This year, 121 Ukrainians received the status of victims of human trafficking

Natalia Gynska, a human rights activist and anti-trafficking project manager at Caritas Ukraine, td Ukrinform in an interview.

"Since the beginning of the year, as of 10 July, the National Social Service has granted 121 Ukrainians the status of a victim of human trafficking. Among them are 66 men, 45 women and ten children. Most of them are victims of internal trafficking, but this is only because cross-border trafficking is much harder to detect," Gynska said.

The human rights activist noted that Caritas Ukraine also keeps its own statistics on beneficiaries. Over the past year, 128 victims of human trafficking (82 women, 46 men, and 12 children) have applied to the organisation or have been identified by its staff. Of these, 55% were IDPs and 14% were pele with disabilities. The most vulnerable group is internally displaced persons, especially those who are undocumented and cannot access state benefits or assistance programmes, which increases their vulnerability to human trafficking.

"Among the 12 cases of child trafficking identified by Caritas, three children were forced to beg, all from families of internally displaced persons. Most cases are labour exploitation, which often takes place in captivity. Compared to 2022-2023, cases of sexual exploitation have decreased. During the occupation, Russians committed terrible outrages, murders, and raped not only women, but also children, the elderly, and men in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions. There were many mixed cases where both body and labour were used," Gynska added.

According to the Law of Ukraine "On Combating Trafficking in Human Beings," a person who considers himself or herself a victim of human trafficking has the right to apply to the local state administration for status determination. If the district or regional administration confirms this status, the document is sent to the National Social Service and approved by the Ministry of Social Picy.

The status is granted for two years. It provides for the provision of one-time financial assistance in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as medical, psychogical, social, legal and other necessary support.

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30 July marks the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2013 to raise public awareness of this problem and draw attention to the plight of millions of pele who have been victims of this crime.

As reported by Ukrinform, from 24 February 2022 to October 2023, 264 criminal offences under the article on human trafficking were detected in Ukraine, and 169 pele were served with suspicion notices. The use of a person as a commodity in Ukraine and abroad is punishable by the Criminal Code (Article 149 of the CCU).

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