Human trafficking in Ukraine

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In 2008, Ukraine was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.

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Ukrainian women were trafficked to Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Austria, Germany, United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Greece, Sweden, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Cyprus, Netherlands, Belarus, Japan, Norway, South Korea, and Bahrain. The majority of Ukrainian labor trafficking victims were men exploited in Russia, the Czech Republic and Poland, primarily forced to work as construction laborers, sailors, and factory and agriculture workers.

There were indications Ukraine is a destination for people from neighboring countries trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. In addition, trafficking occurred within Ukraine; men and women were trafficked within the country for the purposes of labor exploitation in the agriculture and service sectors, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced begging. Ukrainian children were trafficked both internally and transnationally for commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, and involuntary servitude in the agriculture industry. An IOM survey released in December 2006 concluded that since 1991, approximately 117,000 Ukrainians had been forced into exploitative situations in Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.

In 2008 the Government of Ukraine did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it was making significant efforts to do so. While there was little evidence of efforts to curb trafficking complicity of government officials and of concrete steps to protect and assist trafficking victims at the national level, local governments made some progress on victim assistance. The government also made modest, but tangible, progress in improving the punishment of convicted traffickers, prosecuting labor trafficking, training the judiciary, and carrying out prevention activities. [1]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017 [2] and 2023. [3]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 7.5 out of 10 for human trafficking. [4]

Prosecution (2008)

In 2006, Ukraine made progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenses. The government prohibits all forms of trafficking through Article 149 of its Criminal Code, which prescribes penalties that are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. This year, the government completed 82 criminal investigations and arrested 56 people on trafficking charges. The Interior Ministry reported that the number of prosecutions for labor trafficking increased from 3 in 2006 to 23 in 2007.

Overall, the government prosecuted 95 cases resulting in 83 convictions of trafficking offenders under Article 149. Of the total number of persons convicted, 59 were placed on probation and not subjected to imprisonment. In June 2007, the Prosecutor General ordered prosecutors to take a more aggressive posture with regard to sentencing convicted trafficking offenders and to appeal every case in which a judge ordered probation rather than jail time. As a result, during the second half of 2007, the share of convicted trafficking offenders receiving jail time rose to 44 percent, up from 36 percent during the first half of the year.

Despite widespread reports of trafficking-related corruption, Ukraine failed to demonstrate any efforts to vigorously investigate, prosecute, convict, or sentence government officials complicit in trafficking this year. The government financed regular, formal training seminars for Interior Ministry anti-trafficking officers throughout Ukraine. The Ukrainian Academy of Judges and the Academy of Prosecutors, with sponsorship from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), participated in eight seminars for 203 judges and prosecutors from around the country on victim related issues and sensitivity training for trafficking-related cases. The government cooperates with other governments on anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts but acknowledged the need to simplify procedures for mutual legal assistance between Ukraine and trafficking destination countries. [1]

Protection (2008)

Ukraine's prevention efforts remained heavily reliant on international donor funding. Law enforcement agencies referred 456 victims to NGOs for assistance. Through donor-sponsored programs and some government services, foreign and domestic victims of trafficking in Ukraine receive shelter, medical, psychological, legal, and job placement assistance. The national government did not increase funding for victims, and there has been uneven support offered by local governments. The Kherson regional government allocated $20,170 to anti-trafficking activities including support of a reintegration center; however, the trafficking victim shelter in Lutsk is on the verge of being closed due to lack of government support.

Ukraine does not punish victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, but sex trafficking victims' rights are incorrectly characterized as "willing prostitutes" and denied confidentiality. Although more victims are reportedly willing to participate in investigations against their traffickers, a weak witness protection system and a bias against sex trafficking victims still discourage many from testifying in court. Courts in the Ivano-Frankivsk region are implementing a pilot program to develop a modern witness protection program. The government does not provide foreign victims with legal alternatives to removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution. [1]

Prevention (2008)

The government made progress in preventing trafficking in persons during the reporting period. In 2007, the government broadcast a public service announcement on television entitled “Do not look at employment abroad through rose-colored glasses” throughout Ukraine and ran a parallel billboard campaign. The national government spent approximately $53,465 for printing and distributing materials for raising awareness, and local governments made additional contributions to prevention activities. The government did not undertake any prevention efforts directed at reducing demand for commercial sex acts.

