Human traffickers preying on refugees at Ukraine borders 

Refugees wait for transportation after fleeing from Ukraine. Picture: Markus Schreiber/AP

Human traffickers at the borders are preying on women and children fleeing Ukraine, while the remaining men and women within the war-ravaged country and desperate for work are at risk of internal exploitation.

Varvara Zhluktenko, national communications officer with the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) mission in Ukraine, said they were extremely concerned about the problem of human trafficking.

Women and children are being approached at the borders by “suspicious-looking” men who offer them "free lifts" into safer countries. Some women have run with their children away from these men, who they believe are human traffickers.

However Ms Zhluktenko, speaking from Kyiv, said that men are also at risk of trafficking and exploitation within Ukraine as people are desperate for work in an economy stalled by the conflict.

The city market in Chernihiv, Ukraine: One third of retail enterprises have been closed for over a month now, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Picture: Vladislav Savenok/AP

The IOM has been assisting victims of trafficking in Ukraine since 2000. By the end of last year, it had identified and assisted more than 19,000 trafficking survivors.

Ms Zhluktenko expects this number to grow significantly due to the current conflict.

“We have anecdotal evidence of attempts to traffic women and children leaving Ukraine," she said.

“Women and children are leaving alone and they are of course extremely vulnerable. But those who are staying here are also vulnerable. This can be women, this can be men, because many people have lost their income. For example, one third of retail enterprises have been closed for over a month now."

A recent IOM survey in Ukraine found that more than 50% of respondents were in need of cash.

“We see that people lack money and they will be looking for opportunities to earn something, which can of course be very dangerous," Ms Zhluktenko said.

Information campaign

“Currently we are trying to do everything we can to prevent people from falling prey to traffickers. We disseminate leaflets at the border crossing points, we continue working with NGO partners to reach people, we have conducted social media campaigns, we are reaching out to Ukrainian celebrities. In the last hour a celebrity Ukrainian pediatrician had a post with our content about preventing child trafficking, he has over 8m subscribers on Instagram so we are very grateful to him. We hope such partnerships will help us reach more people.

“There is joint work with the government. The Ukrainian government has been very active channelling anti-trafficking messages on the internet, on television, on messengers [apps] like Telegram, which are currently very popular in Ukraine. 

“Unfortunately we know that traffickers can easily adjust to new realities.

“Some time ago, trafficking from Ukraine was mainly in women. The situation changed due to public awareness, so they started exploiting men who thought that human trafficking was only about sexual exploitation, about women, young girls.

On average over 70% of the IOM caseload in recent years in human trafficking has been men trafficked for labour. So no one can be safe

"When we speak about trafficking in women and children it could be sexual exploitation, it could be exploitation in pornography, it could be forced begging, it could be forced labour. So people have to be very, very cautious while on their way, in the place of destination, or even at home.” 

Ms Zhluktenko said that organisations such as IOM would need to respond to human trafficking and help survivors long after the conflict ceases.

In the east of Ukraine, human trafficking has been a problem since the Russian invasion there in 2014, leaving the economy stunted and people desperate for work.

“They were effected by socio-economic impacts and were ready to accept risky job offers, be it abroad or within Ukraine, even for quite small salaries,” she said.

Traditionally, Russia and Poland have been the top destinations for Ukrainians seeking work abroad and this is where many trafficking victims are sent, she said.

Trauma

Traffickers can often be someone the victim knows, someone who has gained their trust. Once trafficked, victims are often trapped, beaten, receive no payment for work, and have poor nutrition and awful accommodation, she said.

Already vulnerable people are targeted by traffickers. Many Ukrainians are already traumatised, having lost loved ones, slept in basements and bomb shelters for weeks during terrifying attacks, and have seen their hometowns bombarded and destroyed.

Those who have already suffered domestic and gender-based violence can also be very vulnerable and become victims of human trafficking, Ms Zhluktenko said.

There is an additional problem of conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine now, she said.

“Currently, we just see that people are very vulnerable,” she said.

Displaced

According to IOM estimates, more than 6.48m people have been displaced within the Ukraine and according to UNHCR estimates, about 4m people have been displaced externally to other countries.

IOM's migrant advice and counter-trafficking hotline conducted 16,576 consultations in response to 3,435 calls between February 24 and March 23. Some 62% of these calls were from people internally displaced in Ukraine.