More than twenty Transcarpathians have the status of victims of trafficking in human beings

Officially, twenty-three Transcarpathians now have the status of victims of human trafficking, which is one of the highest figures in Ukraine.

They receive financial assistance and are provided with the necessary social services – legal, medical, psychological. The number of victims can actually be higher, but people often do not realize the problem, do not want to report or do not know where to turn for help. This was reported during a briefing at the press center of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration by the director of the department of social welfare of the regional administration Mykhailo Petrishko, emphasizing the importance of outreach activities among the population.

The Department of Social Welfare of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration cooperates with law enforcement agencies, the Children’s Service and NGOs on combating human trafficking and providing assistance to victims. The main task in this direction is identifying persons who may be victims and providing them with the necessary assistance. Transcarpathian public women’s organization "Vesta" headed by Inna Sabadosh also takes an active part in this activities.

Children, especially those without custodians, are at the greatest risk of being involved in criminal activity, exploitation. Currently, there are 770 children registered in the region, whose parents refuse to properly fulfill their parental responsibilities and their number grows annually, Svitlana Yakimelina, the head of the Children’s Service reported. There is also a tendency for an increase in the number of registered abused children, currently it is 67 (against 39 in 2016).

The national hotline for preventing domestic violence, trafficking in human beings and gender discrimination is 0 800 500 335 or 386 (short number for mobile phones). National children’s hotline is 0 800 500 225 or 772 (for calls from mobile phones).