For the past three years, Ukraine's National Academy of Defense has conducted, jointly with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), anti-trafficking classes for Ukrainian troops being deployed for international peacekeeping duties. During the reporting period, the Ministry of Interior worked with Interpol to prevent known child sex tourism offenders from entering Ukraine. [1]

Support providers

NASHI, a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada-based organisation that opposes human trafficking by raising awareness through education, [5] established a vocational school in Lviv, Ukraine to teach girls and women carpentry, sewing, information processing, and cooking so they won't become trapped in Ukraine's human trafficking network. [6] NASHI also founded the Maple Leaf Centre, a resource centre and shelter in Ukraine for young people who are at risk of being trafficked. [7]

Social Services departments of many Ukrainian oblasts have begun to cooperate with families and non-profit organizations to create "Family Type Homes" or "DBST"s in Ukrainian. Understanding that a family dynamic creates much more stability and opportunity for at-risk children, a shift toward family institutions is in progress. Organizations like "Father's House" and "MANNA Worldwide" are working vigorously to provide loving family environments for these vulnerable kids.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the 2022 refugee crisis stemming from the Russian invasion, numerous cases of human traffickers targeting women and children were reported. [8] [9] [10] The UN Refugee Agency has recognized many refugees fleeing to borders find themselves in a state of extreme danger, vulnerable and exposed to predators whose main purpose is exploitation. Gillian Triggs, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection acknowledges that "National authorities are actively leading the response to counter human trafficking, but more needs to be done to tackle this problem and mitigate risks." [11] Since women are at the highest risk and the most susceptible the UNHCR is "on high alert and warning refugees on the risks of predators and criminal networks who may attempt to exploit their vulnerability or lure them with promises of free transport, accommodation, employment or other forms of assistance." [11]

In 2022 there are reports of Ukrainian women and children being trafficked to the UAE. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Serbia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2001.

In 2008 Vietnam was primarily a source country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children were trafficked to the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C), Cambodia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Macau for sexual exploitation. Vietnamese women were trafficked to the P.R.C., Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea via fraudulent or misrepresented marriages for commercial exploitation or forced labor. Vietnam was also a source country for men and women who migrate willingly and legally for work in the construction, fishing, or manufacturing sectors in Malaysia, Taiwan, P.R.C., Thailand, and the Middle East but subsequently face conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. Vietnam was a destination country for Cambodian children trafficked to urban centers for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. The country had an internal trafficking problem with women and children from rural areas trafficked to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Vietnam was increasingly a destination for child sex tourism, with perpetrators from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the P.R.C., Taiwan, the UK, Australia, Europe, and the U.S. In 2007, an Australian non-governmental organization (NGO) uncovered 80 cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children by foreign tourists in the Sa Pa tourist area of Vietnam alone.

Kazakhstan ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in July 2008.

Latvia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2004.

Albania ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in August 2002.

Angola ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2014.

Armenia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in July 2003.

Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.

Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.

Bolivia Bolivia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2006.

In 2009 Bosnia and Herzegovina was primarily a source for Bosnian women and girls who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution within the country, though it was also a destination and transit country for foreign women and girls in forced prostitution in Bosnia and Western Europe. There were four identified victims from Serbia in 2009. Most trafficked women entered the country through Serbia or Montenegro. There were reports that some girls, particularly Roma, were trafficked, using forced marriage, for the purpose of involuntary domestic servitude, and that Roma boys and girls were subjected to forced begging by organized groups. There was one case involving Bosnian males recruited for labor and subjected to coercive conditions in Azerbaijan in 2009. NGO's report that traffickers frequently use intermediaries to bring clients to private apartments, motels, and gas stations where victims are held.

