Evil in the Shadows: Why it’s important to make human trafficking visible

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War promotes human trafficking. Experts talk a lot about this. Government structures and non-governmental organizations conduct information campaigns aimed at preventing people from getting into trouble. From time to time, stories of sexual exploitation are reported in the media. How about this one – a forced migrant from the east of Ukraine fell into labor and sexual slavery in the Ternopil region. The man offered her and the child to live in his house for free, and then took advantage of her helplessness. The vulnerability of millions of people has increased due to migration and economic hardship. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 8 million Ukrainian citizens, mostly women and children, are still in European countries alone. Some 7 million are forced to move to other regions of Ukraine. Sociological polls show that around 80% have seen their incomes drop since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. At the same time, according to a study by the International Organization for Migration, more than half of people in Ukraine are inclined to accept at least one risky, from the point of view of falling into a situation of human trafficking, job offer. This is an impressive figure that proves fertile ground for criminals. “Since the beginning of the war, the picture of human trafficking in Ukraine has changed: it has shifted towards sexual exploitation, while labor exploitation has decreased,” says the study of the Stop the traffic organization. “The forms of human trafficking that refugees from Ukraine are at risk of are sexual exploitation, forced labor, illegal adoption and surrogate motherhood, forced begging, and crime,” states a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). So, the situation is complicated. At the same time, we have a paradox to some extent: police statistics do not record hundreds or thousands of appeals from people who suffered from sexual or labor exploitation. Last December, at a joint press conference of the Ministry of Social Policy and the SURGe project, some figures were made public. Since the beginning of the year, 123 criminal proceedings regarding human trafficking have been opened, 47 persons have been notified of suspicion, and 59 have been recognized as victims. From the countries of the European Union, the National Police received 63 reports about possible facts of human trafficking in relation to citizens of Ukraine through the channels of Europol. The contrast between the level of threat, the above numbers and facts on the one hand and the seemingly not so great numbers on the other is easily explained: these crimes and everything related to them are extremely hidden. We in the SURGe project assume that hundreds of thousands of people may actually be victims of human trafficking in Ukraine. However, not everyone wants to talk about falling into a situation of sexual or labor exploitation. Someone is afraid of the revenge of criminals or their accomplices on themselves or their loved ones. Someone is simply of human judgment. Like, it was her own fault that she got into such a mess. You should be more careful, pickier, follow safety rules, which have been talked about a lot lately. It is worth stopping at “she herself is to blame”, because here we are talking about the role of society in combating human trafficking. This is one of the most important aspects – and a rather dangerous perception of the crime (by the way, we also recently encountered this “approach” during the high-profile story of violence against girls at parties). First of all, no one has a hundred percent guarantee against falling into the hands of human traffickers, even if you follow the safety rules – do not give documents or phone to strangers, do not get into cars with strangers, etc. It’s like an apartment: you can install an expensive and seemingly reliable lock, but it does not provide complete protection against the penetration of criminals. Secondly, the axiom should be the statement that the criminal is guilty of the crime, and in no case are the victims. Even if they made some mistakes. Thirdly, society should be dominated by the desire to help, not blame. Starting from assisting law enforcement officers in solving crimes to elementary empathy, supporting people who have survived exploitation. More broadly, it means not tolerating violence. In the case mentioned at the beginning of the article, the victim in the Ternopil region did not contact the police – she did not want publicity. Proper understanding on the part of society and its more active role will definitely contribute to the emergence of evil from the shadows and more effective countermeasures against human trafficking. Whereas the condemnation of the victims and, accordingly, the concealment of this serious crime is primarily beneficial to the criminals themselves. The less attention you pay to them, the easier it is to do your job. In the latest report of the US State Department on combating human trafficking in Ukraine, it is said, in particular, that quite a few people receive sentences for human trafficking in Ukraine. Of course, there may be questions to the courts about this, but regardless of this, society must do its part in helping to eradicate exploitation. This does not mean that the state, public organizations, and international technical assistance projects should work less on ensuring that people fall into the hands of human traffickers. Since the beginning of the war, our project, together with the Ministry of Social Policy and the National Police, has conducted a number of information campaigns aimed at this, prepared dozens of informational materials, and created a chatbot @safewomenbot in Telegram. We are not alone in this activity, and it remains very relevant. Unfortunately, it will remain so for an indefinite time – the war continues with all the consequences for people’s well-being, forced migration. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that society, leaders of public opinion, mass media should actively do their part of the work. As long as evil is in the shadows, it remains less accessible to combat. Svitlana Harashchenko, head of the anti-trafficking initiative of the project “Supporting Governmental Reforms in Ukraine” (SURGe), especially for UP. Life Publications in the “View” section are not editorial articles and reflect exclusively the author’s point of view.

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