Dubai group sets up anti-trafficking plan

DUBAI // A care organisation has launched a campaign to prevent women falling victim to human traffickers.

The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children said it had given shelter to 13 women and children this year who had been trafficked into the country.

The campaign will utilise social media, using the hashtag #BeAware, distribute brochures in different languages and host lectures, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, said Badria Al Farsi, programme and research director at the foundation. These will help to explain how human traffickers operate, who is most vulnerable to the crime and how to protect oneself from becoming a victim.

The foundation will also hold meetings with the embassies of countries where victims commonly originate from to spread awareness of the crime.

Ms Al Farsi said the possibility of delivering the pamphlets to these countries to make women more aware of human trafficking before they arrive here was also being explored.

Afra Al Basti, director general of the foundation, said the campaign was run in conjunction with the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking.

She said that the UAE’s effort to tackle human trafficking had led to a decrease in the numbers of victims, although the UAE’s prosperous economy led human traffickers to target it.

Nevertheless, levels of human trafficking were relatively low in the country, she said.

Ms Al Farsi called on community to contribute by using the #BeAware hashtag to deliver the message to social media users.

newsdesk@thenational.ae