Albanian children sold into slavery

The London-based charity, Save the Children, says that thousands of Albanian children and young women are being sold into sex slavery across Europe.

In a report today, the charity says that there are fifteen-thousand Albanian prostitutes in Italy alone.

The charity says that urgent action is required to combat poverty and poor education in rural Albania.

It says that the problem is so great in some rural areas that up to ninety per cent of girls over the age of fourteen stay away from school because they fear they will be kidnapped.

It adds that as long as the current economic conditions prevail, the rewards of kidnapping and trafficking would remain a temptation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service