Lithuania ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in June 2003.[1]
IN 2008 Lithuania was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. In 2008, it was estimated by the U.S. Department of State that approximately 21 percent of Lithuanian trafficking victims were underage girls.[2] Lithuanian women were trafficked within the country and to the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. Women from Belarus, Russia (the Kaliningrad region), and Ukraine were trafficked to and through Lithuania for the purpose of sexual exploitation.[2]
The Government of Lithuania fully complied with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. During the 2008, Lithuania sustained generous anti-trafficking funding by allocating more than $144,000 to Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help improve victim assistance and prevention efforts. The government also ensured that all convicted traffickers received prison sentences, a notable improvement from the previous reporting period.[2]
The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017[3] and 2023.[4]
Between 2018 and 2022, the government formally identified 148 victims; 90% were Lithuanians, 60% were women and 7% were children.[5]
In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 4 out of 10 for human trafficking.[6]