Oct, 31 2025
Every year, thousands of women across Europe are lured with promises of jobs, love, or a better life-only to end up trapped in forced sex work. The line between a woman choosing to sell sex and a woman being forced into it isn’t always clear, but the consequences are devastatingly real. In cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, and Budapest, street-based sex work often hides deeper networks of coercion, debt bondage, and violence. This isn’t about morality. It’s about survival. And too often, the people labeled as ‘call girls’ are victims of trafficking, not independent workers.
How Trafficking Masks Itself as Sex Work
Human traffickers don’t always drag people off the street. More often, they use social media, fake job ads, or romantic relationships to gain trust. A 22-year-old woman from Moldova might be told she’ll earn €2,000 a month as a waitress in Germany. Instead, she’s forced into an apartment in Cologne, told she owes €15,000 for ‘travel and documents,’ and made to see 15-20 clients a day. If she refuses, she’s beaten. If she tries to leave, her passport is taken. Her ‘employer’ calls her a ‘call girl’ to make it sound legal, even glamorous.
The term ‘call girl’ is often used to distance society from the brutality behind the trade. It suggests choice, autonomy, even luxury. But in reality, many women labeled as call girls have no freedom. They don’t pick their clients. They don’t set prices. They don’t keep their earnings. A 2023 report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that 78% of women in street-based sex work in six EU countries reported being controlled by someone else. Only 12% said they were working voluntarily.
Legal Gray Zones Make It Worse
Europe doesn’t have one law on prostitution-it has 27. In the Netherlands, sex work is legal but regulated. In Sweden, buying sex is illegal, but selling it isn’t. In Poland, both buying and selling are criminalized. These differences create chaos. Traffickers exploit legal gaps. They move victims from countries with strict laws to those with lax enforcement. A woman forced into prostitution in Romania might be moved to Spain, where police turn a blind eye if she’s not visibly underage.
Even in places where sex work is decriminalized, like New Zealand, the reality for many migrant women is different. Without legal status, they can’t report abuse without risking deportation. They can’t access healthcare or housing. They’re stuck. A 2024 study by the International Organization for Migration tracked 412 women rescued from trafficking in Western Europe. Nearly 60% had been told they were ‘working legally’-but none had contracts, bank accounts, or legal protections.
The Role of Online Platforms
Ads for ‘escorts’ and ‘call girls’ still flood websites like Backpage clones, Telegram channels, and Instagram DMs. These platforms don’t require ID verification. They don’t ask if the person in the photo is consenting. They don’t care if the woman is 17 or 37. Algorithms push these ads to men looking for ‘discreet services,’ making it easier for traffickers to find buyers-and harder for victims to escape.
Some sites claim they remove illegal content. But when a woman is listed as ‘available for private meetings’ with a phone number and photos, how do you prove she’s being forced? Traffickers use coded language: ‘party girl,’ ‘luxury companion,’ ‘traveling model.’ They change the wording every few hours. Law enforcement struggles to keep up. In 2025, Europol shut down 17 trafficking networks across 12 countries-but only after victims themselves reached out to NGOs, not the police.
Who Are the Real Victims?
The women caught in this system aren’t criminals. They’re often from poor regions: Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Nigeria, Vietnam. Many are fleeing war, poverty, or domestic abuse. Traffickers target them because they’re vulnerable-and because no one is looking. A 2023 investigation by the Guardian found that 83% of women rescued from trafficking in Italy had no prior criminal record. Most had never been arrested. They weren’t ‘prostitutes.’ They were survivors.
Age matters too. The average age of entry into forced sex work in Europe is 19. But children as young as 14 are being sold online. In 2024, a raid in Prague uncovered a trafficking ring that had moved 11 girls from Belarus into apartments in Prague and Vienna. Their ‘jobs’ were listed as ‘modeling gigs’ on Facebook. They were locked in rooms, given no food unless they performed, and forced to send videos to clients every night.
Why the System Fails Them
Police often treat sex workers as criminals, not victims. In France, a woman arrested for soliciting can be fined €1,500. In Greece, she might be deported if she’s undocumented. In Germany, she’s sent to a shelter-but only if she reports her trafficker. And many don’t. They fear retaliation. They don’t trust the system. They’ve been told they’ll be jailed or sent home to shame.
Even when victims do speak up, the legal system moves slowly. Prosecuting traffickers requires proof of coercion-something victims often can’t provide because they’ve been threatened, drugged, or isolated. In 2024, only 11% of trafficking cases in the EU resulted in convictions. Meanwhile, the demand for sex work keeps growing. Online searches for ‘call girls’ in Europe increased by 47% between 2022 and 2025.
What Actually Helps
Real solutions don’t come from arrests or crackdowns. They come from support. In Sweden, women in prostitution are offered housing, counseling, job training, and legal aid-no questions asked. The country doesn’t punish the woman; it punishes the buyer. Since 2005, street prostitution has dropped by 60%. The number of trafficked women entering Sweden has fallen by 70%.
Organizations like La Strada International and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women provide safe housing, trauma therapy, and pathways out. But they’re underfunded. Most rely on donations. In 2025, only €12 million was allocated across the EU for victim support services-less than €1 per person in the bloc.
Change starts with recognizing the truth: most ‘call girls’ in Europe aren’t choosing this life. They’re surviving it. And until society stops treating them as criminals and starts treating them as victims, the cycle won’t break.
Are all call girls in Europe victims of trafficking?
No, not all. Some women do choose sex work voluntarily, especially in countries with legal protections and decriminalization. But the majority of women labeled as ‘call girls’ in public spaces, online ads, or street-based settings are controlled by others. The key difference isn’t the job-it’s whether they have freedom, safety, and control over their earnings. Most trafficking victims don’t identify as sex workers-they identify as survivors.
Why don’t these women just leave?
Leaving isn’t simple. Many are physically controlled-locked in rooms, beaten, or drugged. Others are emotionally manipulated, told they’re loved or that no one else will take them. Many fear deportation if they’re undocumented. Some owe money they can’t repay. Others have been told they’ll be killed if they try to escape. Trauma bonds make leaving feel impossible, even when the door is open.
Is legalizing sex work the answer?
Legalization alone doesn’t stop trafficking. In places like Germany, where sex work is legal, trafficking has actually increased because demand rose and regulation failed. The key is decriminalization combined with support: housing, healthcare, legal aid, and job training. Sweden’s model-criminalizing buyers, not sellers-has proven more effective at reducing trafficking and protecting victims.
How can I help if I suspect someone is being trafficked?
Don’t confront the person or try to rescue them yourself-that can put them in more danger. Instead, call local anti-trafficking hotlines or report to Europol’s online tip system. Look for signs: someone who can’t speak freely, looks scared, has no ID, is always accompanied by someone else, or gives rehearsed answers. Share information with NGOs like La Strada or the Polaris Project. Your call could save a life.
Do online platforms do enough to stop trafficking?
No. Most platforms rely on automated filters that miss coded language and photos without obvious signs of abuse. They only act after reports-and many reports go ignored. In 2024, a study by the University of Oxford found that 89% of ads for ‘escorts’ on major platforms contained no age verification, and 73% showed women who were likely under coercion. Platforms need to hire human reviewers, verify identities, and work with law enforcement-not wait for victims to report themselves.