La Strada, a nongovernmental organization, published in Chisinau on 9 August a study on human trafficking according to which at least 77 percent of young Moldovans aged 15-18 who were trafficked abroad were victims of sexual exploitation. Teenagers constituted 15 percent of all individuals trafficked from Moldova in 2001-04, the period covered by the study. "Most children face sexual violence in Russia" - the study reads. According to the Prosecutor-General's Office, in 2004-05 some 400 criminal cases were filed in trafficking-related offences and 90 people were convicted.
