Today, on March 4, events are taking place in many countries around the world to mark the World Day Against Sexual Exploitation, UNN reports.
The event was launched in 2009 by the international non-governmental organization GIPF.
According to UN statistics, last year, about 50 thousand victims of human trafficking were identified and registered in 148 countries. Women make up 46% of them, girls - 19%.
Sexual exploitation remains the most common form of exploitation (50%), followed by forced labor (38%).
According to unofficial data, about 3 million children become victims of sexual exploitation every year.
With the outbreak of full-scale Russian aggression, many Ukrainian women and their children fled abroad to escape the horrors of war. Being in unfamiliar countries and often not knowing the language, they can easily become victims of sexual exploitation.
To avoid this, NGOs and law enforcement agencies constantly advise Ukrainian women:
- Do not give documents to people you do not know;
- do not be tempted by dubious offers of easy and large earnings;
- Maintain constant contact with their relatives in Ukraine and Ukrainian official institutions and public organizations abroad.
According to law enforcement statistics, from February 24, 2022, to October 2023, 264 criminal offenses under the article on human trafficking were detected in Ukraine, and 169 people were served with suspicion notices.
215 people were recognized as victims, 23 of them children.
At the same time, Ukraine has repeatedly denied Western media reports that 100,000 Ukrainians could have been victims of human trafficking since the beginning of the war.