The results of the survey were declared at a press conference organized by Dubai Police on 14th December 2016 at the Dubai Police Officer's Club. This is the first study of its kind in the UAE and the Middle East, paving the way for further research on the implications of human Trafficking crimes across multi community layers.

The results featured the level of community awareness of human trafficking and how it affects perceptions within the community on the actual proliferation of this crime. It also highlighted the awareness of the pertinent laws on human trafficking and assessed the awareness level of the relevant bodies combating human trafficking crimes. This includes government departments and civil society organizations and assesses the outcomes of the efforts carried out since the introduction of the human Trafficking law in 2006 and the establishment of the national committee on combating human trafficking in the UAE in 2007.

The study targeted a stratified random sample from the Dubai community comprising 1597 individuals from 3 different sectors namely; the government sector sampling 823 individuals (51.5% of the total sample) representing major government departments such as Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Economic Development department, The Dubai General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs, Dubai Tourism Department, The Dubai Health Authority and The Ministry of Labour. This sector also included civil society organizations such as the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, and the Emirates Human Rights Society.

The second sector targeted consisted of the private sector surveying 485 individuals (30% of the total sample) from the construction, industrial, health, tourism (hospitality and hotels). The public sector was the third sector surveying 285 individuals (17.8%of the total sample) comprising multinational residents and Emiratis spanning a wide geographical domain from dense areas in Dubai.

Addaera presented the outcomes to Dubai Police’s Centre of Human Trafficking Monitor and Control Centre. To achieve this Addaera deployed its pool of qualified field surveyors supported by a team from the Human Trafficking Centre at Dubai Police.

The outcomes of the study are available with Dubai Police or from the Centre.

Launched in 2014 Addaera is growing from strength to strength as an emerging research, polls and survey organization in the UAE. Its commitment is to encourage people to collaborate and engage in the on-going interaction about their views, beliefs, brands plus issues of commercial and national interest.

Presenting the results at the conference, Major General Dr. Abdul Quddous Al Obaidly, Assistant Director General of Total Quality at Dubai Police commented “The survey is of significant importance to us since it highlights, evaluates and emphasises our efforts in fighting criminal activities related to human trafficking in recent years. Not only has the UAE made relentless efforts to curb such crimes, but has also intensified its efforts and expanded its capabilities on multiple scientific, academic and practical levels.”

“I am delighted to inform you that Dubai Police has shown remarkable accomplishments and achieved key objectives in a short span of time. All this was made possible by a adopting a set of pronouncements and procedures epitomized by the establishment of a specialized department armed with a police force that is fully equipped to handle such cases to the highest standards of efficiency and professionalism. It has been a pleasure to work on this study with our partners Addaera Research & Polls Centre. They have approached this issue in a professional and scientific manner and have made valuable recommendations which will boost the efforts and mechanisms of combatting human trafficking,” Major Al Obaidy added.

Chairman of Addaera Research & Polls Centre Dherar Belhoul Al Falasi was quick to corroborate ”As a cross-border international crime, human trafficking poses major challenges for civilized societies and modern states, including the United Arab Emirates. Being a major economic hub and a global tourist destination Dubai has to be wary of human trafficking infiltrating our society which is alien to us and did not originate in the country.”

“Hence the Human Trafficking Crime Control Centre commissioned Addaera Research & Polls Centre to conduct a field study assessing public awareness levels of this crime in Dubai. Involving both citizens and residents, the study aimed at measuring the impact of the current efforts in combatting human trafficking on raising the levels of social awareness, which provides tremendous help in fighting this crime. We are hopeful that the survey will become a reference for both policy makers and researchers alike,” he was delighted to add.

Addaera Research & Polls Centre is an independent institution that adopts professional, scientific practices and commits to the highest standards of transparency and accuracy across all its procedures and operations. The Centre is committed to professional values of credibility, professionalism, transparency and in-depth knowledge of the UAE community. It seeks to grow and develop significantly as the UAE’s premier organization dedicated to collaborative views concerning cultural, commercial and political issues. Interestingly, plans are in place for several significant polls, surveys and studies to be held on a national scale.