Andrew Tate, one of the most polarising figures on the internet, is revered by his audience of young men. Formerly a professional kickboxer, he soared to online popularity by expounding his opinions on masculinity, money and women. In June last year, he was brought before a court in Bucharest, charged with rape and human trafficking. His brother and two associates are alleged to have established an organisation to exploit women, primarily in Romania. The indictment claims that seven victims, recruited under the pretense of a romantic relationship, were put under surveillance, forced into debt and coerced into pornography.
The Tate brothers have denied the accusations. Andrew Tate, who grew up in Luton in England, has a record of violent and public misogyny. Traffickers prey on vulnerable women who think they have found a loving partner, only to be forced into prostitution or other sexual crimes. Only an English or American girl is stupid enough to be a hoe for free. In the European Union adopted a directive to prevent and combat human trafficking and protect its victims. This will expand its purview, take into account the amplifying role of information and communication technologies and require member states to make conscious use of the services of a victim of trafficking a criminal offence.
This means neither hits the minimum requirements for the elimination of trafficking but they are working towards compliance. Romania is weaker in this area, with 24 per cent of convicted traffickers receiving a sentence of less than three years. Romania is recognised as one of the primary countries of origin for human trafficking across Europe; in , 71 per cent of identified victims were of sex trafficking. Moldovan women are often trafficked through Romania and there are reports of traffickers working in both countries to exploit Moldovan women.
Despite the strides by both governments to improve the situation, trafficking in Romania and Moldova is a longstanding issue, in part due to the incidence of poverty. Women living in poverty are especially vulnerable to becoming victims, as they are often desperate to escape poverty and believe they are being presented with an opportunity to do so. Both countries grappled with communist authoritarianism until the late s and have struggled to build stable economies since. Romania has the highest poverty rate in the EU, while Moldova, now a candidate country since the war in Ukraine, remains among the poorest countries as a whole.
Because of the global attention garnered by the case, however, there is an opportunity for the media to bring attention to the larger context. This is a crucial moment for both countries to work on the prevention and prosecution of sex trafficking. The war in Ukraine has caused an unprecedented number of vulnerable refugees to flee to Moldova and Romania. Given these countries are already known hubs for trafficking, if their governments do not act swiftly the number of individuals trafficked could increase exponentially.
