Russia. Trafficking, exploitation

Introduction

Today, many people fleeing the war in Ukraine are ending up in Russia. For some of them, this is the closest destination available; others are evacuated by force. 

There are several organizations  dedicated to assisting forcibly displaced people:

“Helping to Leave” (Russian: «Помогаем уехать», Pomogayem Uyekhat). This project works with Ukrainians affected by the war, including those forcibly deported to the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories or to Russia. It provides informational, financial, and psychological assistance, and also facilitates evacuation from unsafe areas.

The Civic Assistance Committee (Russian: Комитет «Гражданское содействие», Komitet Grazhdanskoye Sodeystviye). This project is dedicated to helping migrants and refugees as well as protecting their rights across the country. The Civic Assistance Committee provides legal, medical, psychological, and humanitarian assistance.

If you are a survivor of a crime committed by the Russian military, you can contact a coalition of Ukrainian human rights organizations. It collects accounts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Russia’s military action in Ukraine. They will document your case and keep a record.

Below is an instruction that will help you handle an emergency situation while in Russia:

What is trafficking?

Usually, “trafficking” refers to the process when another person, who receives economic benefits from this, exploits someone. This is a form of violence, and most often, like other forms, it is applied to women and children. 

Most often, exploitation is labor and sexual. Here are the signs they may include 

– Exploitation of the prostitution of third parties or other forms of sexual exploitation,

– Forced labor or services,

– Slavery or practices similar to slavery,

– Dependent state

– Forced marriage

– Extraction of organs.

Where can I seek help if I am being exploited?

The “Safe House” (Russian: «Безопасный дом», Bezopasnyi Dom) foundation helps survivors of human trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced labor.

Did our instructions help?

When compiling the instructions, we relied on the help of volunteers and lawyers from different countries. If something went wrong – the organization didn’t respond to you, you found a bug or the instructions weren’t precise enough – tell us about it. Email us at: help@labirint.online