Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, including complicit officials, which should involve significant prison terms. * Eliminate selective prosecution of complicit officials and hold them criminally accountable. * Implement measures to address corruption in the judicial sector and law enforcement community. * Ensure all identified victims receive state-funded assistance, including long-term assistance, regardless of their participation in court proceedings, particularly long-term reintegration support, such as education, counseling, and job-placement. * Amend the law to extend health insurance benefits to foreign victims without legal residency. * Increase the number of investigators and prosecutors investigating trafficking crimes. * Proactively identify victims, particularly among vulnerable groups, such as children. * Allocate funding for victim services, including in rural areas. * Train relevant authorities, particularly social workers in regions outside of the capital, on understanding trafficking and assisting victims.

The government maintained law enforcement efforts. Articles 165 and 206 of the criminal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking. The law prescribed penalties of six to 12 years’ imprisonment for trafficking crimes involving an adult victim and 10 to 12 years’ imprisonment for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those for other grave crimes, such as rape. Article 168 of the criminal code also criminalized forced labor and imposed penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment. Law enforcement and judicial sector capacity remained strained by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its effects on Moldova, including a refugee crisis. Authorities noted drug trafficking, cybercrime, and efforts to curb malign Russian influence had increased drastically in the last two years, forcing investigators to direct more resources toward these issues, reducing capacity for other issues, including human trafficking. In 2023, authorities investigated 49 trafficking cases (20 sex trafficking, 26 labor trafficking, and three unspecified form of trafficking), a significant decrease from 73 in 2023 but similar to previous years (57 in 2021). In one investigation, authorities conducted the largest law enforcement operation in Moldovan history involving 53 identified Bangladeshi and Indian foreign national labor trafficking victims. In 2023, the government reported prosecuting 64 alleged traffickers, a significant decrease from 109 traffickers in 2022 (37 in 2021). Courts convicted 33 traffickers (20 sex trafficking and 13 labor trafficking), a nearly fivefold increase from six in 2023 (44 in 2021). Sentences for convicted traffickers ranged from four years and eight months’ imprisonment to 16 years’ imprisonment. Moldovan authorities cooperated with their European counterparts on several trafficking-related investigations, judicial assistance requests, and extraditions. In 2023, the government cooperated with Tajik counterparts to share best practices and tools for financial investigations in trafficking-related crimes, asset seizures, and victim compensation.

Official complicity in trafficking crimes and corruption in law enforcement and the judiciary remained a significant concern. Despite improvements, such as removing legislative obstacles to confiscate unjustified assets acquired through illicit means, increasing transparency, and pre-vetting candidates for judicial and prosecutorial bodies, corruption remained a serious problem. The judicial system remained an impediment to bringing traffickers to justice with select members of law enforcement, the prosecution, and the judiciary complicit in trafficking crimes or implicated in corrupt practices. In 2023, authorities investigated and charged a district attorney/elected mayor for child labor trafficking. The government reported the investigation and prosecution of complicit government employees in six labor trafficking cases from previous years remained ongoing, including the investigation of a former member of the Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons (CCTIP) – the unit responsible for coordinating trafficking investigations throughout the country – for “suspicion of influence peddling” concerning a trafficking case under CCTIP’s management. While authorities investigated reports of corruption committed by officials, they did not always prosecute and punish them. Judges sometimes re-qualified cases from trafficking crimes to crimes with lesser penalties, such as “pimping,” or postponed hearings – a practice common among judges suspected of corruption. To increase transparency and efficiency in the assignment of judges to cases, all courts in the country utilized an electronic case management system. Yet, selective justice swayed by corruption continued to be a problem.

