Three weeks after the invasion, STOP THE TRAFFIK Group launched an intelligence-led, Europe-wide, geo-targeted digital prevention campaign that is actively providing vital safety information to those on the move as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Historically, displaced people in desperate situations, fleeing war and persecution, are at one of the highest risks of trafficking. Trafficking hotspots and trends follow migrations; those on the move are likely to lack family ties, access to financial means, documentation or language fluency. This crisis presents each of these risk factors in the strongest terms.
In the last eight months, STOP THE TRAFFIK Group has worked with its partners and collaborators across multiple sectors to deliver this prevention campaign that has reached over 4 million people across 19 countries, in 9 languages, signposting to over 30 support organisations. Our analysis shows that 92% of our campaign traffic came from mobile devices, with 93 people clicking to download our STOP APP, and we can evidence that we directly signposted nearly 100 people to safety.
Varying forms of intelligence gathering, including interviews with academics and NGOs on the ground, have informed our prevention campaigns and our published key judgements, highlighting population demographics, migration routes, vulnerabilities to trafficking, and business sectors that may be susceptible to worker exploitation following the war. These assessments are shared across our partner networks to inform all actors seeking to prevent harm. Our team also shares bespoke briefing notes with businesses and financial institutions where we have identified specific supply chain or operational risks.
We have learnt that long-term, trusted relationships are imperative to delivering impactful work at scale, and we will continue to facilitate data sharing across; law enforcement agencies, NGOs, financial institutions and businesses to gain a clear picture of trafficking, where it is and how it operates ultimately, giving us the ability to continue to reach Ukrainian people with updated intelligence-led messaging, signposting them to safety.