In 2009, Paraguay was a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically sex trafficking, as well as a source and transit country for men, women, and children in forced labor. Most Paraguayan trafficking victims were found in Argentina, Spain, and Bolivia; fewer victims were exploited in Brazil, Chile, France, South Korea, and Japan. In one case, 44 suspected Paraguayan trafficking victims were detained at the international airport in Amsterdam, and Dutch authorities arrested the alleged trafficking offender. In another case, 13 Paraguayan women were found in conditions of forced prostitution in a brothel in La Paz, Bolivia. Paraguay was a destination country for 30 Indonesian orphans, who were allegedly brought into the country for a long-term soccer camp, but who the government suspects are trafficking victims.

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed Poland in Tier 1 in 2024. Below is the full copy of a webpage section relating to Poland in a report published by the Bureau of Public Affairs of the United States Department of State, entitled "Country Narratives: Countries N Through Z: Trafficking in Persons Report 2024",which is in the public domain.

Poland is a source and destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and for women and children in forced prostitution. Men and women from Poland are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Italy and Sweden. Women and children from Poland are trafficked for forced prostitution within Poland and also in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Sweden. Women and children from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, and Russia are trafficked to Poland for forced prostitution. Men and women from Bangladesh, China, and the Philippines are found in conditions of forced labor in Poland. Men and women from Thailand, Nigeria, Iraq, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Vietnam, Turkey, Djibouti, and Uganda are found in conditions of forced labor, including forced begging and debt bondage, and also forced prostitution in Poland.

Hungary ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2006.

Human trafficking in Brazil is an ongoing problem. Brazil is a source country for men, women, girls, and boys subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution within the country and abroad, as well as a source country for men and boys in forced labor within the country. The United States Department of Homeland Security, describes human trafficking as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

Bulgaria ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Costa Rica</span> Trade of people in Costa Rica

Costa Rica ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2003.

Croatia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2003.

Djibouti is a transit and, to a lesser extent, a source and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in people, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. There is little verifiable data on the human trafficking situation in Djibouti. An estimated 150 000 voluntary economic migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia passed illegally through Djibouti en route to Yemen and other locations in the Middle East in 2022; among this group, a small number of women and girls may fall victim to involuntary domestic servitude or forced commercial sexual exploitation after reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor. An unknown number of migrants – men, women, and children – are subjected to conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution after reaching Yemen and other destinations in the Middle East. Djibouti's large refugee population – consisting of Somalis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans – as well as foreign street children remain vulnerable to various forms of exploitation within the country, including human trafficking. Older street children reportedly act, at times, as pimps for younger children. A small number of girls from impoverished Djiboutian families may engage in prostitution with the encouragement of family members or other people in prostitution. Members of foreign militaries stationed in Djibouti contribute to the demand for women and girls in prostitution, including trafficking victims.

In 2009 El Salvador was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Most victims were Salvadoran women and girls from rural areas who were forced into commercial sexual exploitation in urban areas, though some adults and children were subjected to forced labor as agricultural workers and domestic workers. The majority of foreign victims were women and children from neighboring countries, such as Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, who migrated to El Salvador in response to job offers, but were subsequently forced into prostitution or domestic servitude. Trafficking offenders used fraudulent documentation to facilitate the movement of foreign victims. Salvadorans have been subjected to forced prostitution in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, the United States, Spain, and Italy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 The Office of Electronic Information (2008-06-10). "Country Narratives - Countries S through Z". Bureau of Public Affairs. US Department Of State. Retrieved 2022-12-29.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
  2. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  3. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  4. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Ukraine: 2023
  5. ↑ Curtis Anderson (June 2, 2012). "Arts & Entertainment". Shaw TV Saskatoon .
  6. ↑ "Group battles to prevent Ukraine sex trafficking". The StarPhoenix . May 26, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Conference Focuses on Human Trafficking". Saskatoonhomepage.ca. October 17, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  8. ↑ Adler, Katya (27 March 2022). "How the sex trade preys on Ukraine's refugees". BBC News. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "Fears women and children fleeing Ukraine could end up in the hands of human traffickers". ABC News. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Fallon, Katy (12 March 2022). "Children going missing amid chaos at Ukrainian border, aid groups report". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  11. 1 2 Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Statement on risks of trafficking and exploitation facing refugees from Ukraine attributed to UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection". UNHCR. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  12. ↑ emiratesleaks (2022-03-17). "The UAE exploits the war in Ukraine to attract women for prostitution". Emirates Leaks. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
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