Perennial staff shortages among police and prosecutors and lengthy trials hindered anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. In 2023, the government imposed a hiring moratorium through the end of 2024 on personnel in the public sector, exacerbating existing staffing shortages. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) – the lead ministry for law enforcement – already faced chronic understaffing and high turnover that was particularly acute in its subordinate units with investigative mandates, such as the CCTIP. Low salaries, complex trafficking cases, and pressure to provide quick results, made hiring and retaining staff within the CCTIP difficult. Furthermore, in 2023, the MIA reorganized the CCTIP, reducing CCTIP from 40 employees with 23 investigators and 11 prosecution officers to 21 employees with 18 investigators and zero prosecution officers. The reorganization essentially relegated the unit from the lead anti-trafficking investigative and police agency to a subdivision within the National Investigation Inspectorate required to coordinate with other subdivisions on trafficking cases, particularly prosecutorial actions, but helped facilitate information sharing and access to resources. While other subdivisions had human trafficking within their mandate, they also were understaffed and covered other crimes. In addition, the CCTIP did not have the technical ability to conduct surveillance or undercover operations and required assistance from the General Police Inspectorate (GPI) who often lacked the capacity to accept the CCTIP’s requests. As a result of these challenges, law enforcement did not always proactively investigate trafficking cases and often relied on referrals from NGOs. The National Investigation Inspectorate maintained a cyber unit that supported the CCTIP’s online investigations but lacked the necessary licenses to download and analyze content from electronic devices. The GPI maintained sexual assault response teams to serve rural regions of Moldova where police typically did not have proper resources to respond to reported trafficking cases. Similar to the MIA, the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGO) faced staffing challenges with multiple positions expected to remain vacant due to the moratorium. The PGO maintained a unit with specialized prosecutors, who coordinated anti-trafficking prosecution policies and supervised the work of regional territorial prosecutors when working on trafficking cases. The PGO also investigated child sex trafficking and online sexual exploitation cases involving information and communication technologies and provided guidelines for identifying, investigating, and prosecuting such cases. The Organized Crime Prosecution Office (PCCOCS), a subdivision of the PGO, had a specialized unit for prosecuting trafficking cases initiated by the CCTIP as well as cases involving criminal organizations. The PCCOCS also suffered from staffing shortages, limiting its ability to investigate complex cases, including transnational criminal organizations or complicit government employees. The coordinating council within the PGO consolidated the efforts of law enforcement agencies and set coordinated objectives and measures to prevent and combat trafficking. The Chisinau Prosecutor’s Office maintained an Anti-Trafficking Bureau and conducted the prosecution of trafficking cases from Chisinau municipality; at the district level, specialized prosecutors conducted the prosecution of trafficking cases. Within the judiciary, there were specialized judges trained specifically to handle trafficking cases. These judges maintained five-year mandates, which increased their experience and understanding of trafficking and created a judicial environment more sensitive to victims’ needs. However, the judicial system remained slow, understaffed, and amid a thorough reform, and lengthy trials continued to impede justice and often led to the acquittal of traffickers.

In 2023, the government, in partnership with other governments, NGOs, and international organizations, conducted a range of trafficking-related trainings for judges, prosecutors, and investigators, including on tools and techniques used for online and financial investigations and working with child victims. Participants noted trainings enhanced their understanding of a victim-centered approach in trafficking cases, the role they play in ensuring fast and effective justice, and the importance of interagency collaboration and assistance to victims. Overall, the government’s ability to fund key law enforcement and social protection institutes remained limited. As a result, the government relied on donor funding and international organizations to train police, border guards, labor inspectors, prosecutors, and judges.

The government slightly increased protection efforts. In 2023, the government identified 167 trafficking victims (23 sex trafficking, 92 labor trafficking, and 52 unspecified forms of trafficking), an increase from 150 in 2022. The vast majority of identified victims were foreign national men exploited in labor trafficking and forced criminality. Authorities identified 21 child trafficking victims (14 sex trafficking, five labor trafficking, and two unspecified forms of trafficking), less than half as many as in 2022 when authorities identified 44 child victims. Observers reported police typically referred to services the most vulnerable victims, including children, individuals experiencing homelessness, and victims who needed protection to participate in criminal proceedings. According to an NGO, individuals previously arrested for commercial sex, previously incarcerated, or those with drug addiction were less likely to be identified as victims due to bias. The government continued to implement its four-year NRM with written procedures on the identification and referral of trafficking victims. The NRM enabled officials to increase cooperation at the local and national levels, screen all crime victims for trafficking indicators, and provide specialized services to trafficking victims. In 2023, as part of the NRM, the MLSP established a coordinating council, comprising central and local public authorities and development partners who develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate support and recovery policies for crime victims, including trafficking.

