Reaching Out Romania: Twenty Years After Carmen

Jens Høvsgaard, a Danish journalist, went to Romania in December 2005 to document that trade with women and children for prostitution was an existing and a profitable business.

Disguised as a pimp, he bought 16-year-old Carmen for 2000 Euros. The trafficker assured him that Carmen was now one hundred percent his property. He could do with her what pleased him. He could sexually exploit her, use her in porn movies, let her work the street or install her in a brothel.

When he grew tired of her, he could either make her disappear from the face of the earth or sell her. No one would wonder about her fate, and no one would report her missing. After the deal was concluded, Jens brought Carmen to safety with Iana Matei, director of Reaching Out Romania.

Over the past twenty years Iana and Jens have kept in touch. Last week Iana was a guest speaker in Copenhagen where she met with government leaders, police officials and NGOs. She also met with Jens. “What is the situation in Romania today?” he asked and got a sad answer. “It has gotten much worse,” Iana said, stating that Romanian children, both boys and girls, as low as the age of 10 are being abused by an increasing number of sex tourists from the western part of the EU. She also mentioned to Jens that she is now active in Ukraine, where the war has made many children orphaned and easy victims of sex traffickers.

Iana did bring Jens some good news. Carmen has married and has a family. This may be a natural occurrence for most of us, but for Carmen it is a life goal she only dared to dream of when she was sixteen and for sale.

Should you wish to bless the Ukrainian children at the Centers in Kilia where Iana has worked to assess and develop wellness plans for over 90 children, most orphans, you may do so at the following link. The children, ages 5 through 12, have requested everything from a guitar pick to a guitar, from a fire engine to a dollhouse, from bright pajamas to facial creams. https://paoc.org/donate/ianamateireachingoutromania

From the Romanian Review – November 2025 newsletter.