Brothels in Athens have a hidden scenario of sexual slavery business. Greece, due to its geographical position as well as political and social factors, became the cross road and destination country for women trafficking. Greece, the cradle of the civilization, hosts today approximately 20, trafficked women forced into the sex industry.
The fall of communism was accompanied by economical and political chaos, creating a huge unemployment rate, poor livelihood prospects and a low level of education. These factors make many young women vulnerable and with the desire to escape poverty in a foreign country.
Girls, having "fairy tale" dreams about a beautiful life waiting for them abroad, are recruited believing they are being given help to find work by traffickers who are not always strangers.
They migrate willingly thinking that they will marry a business man, or that they will have a more prosperous job as a waitress or dancer making a lot of money. Yet instead they end up locked in apartments and brothels without seeing the light of day for months, often serving 20 - 35 clients per day being physically and mentally raped, with their only proof of identity taken away from them, and far away from home.
Brothels are located broadly in entire streets, one besides each other, in diverse areas of the city. Madams are ladies, over 50 years old, who manage the brothels making sure the girls don't get the opportunity to leave. Research headed by Dr. Grigoris Lazos, a professor of criminology at Panteion University in Athens, indicates that during the decade approximately 1,, men in Greece used trafficked women, even among people in positions of authority , which represents, 6.
