The results expose a harsh reality: the problem does exist in Brussels and breaks numerous taboos, with three striking profiles of victims standing out. It is not only about girls with a past in or journey through special youth care. There are also victims from affluent families (who, at first sight, do not appear to be vulnerable) and victims in the context of international human trafficking. 

Therefore, the phenomenon is much broader than expected, and perpetrators identify certain vulnerabilities in these different types of victims and respond to them. Moreover, the current approach to the problem is insufficient.

Three striking profiles

Based on the research findings, three victim profiles emerged. They mainly concern girls with a past in or journey through special youth care, but also girls from wealthy neighbourhoods in Brussels, and finally, victims of international human trafficking, with a connection in Eastern Europe and France. What connects them is the desire for a better or different life.

Victims with a pathway in youth care

It is well known that teenage procurers target young girls from the broader branches of youth care and protection. They are often girls who can be said to be cognitively, materially, psychologically or socially in a precarious position through a pathway of affective and material deprivation with little intellectual stimulation or even acute neglect and abuse during childhood or early adolescence.

Teenage procurers see them as easy “prey” for the tactics of feigned affectivity, attention, “love,” and gifts: tactics which they invariably use to groom the young girls, bind them up, and exploit them.

City gangs and victims from wealthy families

However, the study also shows that, in the context of urban gangs, teenage gangs focus on underage girls from the southern outskirts of Brussels and Walloon Brabant, who come from wealthier, more socioeconomically well-off families – a remarkable fact that comes as a surprise to many, but for which several files have recently been started at Child Focus. These girls are remarkably easy to approach on the internet. They are vulnerable due to absent (working) parents, loneliness and a fervent longing for a life other than the one laid out for them.

Victims from Eastern Europe and France

There are also indicators that the tactics of teenage procurers have also existed (for a long time) in international human trafficking. For example, there are long-standing networks from Eastern Europe that deploy girls in specific locations in Brussels. They mainly want to escape poverty and are brought to Belgium using affective and material dream projections. In addition, we also see victims from France appear in Brussels. As a result of the media attention for a recently rolled up urban gang, Child Focus received reports of (potential) victims and links were found between existing disappearance files of, among others, French minors who ran away and an operating urban gang in Brussels.

Challenges

In contrast to these findings, we unfortunately also have to conclude that there are too few human and financial resources to tackle this problem and put into practice what is on paper today in the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation in every judicial district and every police district. 

In addition, the detection and legal qualification of the teenage sexual exploitation problem turns out to be a big issue. The entire process, from recruitment up to and including exploitation itself, is facilitated by the internet, which leads to a “black box” effect in which nobody really has full insight into the workings and techniques of teenage prey, let alone the identity of the victims and procurers.

Furthermore, it appears that too many professionals who come into contact with (potential) victims, such as police, public prosecutors, schools and social workers, have insufficient knowledge of the teenage pimping problem and the indicators of trafficking in human beings.

In this way, victims and procurers remain under the radar. As a result, assistance to victims is often lacking, and the procurers get away with it too easily. This makes it extremely difficult to get a complete and accurate picture of the problem. The often-absent cooperation, coordination and information flow are, of course, also linked to this. The organisation and training of the police in the six different local police districts also cause difficulties. However, even if victims are identified, there are not enough places in specialised reception, not to mention the complexity involved in the search for the competent authority.

A 360-degree approach

Of course, everything starts with recognising the problem and detecting the victims. To this end, tackling human trafficking and sexual exploitation effectively, on paper and in practice, must become a top priority by making financial and human resources available to police teams, magistrates and other key actors, such as the specialised centres for victims of human trafficking, working around sex crimes, trafficking in human beings and youth. 

To further tackle this severe form of trafficking, a 360-degree approach is necessary. A plan focusing on solid coordination and cooperation between all actors involved, the protection and support of victims, the training of professionals, the detection and prosecution of procurers, and preventive measures for potential victims and procurers. The latter requires further investigation of victims (and teenage procurers). Here, it is essential to speak to young people themselves and to pay attention to their voices. Only in this way can we get these vulnerable teenagers out of this invisible hell and give them the future they deserve.

The full report “Victims of teenage procurers in Brussels” is available in Dutch and French.

Find out more about the work of the Belgian Safer Internet Centre, including their awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.