War in Ukraine sharply increased problem of sexual slavery against Ukrainian women — OSCE Secretary General
OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid said that the number of cases of human trafficking had increased dramatically, and the war has significantly increased the problem of sexual slavery against Ukrainian women.
She talked about this in an interview with the German media outlet Welt.
"Since the beginning of the war, searches on the Internet for sexual services and pornographic images of Ukrainian women and children have increased by 600 percent. Trafficking in pregnant women has also increased significantly since the beginning of the war," Schmid cited the data.
She noted that victims of sex crimes are lured online with false promises, abused in private residences in host countries, or intercepted directly at the border by undercover traffickers. Organized crime is often involved.
People who need help are promised it and then forced to earn money.
The OSCE, together with Thomson Reuters, has launched the "Be Safe" campaign, in which people are warned about the practice of human trafficking before they leave their country and suggested to contact the "hotline," Schmid said. The structure headed by her also closely cooperates with the governments of neighboring countries on this issue and tries to draw their attention to it.
Commenting on the situation with human trafficking in the world in general, the OSCE Secretary General admitted that the number of cases is increasing sharply.
"We now estimate between 25 and 27 million victims per year, and unfortunately, only 10,000 of these cases come to the attention of law enforcement each year. In general, less than one percent of victims are identified. Thus, in human trafficking, the perpetrators go largely unpunished," Schmid stated.
In addition to sexual exploitation, according to her, there is also an increase in the number of forced begging and sham marriages. Over the past 15 years, annual profits from human trafficking have increased fivefold to approximately $150 billion per year. She stated that the OSCE is one of the leaders in fighting against human trafficking, which is nothing but modern slavery.
