Every year on July 30, the world celebrates the World Day against Human Trafficking. A press conference dedicated to this issue was held in the "Odessit" press center.
According to Alla Chechelnytskaya, Deputy Director of the Department of Labor and Social Policy of the Odessa City Council, human trafficking has become a global global problem.
"In the modern world, this criminal business is immediately after the trade in weapons and drugs. Annual profits from human trafficking in the world amount to several tens of billions of dollars. This is a very complex and painful topic, as evidenced by official data: since 1991, more than 230 people have suffered from human trafficking in Ukraine. And these are only official data, but in fact the figures are much higher," she noted.
The head of the public organization "Vera.Nadezhda.Lyubov" Tatiana Semikop also gave statistics that characterize the phenomenon of human trafficking in Ukraine recently.
"Contrary to all expectations, in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of identified Ukrainians who suffered from human trafficking in 2020 became the largest in the last 10 years. This is 1680 people. At the same time, this is only the one who asked for help. And an even greater number of people for various reasons do not return. In the first half of this year, we already have another 531 people who have suffered from human trafficking."
Tatiana Semikop emphasized that now it is impossible to draw a single portrait of the victims, since they are completely different men and women, old and young, even children:
"If earlier we said that most of the victims were women who suffered from sexual exploitation, now 72% are victims of labor exploitation, and not only in our country, and most of them are men."
In turn, Svetlana Kolodchyn, deputy director of the Caritas Odessa UGCC charitable foundation, supplemented the speeches of her colleagues:
"I want to draw attention to ways to prevent such dangerous situations. As international organizations advise, you can't trust random people who invite you to work - in person or through ads on social networks. If you want to go to work, use the services of licensed agencies. Second, it is necessary to conclude an employment contract. This is very important, so you insure yourself against such unpleasant situations."
Svetlana Kolodchyn also listed the criteria for illegal exploitation of people specified in the UN Convention.
"First of all, it is a restriction of freedom, when the protection of the enterprise where you work does not give you the right to leave freely. Also, when your passport is taken away. Also - full or even partial withholding of funds from wages, physical, sexual or psychological violence - these criteria can be used to determine that exploitation has occurred"
As the expert added, in Ukraine there is a state program to help victims, thanks to which you can get free psychological, legal and medical help. If you have any questions about combating human trafficking, anyone can contact the free national hotline by calling 527 or 0800505601.