The government provided specialized services to trafficking victims mainly at the national level. A multidisciplinary team and case manager assessed victims’ needs and referred them to services. In 2023, authorities referred all identified victims to services; however, similar to previous years, a limited number of victims received assistance – 36 of 167 identified victims (22 percent), compared with 36 of 150 victims (24 percent) in 2022. The law permitted identified victims access to services irrespective of their willingness to participate in criminal proceedings, but victims received assistance only after law enforcement identification and if they participated in criminal proceedings. Victims received mainly short-term assistance (30 days) from two specialized services operated by the government in partnership with an international organization: (1) the Center for Assistance and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking (CAP) for women and children; and (2) the Service for the Assistance and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking (SAP) for men. Male victims received specialized services, including social and support services, and accommodation at SAP in Chisinau. The government funded six centers and shelters across the country for female trafficking and domestic violence victims, offering medical, legal, and psychological assistance regardless of their participation in criminal proceedings. In 2023, the government launched a two-year pilot project in Ungheni for a regional integrated service for female victims of sexual violence, including trafficking, serving victims from six districts and offering specialized services. In addition, in 2023, the government, with support from an international organization and a foreign government, opened the Family Justice Center in Chisinau, supporting GBV victims and trafficking through a multidisciplinary approach and providing needs analysis, legal aid, and psychological counseling. CAP employees reported funding for long-term assistance for victims, particularly long-term reintegration support, such as education, counseling, and job-placement, remained limited, leaving victims at risk of re-victimization. Civil society psychologists and attorneys remained the most qualified to assist victims, especially outside of the capital where government social workers frequently lacked trafficking-specific training. In 2023, the government reported spending 5.7 million Moldovan lei (MDL) ($330,440) on victim protection, a significant decrease from 14.5 million MDL ($840,580) in 2022. The government allocated most of its resources to service centers in Balti and Chisinau while resources for rural areas were much more limited. Observers noted overall inadequate resources, including insufficient funding, hampered government efforts to protect trafficking victims. The government often relied on NGOs and international organizations to supplement government funding.

Moldovan law did not include extend compulsory health insurance benefits to foreign national trafficking victims without legal residency. The absence was evident when authorities identified 53 Bangladeshi and Indian nationals as labor trafficking victims and could not immediately secure accommodation and basic needs for all victims during the investigation. The government swiftly mobilized efforts with state institutions and an international organization to provide the victims with assistance. Additionally, the CCTIP and the National Employment Agency (NEA) identified a private firm to employ 20 of the victims. Nonetheless, experts expressed concern about the lack of access for foreign national trafficking victims to medical assistance beyond emergency care. Moreover, observers noted a lack of adequate and immediate social support, including shelter and counseling, for foreign victims before determination of their legal status. Refugees and asylum-seekers received assistance in specialized centers under the Migration and Asylum Bureau, but CAP occasionally provided assistance to foreign victims. Moldovan law permitted foreign victims a 30-day reflection period, during which they could receive assistance and protection while determining whether to participate in the criminal proceedings. Foreign victims who chose to do so received temporary residency.

The government maintained two referral mechanisms to support child victims: the NRM and the Intersectoral Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) for the protection of children. The NRM referred child victims to NGOs that provided psychological, social, and legal aid. The ICM enabled social services to refer cases to police when children were presumed to be at risk of violence, neglect, exploitation, or trafficking. The ICM centered on collaboration between authorities at the central or local level without civil society. Separately, the Ministry of Education and Research maintained a mechanism for identifying and reporting child abuse, including trafficking, in state institutions. Reports continued of management state institutions participating in the exploitation of children, including potential trafficking. During criminal investigations, CAP assisted child victims and offered legal, social, and psychological assistance, as well as accommodation to child victims. In 2023, CAP assisted eight child victims in the shelter in Chisinau. The CAP facility in Chisinau remained the only shelter for child victims and provided limited social services for 30 days followed by placement into permanent housing and continued counseling and assistance. Authorities also placed child victims in foster care, orphanages, state residential schools, group homes, or other types of temporary residential facilities due to lack of dedicated facilities. The government maintained a regional Barnahus center in Balti for integrated assistance for child victims of crime, including trafficking, designed to provide specialized medical, psychological, and social care; allow for forensic medical examinations and interviews with trained specialists in a safe environment; and offer a coordinated multidisciplinary response during criminal proceedings. The government continued to implement its four-year national child protection program that included the integration of two more regional integrated assistance centers for child victims of crime by 2026. Civil society reported the lack of services for resocialization and reintegration for child victims of sexual exploitation put them at a higher risk for institutionalization and further trauma. MoLSP funded and maintained a dedicated children’s hotline, allocating 896,000 MDL ($51,940) in 2023. Additionally, the Ministry of the Internal Affairs and an NGO maintained a hotline to report online child sexual exploitation, including trafficking.

