To victims of trafficking in human beings

The war Russia has launched has become an additional factor in more active trafficking in human beings. The Ukrainian law enforcement authorities are already registering displays of this terrible crime even in the temporarily occupied territories. Hundreds of people are asking for help. The most vulnerable categories are unaccompanied children or children separated from their family, women, persons with disabilities, the elderly and persons who have already fallen victim to trafficking in human beings.

The main purpose of trafficking in human beings is exploitation of a person for profit, so it can have different forms:

· labour exploitation

· sexual exploitation

· use in pornography

· involvement into begging for money

· selling children

· retrieval of organs

· forced pregnancy/abortion

· forced marriage

· forced adoption for profit

· experiments involving a person

· use in armed conflicts

· involvement in crime

The process of engaging a person into trafficking in human beings is made of five stages:

• The first stage of the crime of trafficking in human beings is drafting. It is generally effected in different formats: as a job offer, a job invitation from friends or relatives, via media as well as companies that claim to be advertising, model or marriage agencies.
• The second stage is relocation. It is a secret (kidnapping) or open process when a person gets abroad in most cases, and is used offenders’ activities.
• The third stage is concealment when the victim is taken away documents and communication means, and is unable to inform of himself or herself.
• The fourth stage is transmission.
• The final fifth one is exploitation. There can be different forms, such as sexual exploitation and works exploitation. Another form that is gaining popularity is forced surrogacy.

A person who believes to be a victim of trafficking in human beings must take the following actions:

To file an application for the status to the local state administration in the form approved by the MSP. A foreigner or a stateless person who does not speak Ukrainian or Russian fills in the application with the translator. For the status to be assigned to the child victim of trafficking in human beings, an application is filed to the local state administration by his or her legal representative or the person who has found out about the child.

To be interviewed by the responsible person designated within three days following the submission of the application, and to fill in the questionnaire. During the interview, the officer draws up a statement of non-disclosure of the data revealed in the interview.

Available types of support

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Countering Trafficking in Human Beings”, where necessary, victims of trafficking in human beings may be provided complex psychological, social and pedagogical, social and medical, legal, information, employment and retraining assistance and other types of assistance in one of the social service centres for families, children and the youth or social and psychological assistance centres.

A person who believes to be a victim of trafficking in human beings may file an application for the corresponding status to the local state administration at the place of stay. Following the consideration of the application and other case files, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine makes a decision to assign or reject the status of the victim of trafficking in human beings. In case a decision is made to reject the status, it can be challenged in court.

The social service centres for families, children and the youth are the principal entity responsible for providing assistance to victims of trafficking in human beings; their functions include assessment of the victim’s needs, development of the rehabilitation plan, and coordination and control of its implementation.

Assistance can also be provided to victims in the territorial centres for social services (provision of social services). Child victims of trafficking in human beings may be placed into centres for social and psychological rehabilitation of children and shelters for children for long-term (residential) or day care of children in difficult life circumstances, to be provided complex social, psychological, pedagogical, medical, legal and other types of assistance.

A certificate of the status of the victim of trafficking in human beings is a basis for registration with the territorial bodies of the designated central executive authority in the field of migration at the place of residence of the victim of trafficking in human beings.

The victim of trafficking in human beings in Ukraine and the Ukrainian citizens who have fallen victim to trafficking in human beings in another state have equal rights.