Human trafficking is the act of engaging in an illegal transaction in which a person is the object. It also includes the recruitment, transportation, harboring, transfer, or receipt of a person for the purpose of exploitation, including sexual exploitation, through the use of deception, fraud, blackmail, a person’s vulnerable state, or through the use or threat of violence, or by exploiting a position of authority or a person’s financial or other dependence on another person.
Victims of human trafficking are entitled to free legal aid. This is guaranteed by the state and established by the Law of Ukraine “On Combating Human Trafficking” and the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid.”
This assistance includes:
- representing the interests of persons entitled to free secondary legal aid in courts, other state bodies, local government bodies, and before other persons;
- drafting procedural documents.
If a person has been officially recognized as a victim of human trafficking, they may receive a one-time financial assistance payment.
As of July 2025, the amount of the one-time financial assistance is:
- for children under 6 years of age — 7,689 UAH;
- for children aged 6 to 18 — 9,588 UAH;
- for able-bodied individuals — 9,084 UAH;
- for disabled individuals — 7,083 UAH.
If you are aware of cases of human trafficking, have become a victim, or suspect that someone close to you may be in a situation of any kind of exploitation—do not delay.
Call:
- 102 — police;
- 1547 — government hotline
- 527 — National hotline for migrant counseling;
- 112 — Emergency services in the EU.