Under the NRM, the PGO assumed responsibility for informing victims of their rights, assessing imminent risks and immediate needs of victims, advising on regional or central assistance centers, and ordering psychological evaluation and care. Moldovan law exempted at-risk victims and child victims from required attendance in court proceedings, and the government began implementing video recording of interviews to prevent re-traumatization. The law also mandated law enforcement interview of child victims of sexual abuse or exploitation, including trafficking, in specially equipped rooms in accordance with international standards. The law allowed trafficking victims access to free legal assistance without providing proof of indigence. However, the quality of legal assistance provided by public lawyers was not always sufficient. Not all public lawyers received special training to assist victims and did not always implement a victim-centered approach to criminal justice. Victims also relied on NGOs for legal assistance, and NGOs relied on donors to fund such services. The State Guaranteed Legal Aid Council, in partnership with an international organization, provided a trafficking guide with recommendations for legal aid lawyers on how to better assist victims. The law allowed victims to file civil suits for compensation for material damage, such as medical treatment costs or destruction of property, but only if prosecutors filed criminal charges against traffickers or cases ended in convictions. In 2023, courts ordered restitution, totaling 945,606 MDL ($54,820), to 20 victims. Despite the criminal code including provisions to prevent the inappropriate penalization of trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, when authorities classified cases under related statutes, such as the article criminalizing forced labor, victims were no longer exempt from criminal liability. Similarly, if authorities reclassified sex trafficking cases to “pimping” cases, victims were no longer exempt from punishment and could be charged with commercial sex crimes. Advocates for the Romani community noted local authorities were more likely to perceive Roma as perpetrators of crime, prosecute them for forced criminality, or ignore them when they attempted to seek assistance through official channels. In addition, authorities were historically less likely to identify women involved in commercial sex as victims.

The government increased prevention efforts. The government continued to implement its 2022-2024 NAP for the 2018-2023 national anti-trafficking strategy but did not report its budget for prevention activities, including NAP implementation, in 2023. Whereas, in 2022, the government reported allocating 16.2 million MDL ($939,130) toward implementation. Each public authority conducted prevention activities according to its respective institutional action plan within the limits of its budget, and in cooperation with international partners, but the government did not report the amounts spent by each public authority. In general, the government was dependent on assistance from international partners and civil society for many of its support activities. The Directorate for Coordination in the Field of Human Rights and Social Dialogue monitored implementation of the NAP and ensured the activity of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons, which oversaw the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all anti-trafficking policies. Each municipality and Gagauzia – a Turkic-speaking autonomous territorial unit – maintained an anti-trafficking territorial commission to coordinate efforts at the local level and strengthen partnerships among public institutions, non-commercial organizations, and the private sector. The commissions encompassed local elected officials, law enforcement, prosecutors, and social service providers. The government approved and began implementing a new four-year program for combating and preventing human trafficking with a particular focus on vulnerable populations and specific objectives that included training, awareness activities, and amending anti-trafficking legislation. The government conducted a study with an international organization to assess recovery services available to crime victims, including trafficking, through public and private service providers and develop recommendations for improvement. In 2023, the government conducted a national awareness campaign and information sessions on types of trafficking and assistance available for students and the general public. In collaboration with social media and technology firms, the National Investigation Inspectorate Center for Combating Cybercrimes conducted internet safety awareness campaigns. Several agencies and offices operated trafficking hotlines available in Romanian and Russian; 15 calls led to victim identification, referral to care, or a criminal investigation. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.

