlined what has been achieved so far and the country's lasting commitment in countering trafficking in human beings: the institutional and legislative framework of our country is among the best developed at EU level; the implementation of a number of measures related to the care of victims of trafficking, actively working on their identification and protection; international operational cooperation and joint investigation teams are one of the good examples of the efforts made by Bulgaria. "We will continue to make the necessary efforts to effectively and in the long term counter both the crime itself and its consequences," Minister Rashkov assured.

According to official data, in 2020, there were 336 victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 333 of whom were female. In the past year, a total of 53 reports of potential cases of trafficking were received by the administration of the NCTBH, with 60 persons identified as being at risk. This compares to 41 alerts received and 87 persons categorized as likely victims of trafficking (regardless of form) as of September 2021. In terms of sexual exploitation, there are 30 alerts for 2021 and 13 female persons have been attended to date. Some of those who have received asylum and support have been placed in shelters with their children who were also in a situation of risk.

The observed slight increase in the number of alerts and the number of persons with risk profiles could be due to both the lighter anti-epidemic measures against COVID-19 implemented this year in the Republic of Bulgaria (respectively - the facilitated travel both within the country and abroad), as well as to the effect of the prevention activities of the NCCTHB, together with the GDCOC and other partners, and the increased public recognition of the crime of human trafficking.