In an interview conducted by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, the International Women’s Rights Center “La Strada-Ukraine” discussed the problem of trafficking in humans in the former Soviet Union and, in particular, the rise of forced sexual labor in the Ukraine, where the phenomenon remains largely undisclosed. La Strada attributes Ukraine’s trafficking problem to the country’s poor economic situation. The feminization of poverty has pushed women, desperate to find work, into harmful and exploitative situations. Trafficking in people also exists due to globalization of the economy and increased international migration. Women who find themselves outside the Ukraine often do not understand the laws, traditions, or language of the new country, leaving them especially vulnerable.
In response to the trafficking dilemma facing the Ukraine, La Strada has established The Strada Program: Prevention of trafficking in women in from Central and Eastern Europe, which conducts information and lobby campaigns, preventative-educational campaigns, social assistance campaigns, and monitors the La Strada Hotline.
For more information on the La Strada-Ukraine, please visit the organization’s website at: www.lastrada.org.ua
Compiled from: Trafficking of Women in Eastern Europe, Rochelle Jones, The Network of East-West Women-Polska/NEWW, www.neww.org, 28 January 2005.