Spanish Civil Guard and the Romanian National Police carry out a joint action to fight against sexual exploitation
During the week of November 28 to December 3, the Civil Guard, in collaboration with the Romanian National Police, intensified its fight against trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón, places where there is a high risk of these crimes occurring among women of this nationality.
In 2021, Romanian nationality was the most detected by the Civil Guard among prostituted women, most of them being very young. For this reason and in order to protect potential victims of human trafficking, police collaboration with this country was requested to join efforts in the eradication of sexual exploitation.
Two officers of the Romanian National Police, specialists in human trafficking, went to the Valencia and Castellón Civil Guard Commands to participate in specific services against these criminal acts. Their collaboration has been crucial during the inspections carried out in the different hostess clubs of the Guardia Civil demarcation in Valencia and Castellón, where around 20 potential women victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation of Romanian origin were detected.
The officers acted as translators and cultural mediators, fostering an environment of greater trust with women who were in a situation of vulnerability. In the same way, through this collaboration, the exchange of information between the components of the Civil Guard and the Romanian National Police was favored.
The Civil Guard faces the fight against trafficking from a multidisciplinary perspective, with international police cooperation being essential to obtain a comprehensive result. Thus, in these inspections not only the Romanian National Police was involved, but also the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate of Valencia and Castellón and representatives of the ALBA Program, for attention to victims of sexual exploitation. During this week, more than 30 women were detected in the field of prostitution, all of them being informed about the rights that assist victims of trafficking and the possibility of reporting their situation in any Civil Guard unit, by telephone 062 or to the email trata@guardiacivil.es.
During the week, visits were also made to the Valencia Red Cross, the Valencia Government Delegation, the Valencia Sub-delegation, the Castellón Immigration Prosecutor’s Office, and the Castellón Government Sub-delegation and the Romanian Consulate in Castellón, presenting a fundamental part of the agents involved. against crime, which together with the Civil Guard act in a coordinated manner to protect their potential victims.