The report surveyed 685 men, including 341 from the Ukraine, regarding their lives pre-trafficking, the trafficking experience, and then how they faired post-trafficking and found some important trends. (It is important to note that the study only looked at men who were receiving assistance from IOM and its partner organizations, and that the experiences of trafficked men not involved with IOM were not included.) A significant percentage of trafficked persons are men; in fact, men accounted for 17.6 percent of IOM’s Ukrainian caseload between 2004 and 2006. Most men were between 18 and 44 years of age, while less than 2 percent were under 18 and 11.7 percent were over 44 at the time of receiving assistance. Two-thirds of the Ukranians were married or living with a partner and half were single before being trafficked. Many had children, and providing for them was often a motivating reason to migrate. 87.7 percent of the Ukrainians were poor, and poverty was often, though not always, a motivation for migration.

A trend of unemployment existed at the time of trafficking in the majority of Belarusians and almost all men surveyed were lured through promises of employment abroad through word of mouth or sometimes advertising. More than 70 percent had some form of higher education or job training. 98.2 percent of the Ukrainian men were trafficked into forced labor situations, especially construction. Most worked long hours and lived in “severely substandard… conditions.”

The primary destination country was Russia; other locations included Southeast Europe, the European Union, the United States, Turkey, Central Asia, North Asia and the Middle East.

The report found the trafficked men possessed a wide variety of needs, and stressed that each individual required special attention with programs tailored to their situation. This could include basic needs like housing and medical care, to more difficult problems like psychological services, education, or reintegration. However, oftentimes these services were unavailable to men, men did not know of the services, or sometimes they did not considered themselves as trafficking victims or want to accept support.

Finally, the IOM report lists a full range of conclusions and recommendations. Trafficking services must be made and improved through a gender lens, keeping in mind the differences of the experiences and needs of male versus female victims. More must be studied about male trafficking victims because very little information is available. More funding is needed. And, more research must be done on other “aspects of identity” beyond gender which may impact the trafficking experience of men.

For access to the full IOM report, click here (PDF, 128 pages).

Compiled from: "Trafficking of Men - a Trend Less Considered: The Case of Belarus and Ukraine," IOM Migration Research Series, International Organization for Migration, 2008; MRS N°36- Trafficking of men - a trend less considered: The case of Belarus and Ukraine, IOM Publications, last accessed 26 January 2009.