An IOM medical rehabilitation centre for victims of trafficking in
Ukraine which today marks its fifth anniversary, has now provided
1,000 women with essential assistance to help them recover from
their ordeals.

The centre, which was opened in 2002 in cooperation with
Ukrainian authorities and which has been operating with funding
from several donors, provides comprehensive and confidential health
examinations and diagnostic assistance to trafficked women as well
as direct health care and psychological counseling, all under one
roof. It can also refer patients for specialized medical and
psychological treatment.

Since early 2000, IOM has assisted more than 3,500 victims of
trafficking in Ukraine through its counter-trafficking programme in
the country, most of whom were Ukrainian nationals. However,
several hundred of the women assisted by IOM came from within the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), particularly Moldova.

Ukraine is a major country of origin for trafficking in persons,
less often a country of transit and rarely a country of
destination. While identified victims from Ukraine were exploited
in 53 different countries across the world, in 2006, 66 per cent of
the caseload were trafficked to the following three countries:
Turkey, Russia, and Poland. In the past two years, about 82 per
cent of the victims who were provided with assistance by IOM were
women. Although the majority of trafficked women in the past were
victims of sexual exploitation, there has been an increase in the
number of cases of labour exploitation.

For more information, please contact:

IOM Ukraine Public Information Office

Tel: +(38) 044-568-5015

E-mail: "mailto:pr@iom.kiev.ua">pr@iom.kiev.ua