The information and education campaign “Do not sell yourself!” starts in Transcarpathia

  In Uzhgorod Press Club, there was a meeting on the launch of information and educational project "Do not sell yourself!" in Transcarpathia. Inna Szabados, the head of the NGO "Vesta" and Irina Breza, the head of Uzhgorod Press Club told about the current situation with different types of human trafficking in Ukraine and Transcarpathia, and the events to be held in our and other regions as part of the project.

"The project, which is supported by the Foundation for Promotion of Democracy of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and provides an extensive information and education campaign will be carried out by the NGO "Vesta" in partnership with Uzhgorod Press Club – Inna Szabados said. – The aim of the campaign is to prevent the spread of human trafficking by overcoming stereotypes among people who do not see it as a threat to themselves and their families. The events will be held in Transcarpathian region, as well as the western regions of Ukraine."

According to Inna Szabados, since Transcarpathia is a border and transit region, people have always traveled to different countries and other regions. Therefore it is important to adequately inform people on how to avoid unpleasant situations in a foreign country. 

According to the IOM office in Ukraine, more than 120 thousand Ukrainians suffered from various forms of trafficking abroad between 1991 and 2011. According to a study of the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, 1.2 million people aged 15-70 in the last two and a half years (2010 – 2012) were working or looking for work abroad, and, therefore, were exposed to the risk of being enslaved.

Irina Breza told about the activities that will be undertaken as part of the project. Those are the making of social videos that will be presented in all western press clubs in Ukraine, and special groups for young people in social networks where they would talk about the threats of human trafficking and its prevention methods, illustrate examples and more. They also plan to create themed TV shows, distribute of flyers in towns and villages of the region, hold flash mobs at the most popular citywide events and more.   

Another objective of the project is to influence those citizens who treat victims of human trafficking with arrogance and to change their perception of this negative social phenomenon.

As Inna Szabados noted, today the NGO "Vesta" is included in the nationwide coalition of anti-trafficking, which brings together organizations providing comprehensive assistance to victims. 

The project is supported by the Foundation for Promotion of Democracy of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.