In 2023, the government adopted a new law, allowing foreign nationals of 47 non-EU countries to work in Moldova without a visa for up to 90 days, leaving workers vulnerable to illicit labor practices, including labor trafficking. MoLSP acknowledged the potential vulnerability and began working to repeal the law. Moldovan law authorized the State Labor Inspectorate (SLI), which oversaw the occupational safety and health inspections, to regulate employment agencies, recruiters, and unlicensed labor agents and required recruiters to provide transparent, legally binding contracts for prospective workers. Agencies in violation faced criminal charges for trafficking, among other penalties. In 2023, the SLI gained the authority to issue civil penalties for labor law violations without receiving permission from a court. Moldovan law prohibited agencies from charging prospective workers fees or taxes as part of the recruitment process. The law permitted collection of payment for additional services from Moldovan citizens seeking jobs abroad but forbid charges to job seekers for services performed by recruiters. To ensure the protection of Moldovan workers abroad, MoLSP maintained labor migration agreements with Israel, Bulgaria, and Germany, regulating the recruitment, employment, and transportation of those workers. Separately, in 2023, MoLSP signed a new bilateral work agreement with Israel to ensure Moldovan citizens employed in Israel’s caregiver sector would be recruited through and protected under the NEA, thus eliminating placement fees and potential debt to private agencies. To complement all the agreements, an NGO, with support from the NEA and MoLSP, maintained a specialized hotline for Moldovan workers abroad to call for trafficking-related assistance.

Under Moldovan law, the SLI conducted unannounced labor inspections – which were the country’s main mechanism to identify child labor, including forced child labor – at worksites known or suspected of human trafficking or unreported employment. The law permitted the SLI to conduct unannounced inspections regardless of whether they received a written complaint or assessed an imminent threat. The law also permitted the SLI to conduct unannounced inspections when they had suspicions or visual evidence of businesses’ involvement in child labor. In 2023, MoLSP hired and trained 20 new inspectors who began conducting inspections but did not report identifying any trafficking cases. MoLSP continued to combat corruption among inspectors, specifically inspectors’ opportunities to seek bribes, through a number of measures, such as re-writing employment requirements and increasing salaries. Furthermore, the SLI maintained an internal audit section that monitored inspectors’ activity and prevented and combated integrity risks. In cases of the worst forms of child labor, including trafficking, when inspectors identified a potential case, they immediately informed the SLI. Case managers evaluated each case within 24 hours, and then, based on complexity, a multidisciplinary team, including the CCTIP, assessed the case within 10 days. Case managers and the multidisciplinary team prepared a personalized assistance plan for victims. In 2023, authorities reported initiating 25 child labor investigations. In December 2023, the ombudsman’s office with support from an international organization published a report on the labor exploitation of children, including trafficking. In addition, the National Bureau of Statistics established a new statistical framework for measuring child labor, including forced child labor, allowing authorities to better understand the scope of child labor and trafficking. Moldova’s public procurement law banned government agencies from contracting with any person or company convicted of trafficking crimes or child labor violations in the previous five years. The Ministry of Finance continued to provide guidance on public tenders that included a mechanism to exclude any economic agent involved in trafficking or child labor.

