Human Trafficking in the Ukraine

Sara O’Brien Fringe News Network (Austin, TX) – The conflict between Russia and the Ukraine opens up the door for human trafficking rings to exploit the precious lives of young Ukrainian children. According to the Borgen Project, human trafficking in Ukraine is a serious and overwhelming issue that has affected the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Ukraine is one of the most prominent countries in Europe for human trafficking with over 260,000 Ukrainian trafficking victims over the last 30 years. Despite this disheartening number, Ukraine’s government and some organizations are fighting human trafficking in Ukraine. According to USA Today, as millions of women and children flee across Ukraine’s borders in the face of Russian aggression, concerns are growing over how to protect the most vulnerable refugees from being targeted by human traffickers or becoming victims of other forms of exploitation.The stories of missing children at the border are becoming more apparent. Karolina Wierzbińska a coordinator from Homo Faber, a human rights organization based in Poland said, "This is obviously extremely distressing for a child and can lead to them wandering around the station alone, disoriented and in the worst-case scenario, disappearing altogether. This, unfortunately, is not a hypothetical case – it has happened already."