On the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a documentary audio-series was created on the fight against trafficking in human beings
Today, July 29, on the eve of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the presentation of the documentary audio series “It will not happen to me” took place. The project will warn and warn Ukrainians about the problem of modern slavery, cases of which continue to grow rapidly in Ukraine and the world.
The project was created on the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the National Police of Ukraine, as well as with the support of the Canada-Ukraine Police Development Project (CUPDP). The MEGOGO Audio team worked on the production.
According to Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Ekaterina Pavlichenko, the formation of policies and practices in the field of combating trafficking in human beings is one of the priority areas of the Ministry of Internal Affairs work in order to respond to such cases in a timely, effective and consistent manner.
“The audio series that we are presenting today is a joint project of the public and public sector, the result of the synergy of the efforts of the stakeholders and the creative team. Its goal is to prevent Ukrainian citizens from falling into slavery. On the example of real stories, one can learn about a terrible crime against fundamental human rights and freedoms - trafficking in human beings. Unfortunately, people from different social groups can fall into the net of slave owners,” said Kateryna Pavlichenko.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 260,000 Ukrainians have been victims of human trafficking since 1991 — these are the only ones who have officially reported it to state authorities.
“Why and why did the Ministry of Digital Resources take part in this project? In Ukrainian society and, in particular, the Internet space, the topic of human trafficking is rarely raised. Although the problem is serious and glaring. Therefore, the national project for the development of digital literacy Diya.Digital Education joined the initiative. We want as many people as possible to learn about the educational product, how not to get into a situation related to human trafficking,” added Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration.
According to the National Police of Ukraine in the first half of 2021, 130 facts of human trafficking have been identified and almost 100 criminal proceedings of this category have already been referred to the court.
“This audio series highlights four real stories of human trafficking that occurred both on the territory of our country and abroad. You will hear the stories of the victims, as well as the comments of the operatives who did not allow the further exploitation of citizens. Modern forms of human exploitation and new challenges that the world is experiencing create a threat of human trafficking for almost all social groups of the population,” said Serhiy Panteleev, Head of the Department of Migration Police of the National Police of Ukraine.
According to Oleksiy Ziborov, advisor on police activities and training of the Canadian-Ukrainian Police Development Project, during the event, their activities are part of external assistance to Ukraine and are aimed at forming a safe environment for communities.
That is why they took part in the creation of an audio series that will help not to fall into modern slavery, and will also tell you how to act if this has already happened.
“We believe that the audio series “It Won't Happen to Me” will be able to save at least one life, for us it will already be a remarkable achievement. While working on the project, it was very difficult for us to find victims of human trafficking, given the sensitivity of the topic and people's fear of talking about what happened to them. However, we still found those who are not afraid to speak out loud about it, because their stories can help others not fall into the trap of human trafficking,” commented Ivan Shestakov, Director of Strategic Development at MEGOGO.
You can listen to the audio series as well as other audio projects for free in the MEGOGO mobile application in the “Audio” section on smartphones based on iOS and Android and in cars with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay audio system.
Photo by Andriy Novytskyi
