STAY SAFE
BE AWARE
of the risks of trafficking, exploitation and abuse in the context of the Ukraine emergency
All humanitarian assistance is free. Aid workers are prohibited from requesting or receiving any payment or sexual favours in exchange for their help.
Aid workers are not permitted to have sexual relationships with refugees or other people in need of assistance.
If someone offers you humanitarian services, such as transportation, accommodation, or assistance, but asks for something in return, please report this to the authorities.
In any of following situations, try to reach a safe, public place, where you can call the police or one of the helplines behind:
- You are transferred from one person to another during the journey, even if there are no payments.
- Individuals are threatening you; or controlling where you stay and sleep.
- Someone wants to take you away from your family or others you are travelling with or is stopping you from contacting others freely.
- Someone is offering you identity or legal papers or a job that sounds too good to be true.
- Someone who is not a public official, or a border guard is asking to hold your passport or other identification documents.
- Someone is asking to keep your phone, laptop or other means of communication.
- Someone hired you but is not paying you, or paying only part of what was promised, or limiting your movement, for example by confiscating your documents or locking the door so you can’t leave.
There are steps you can take to stay safe:
- Stop and reflect. Follow your own intuition about people you don’t know.
- Keep in touch with your family and other people you trust and do not accept to be separated if you are travelling together.
- Always hold on to your documents. Keep a separate copy of your passport or other identity documents. You can also keep them on your phone and send them to someone you trust.
- Keep money in different places.
- Agree a safe word with a friend that you can use quickly to signal you feel in danger.
- Ask the person who is offering you help (like transport, housing, work) to show you their identity document and give you the exact destination. Always write down their phone numbers, vehicle registration plate (take a picture if you can) and share them with someone you trust.
- Do not hand over your phone, laptop or other means of communication to anyone.
- Do not trust workers or volunteers who do not clearly identify themselves and their organization. Humanitarian workers should wear IDs at all times.
- Use organized transportation by known providers, as far as this is possible and try to avoid travelling alone.
- Prioritize public, government-provided transportation over privately arranged travel.
If immediate support is needed, call 112 for emergency services.
You can also contact UNHCR in confidentiality on [email protected] or call +40 723 653 651 (also in Telegram & WhatsApp).