Ukraine Crisis Response

Protect women and children fleeing Ukraine from trafficking

Millions of women and children have been forced to flee their homes in Ukraine as a result of war. Many refugees are now vulnerable to risks of human trafficking and exploitation.

IJM teams and partners are working to prevent trafficking and keep refugees safe. Please give now to protect women and children from trafficking.

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How your donation could help

As women and children flee with very little and their resources begin to run out, there are opportunities for traffickers to take advantage of vulnerability. IJM Romania is on the ground working to prevent trafficking and exploitation by:

Actively working to identify vulnerability and training partners and shelters in how to spot the signs of trafficking;
Training NGOs and shelters in how to support people with complex trauma;
Partnering with local charities to support refugees with safe passages on their onward journeys;
Providing shelters and refugees with legal support and advice in complex cases;
Running trafficking awareness campaigns in partnership with authorities in Romania.

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Other ways we are helping:

We've recently hired several Ukrainian and Russian speaking Protection Officers to help support Romanian authorities to address potential trafficking cases.

IJM is helping local partners to provide vital support such as food, essential supplies and SIM cards - which enable people to stay in touch with family and charities as they make onward journeys.

Via partners, we're distributing important information to people in Ukraine on how to stay safe when crossing borders, including Ukrainian speaking helplines.

We're also establishing an anti-trafficking department within a partner charity that supports refugees in multiple locations across Romania, to help prevent trafficking and provide long term aftercare support to survivors.

This work is being delivered by IJM’s European Anti-Trafficking Programme which has been working on cross-border trafficking in Romania and Eastern Europe for the last two years, making it uniquely well placed to provide support in this crisis and to help stop trafficking now and in the future.

Together, we can help protect women and children from trafficking both now and in the months to come.

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IJM in the Media

Speaking to the BBC recently, Shawn Kohl, Director for Central and Eastern Europe, said the crisis in Ukraine is exacerbating the possibility of trafficking, but it’s likely the greatest trafficking risks will be seen weeks or months in the future.

IJM's efforts to prevent trafficking at the border and beyond have been mentioned in the Huffington Post, and in the Independent.

In the event that we raise more funding than is needed, your generous gift will be used to prevent trafficking and violence in Eastern Europe and around the world.