Dubai: Human trafficking awareness campaign launched; authorities warn against online fraud

The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC) has joined the world in celebrating the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, by launching an awareness campaign.

Themed "Human Trafficking in the Digital Space", the campaign aims to educate people about human trafficking crimes, bring attention to the suffering of victims, and promote and protect their rights.

The campaign comes as a part of a series of initiatives launched by the Foundation to protect children and women’s rights and enhance public awareness of abuse or trafficking in women and children.

The campaign has warned against the potential hazards of digital space and current technologies that lack parental control, allowing them to be used to entice children and women either by employing video technology to broadcast services, announcing fake job ads, or luring and deceiving people through social media and Internet pages.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikha Saeed Al Mansouri, Acting Director-General of DFWAC, stressed that the campaign aims to raise public awareness of human trafficking crimes while also supporting the UAE’s ongoing efforts to curb its dangers all around the world. It also comes in compliance with the UAE’s national strategies aimed at eradicating injustice that victims are suffering due to this scourge.

According to the campaign, the UAE has reported a low numbers of child and female exploitation, citing official statistics from the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020 (published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).

The country has recorded 5 incidents of exploitation through social media platforms reported between 2004 and 2006, involving 39 victims, and 27 cases between 2016 and 2018, affecting 160 victims.

The campaign focused on several issues that need to be brought to people's attention, including how to protect oneself and others from online exploitation, digital privacy breaches, fake job ads and scams, and reporting suspicious ads.

The foundation urged the public to use the Internet and social media responsibly in order not to be victimised by human traffickers, in addition to strengthening cooperation and joint work with the private sector to harness innovation and develop sustainable technology-based solutions that can support national efforts aimed at preventing and combating human trafficking.

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