Problem

Moldova has remained a significant source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking. Here's some key information:

Victim Demographics: A large number of victims were women and girls, but men and boys were also subject to this crime. Often, victims were from rural areas with lower levels of education, making them more vulnerable to deception and coercion.
Destinations: Victims from Moldova were often trafficked to other parts of Europe, Middle East, Asia, and even within the country itself. The main destination countries typically included Russia, Turkey, the UAE, and various EU states.
Trafficking methods: Many victims were lured by traffickers through deceptive offers of employment opportunities abroad in industries such as hospitality, childcare, and construction. The use of physical violence, psychological manipulation, and debt bondage were also common methods to control victims.
Governmental Response: As of 2021, the government of Moldova was making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. This included identifying and providing services to victims, investigating and prosecuting traffickers, and raising public awareness of the issue.
Efforts by NGOs and International Organizations: Many NGOs and international organizations have been actively working in Moldova to combat sex trafficking. They are providing victim support services, raising awareness, and advocating for policy change.

Solution

In partnership with the UNOPS and the World Identity Network (WIN), ConsenSys won the #Blockchain4Humanity Challenge for designing a blockchain-based identification system to help end child trafficking in republic of Moldova. The solution entailed creating a open-source job registry system that authenticated legitimate job opportunities across the country. Moldovan workers could authenticate a job listing's legitimacy by running the listings code (or scanning its QR code) against the blockchain-based registry to protect themselves against fraudulent, and oftentimes dangerous listings that serve as the entry point to sex-trafficking. Additionally, the architecture proposed ways to extend the system by connecting accepted job listings to an individuals national I.D. via a remote-work attestation.

Learn More

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Role

Project Lead
Head Blockchain Architect

Project Identity: ConsenSys' Blockchain Solution to Moldova's Child Trafficking