The government made efforts to mitigate trafficking among refugees fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by registering refugees in country and instituting a system for issuing temporary protection status, which provided access to emergency and primary medical assistance and social assistance for families with children and unaccompanied children, among other services. The government also maintained an intersectoral mechanism to identify, assist, and monitor child refugees. Additionally, in collaboration with two international organizations, the government maintained safe centers installed at border crossing points that provided children and families with essential information and services on a range of issues, including education, psycho-social support, referrals to health care, and legal support. Observers noted some border police did not conduct screening interviews to identify potential trafficking victims, and police were slow to respond to referrals of potential trafficking cases, likely due to staffing shortages. In 2023, the government committed additional resources to screening for potential victims among refugees, as well as identifying vulnerabilities to trafficking in its immigration, refugee, and asylum processes. Subsequently, authorities identified one labor trafficking victim among refugees from Ukraine, the first trafficking victim identified from that group since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The identified victim received services from CAP. The government and two international organizations led a task force on the protection of refugees from trafficking. The government maintained 44 temporary placement centers for refugees throughout the country as well as local multidisciplinary mobile teams assisting in the provision of services and identification of trafficking victims. The government also continued to provide guidelines on identifying victims in the context of mixed migration flows, particularly among foreign nationals and stateless persons, and granting them access to necessary assistance and protection. In 2023, law enforcement agencies focused their efforts on campaigns to prevent and identify trafficking cases among refugees fleeing Ukraine, including distributing information flyers.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers increasingly exploit domestic and foreign victims in Moldova, and traffickers exploit victims from Moldova abroad. Traffickers typically recruit victims through familial ties or personal contacts as well as the internet, social media, and instant messaging applications. Most victims are migrants, persons from poor rural areas, persons with disabilities living in residential institutions, undereducated adults, the unemployed, unhoused persons, and Roma. Sexually abused women are highly vulnerable to sex trafficking in the country and abroad. Sex trafficking victims are overwhelmingly women and girls. Traffickers exploit children in online child pornography, which they use as a grooming method for sex trafficking. Traffickers exploit children, some as young as eight, in child labor trafficking, mostly in agriculture, particularly harvesting commercial crops, as well as construction, hospitality, and manufacturing. Many child laborers work in family businesses or on family farms. Children living on the street or in state institutions (such as orphanages), aging out of such institutions, or abandoned by parents migrating abroad remain vulnerable to trafficking. Corrupt management in state institutions exploit children in domestic servitude or on farms. The government continued its efforts to deinstitutionalize children and support family style living arrangements. Children from Romani communities are highly vulnerable to child labor and trafficking. Forced child marriage is common in Romani communities among girls as young as 12 years old and increases vulnerability to trafficking; matchmakers illegally arrange for them to marry a man. Labor trafficking remains the most prevalent form of exploitation among adult male victims. Traffickers exploit men from Bangladesh and India in labor trafficking in a textile factory. Internal labor trafficking, particularly in the agriculture and construction sectors, and forced begging is steadily on the rise, including among labor migrants. The undocumented or stateless population within Moldova, including the Romani community, are at risk of trafficking, primarily in the agricultural sector. Persons with intellectual disabilities are among the most vulnerable to labor trafficking, particularly in remote rural areas. Illicit foreign recruitment agencies post fake online job advertisement, specifically in construction, to recruit victims and evade bilateral work agreements protecting Moldovan citizens seeking work abroad. Women from the Gagauzia Autonomous Territorial Unit are vulnerable to sex trafficking in Türkiye. Approximately 120,000 refugees fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine remain in Moldova and are highly vulnerable to trafficking. Official complicity in trafficking crimes continues to be a problem, with one new incident investigated in 2023.

The breakaway region of Transnistria remained outside the administrative control of the Government of the Republic of Moldova; therefore Moldovan authorities were unable to conduct trafficking investigations or labor inspections, including for child labor and forced child labor, in the region. Furthermore, Transnistria representatives did not communicate their law enforcement efforts to authorities in Chisinau. Consequently, there were no known trafficking investigations. Additionally, there were no known identified trafficking victims, the same as in 2022; an NGO identified eight trafficking victims and 13 potential victims in 2021. Furthermore, there were no statistics or qualitative analysis on child labor, including forced child labor, but civil society representatives noted the situation in Transnistria did not differ significantly from the rest of Moldova. Victims in Transnistria did not have access to Moldovan legal protections or social services. Observers noted insufficient victim assistance, including immediate and long-term reintegration, and protection left victims vulnerable to re-victimization. Presently, the toll-free, NGO-run hotline represented the main tool for addressing trafficking in the region and one of the few anti-trafficking initiatives supported by Transnistria representatives. The hotline provided access to information, identification, and referral to assistance for potential victims, including among refugees from Ukraine entering or transiting Moldova. Over the past decade, observers noted a decline in Transnistria representatives’ efforts to prevent and combat trafficking, and multiple reports expressed concern of systematic human rights abuses in the region. While in previous years Transnistria was a predominant source for sex trafficking victims beyond Moldova, in countries such as Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, recent reports indicated fewer victims from the region. NGOs confirmed a decrease in trafficking in and through Transnistria since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Due in part to the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria, Ukraine closed the Transnistria segment of the Ukraine-Moldova border. As a result, Moldovan authorities and observers did not believe significant volumes of traffic went undetected between the Transnistria region and Ukraine. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 240,000 refugees have entered the region, with many transiting. The Transnistrian “authorities” report that 238,500 Ukrainian nationals had entered the region between February 2022 and May 2024. The region hosted an unknown number of refugees; although, reports estimated 8,000-20,000 refugees in Transnistria, with 2,500 receiving cash assistance.