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The UN refugee agency has called on the UK government to intervene to stop single British men from being matched up with lone Ukrainian women seeking refuge from war because of fears of sexual exploitation.

Following claims that predatory men are using the Homes for Ukraine scheme
to target the vulnerable, the United Nations high commissioner for
refugees (UNHCR) told the Guardian “a more appropriate matching process”
could be put in place to ensure women and women with children are matched
with families or couples.

The suggestion from the global refugee agency follows reports that
Ukrainian refugees, predominantly women and sometimes accompanied by
children, are at risk in the UK of sexual exploitation.

Under the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, British hosts must link
up with Ukrainian refugees themselves, leaving tens of thousands of people
to resort to unregulated social media groups to connect.

A government-backed matching service run by the charity Reset offers to
match UK hosts with refugees but has been operating for just over a week.
Those who want to move to the UK must have a sponsor before applying for a visa.

In a statement, the UNHCR said there was a need for adequate safeguards
and vetting measures to be in place against exploitation, as well as
adequate support for sponsors. “[The] UNHCR believes that a more
appropriate matching process could be put in place by ensuring that women
and women with children are matched with families or couples, rather than
with single men.

“Matching done without the appropriate oversight may lead to increasing
the risks women may face, in addition to the trauma of displacement,
family separation and violence already experienced,” a spokesperson said.

Leading refugee charities raised their concerns about the Homes for
Ukraine scheme in a letter to Michael Gove, the minister in charge of the scheme. Louise Calvey, the head of safeguarding at the charity Refugee
Action, told the Observer it was at risk of being a “Tinder for sex traffickers”.

One 32-year-old woman from Bakhmut, Ukraine, who has been searching for an appropriate person to match in the UK, wrote that she had received
suggestive messages from men on Facebook’s Messenger app. “I was
approached by one older guy from London who said that I would have to
share a bedroom with him, and was asked if I was OK with that,” she said
in an email seen by the Guardian.

The Times reported this week that a journalist posing as a 22-year-old Ukrainian woman from Kyiv found that within minutes of posting a message
on the largest Facebook group for UK hosts she was inundated with
inappropriate messages.

Some men lied about having several bedrooms in their one-bed homes while another proposed sharing a bed, writing: “I have a large bed. We could
sleep together.” Another sent a voice note that said: “I am ready to help
you and maybe you can help me also.”

In its statement, the UNHCR also raised concerns about the repercussions
should the original UK host prove a potential threat to the safety of the refugee, and the six-month minimum duration on the Homes for Ukraine
scheme.

“UNHCR believes that appropriate training and information are needed to
ensure that hosts make an informed decision when applying to become
sponsors. Housing a stranger in an extra bedroom for an extended period is
not, for some people, sustainable,” the spokesperson said.

There is growing public anger over the length of time that Ukrainians are
being forced to wait before being given visas from the Home Office amid
the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, apologised on Friday for the time it had
taken for Ukrainian refugees to arrive in the UK under two visa schemes,
after figures showed only 12,000 had so far reached Britain.

Reports on Tuesday claimed Gove had been accused of bullying Home Office officials by Patel’s permanent secretary, Matthew Rycroft.

Asked to respond to the UNHCR’s request for an intervention on sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women, a government spokesperson said: “Attempts
to exploit vulnerable people are truly despicable – this is why we have designed our Homes for Ukraine scheme to have specific safeguards in
place, including robust security and background checks on all sponsors,
both by the Home Office and local authorities.

“Councils must make at least one in-person visit to a sponsors property
and following guests arrival, they have a duty to ensure the guest is safe
and well.

“We have also partnered with the charity Reset Communities and Refugees to
fund and provide a matching service for sponsors and refugees to ensure
that matches made are suitable, safe and successful. This service will vet eligibility, assess needs, and provide training for sponsors to ensure
they can support the people they host.”

Asked to confirm or deny whether there had been a complaint that Gove had bullied staff, the spokesperson added: “Humanitarian schemes set up in
record time by the Home Office and the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities working closely together are helping thousands of Ukrainians find safety in the UK.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/13/stop-matching-lone-female- ukraine-refugees-with-single-men-uk-told

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