The International Organization for Migration (IOM Lithuania) launches a new website dedicated to combating human trafficking: www.prekybazmonemis.lt
"This website is designed to inform people about human trafficking crimes. It is preventive information, the main goal of which is to protect potential victims from falling into traps. There are about 50 million people in the world who live in conditions of modern slavery, a huge number that includes various forms of human exploitation. Human trafficking is not limited to sexual slavery or forced commission of crimes, it can also include working conditions that violate human rights and unpaid wages. In Lithuania, immigrants from the Eastern Bloc are increasingly affected, and exploiters take advantage of the helplessness and difficult psychological and emotional state of people fleeing war or poor political and economic situations. Our goal is to educate the public and help recognize these cases in their immediate environment. Because it is always better to fight the causes than the consequences," says Dalia Kedavičienė, Program Coordinator of the Migrant Assistance and Crisis Management Department of IOM Lithuania.
It is estimated that from 2020 to 2022, more than 200 thousand people became victims of human trafficking in the world. 62 percent of the victims were adults, and 34 percent were children. According to global statistics, in 2022, the majority, 61 percent, of victims of human trafficking were women and girls. Most often, women are victims of sexual crimes, about 66 percent. a quarter are victims of fraudulent employment relationships, and another 10 percent become victims of other forms of crime. According to statistics, the largest number of people who become victims of human trafficking come from Africa - 31 percent of people, residents of Asia and Europe become victims less often, 24 percent each, and the lowest risk is for residents of North and South America, where about 16 percent of people fall into the traps of criminals.
The website www.prekybazmonemis.lt provides information about human trafficking crimes and victim stories. There is also a test that allows you to assess whether a person may become a victim of human trafficking. “Our goal is to provide as much and detailed information as possible so that people do not fall into traps in the first place, so that they can assess whether they are not at risk. In addition, IOM organizes training for institutions and organizations aimed at identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking,” says D. Kedavičienė. With the increase in migration flows, human trafficking is becoming an increasingly sensitive problem. Both Lithuanians and citizens who have come to Lithuania from other countries can become victims. Being in forced prostitution, working in degrading conditions or being forced to commit crimes leaves psychological trauma for the rest of their lives.