This article is based on a study of official statistics and official materials of criminal proceedings considered by Ukrainian courts from 2013 to 2020. Analyzed quantitative indicators of human trafficking, including children, were analyzed in according with article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and subparagraphs of the article.
In total, it was established that in 2013 the prosecutor's office registered 130 cases of human trafficking. In 2014, 118 were registered, in 2015 - 110, in 2016 - 114, in 2017 - 340, in 2018 - 268, in 2019 - 316, in 2020 - 152. It should be emphasized that the general structure of crime investigates violations and crimes against human rights will, honor and dignity are insignificant. Trafficking in human beings has been identified as the second most common crime against crimes against will , honor and dignity following abduction or unlawful deprivation of liberty.
It should be emphasized that it is currently difficult to assess the actual scale of human trafficking in eastern Ukraine, namely in uncontrolled areas no monitoring is carried out and law enforcement agencies are not working properly.
It was established that the majority of registered cases of trafficking in human beings belonged to the second part of article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This is due to the fact that the crime is mainly committed by prior conspiracy.
It should be emphasized that the effectiveness of the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on trafficking in human beings is not high enough. During the period under review, namely from 2013 to 2020, every second or even third proceeding per year is sent to court with an indictment.
The peculiarities of the geographical distribution of human trafficking in Ukraine have been studied. Most of such violations were recorded in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv. The least in the regions are Chernivtsi, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhia, Rivne, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Sumy, Kherson, and Zhytomyr regions.
It should be emphasized that the latent level (the level of latency) is very high. The main causes of human trafficking in Ukraine are analyzed.
It is specified that the quantitative indicators of human trafficking depend on the forms of human exploitation. It has been established that sexual exploitation is the most common target of human trafficking in Ukraine. The second is exploitation in the form of forced labor. The third place is occupied by forced participation in begging.
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