Women and children are lured to cars, given tempting job offers and housing.
In Poland, cases have been reported when Ukrainian women and children fleeing the war in Ukraine become targets for local pimps and sex dealers,» reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Focus.
The Guardian writes that charities operating on the Polish-Ukrainian border report alleged attacks on Ukrainian refugees by pimps and sex dealers, acting alone or as part of gangs.
«We have registered the first cases of attacks by pimps on Ukrainian women near refugee reception centers in Lublin; they harass them, sometimes aggressively, under the guise of offering transport, jobs or housing,” said Karolina Wierzbinska, coordinator of the human rights organization Homo Faber, based in the Polish city of Lublin.
According to her, it is not only men who do this. Women were also seen trying to «pick» refugee women at bus stations. The perpetrators lured women to the cars, offering to give them a ride or place them after a hard journey.
«We intervene in such cases by approaching a suspicious person and inviting him to register in our volunteer directory, in response to which he , as a rule, runs away», Verzhbinskaya said.
In addition, minors and children who cross the border unaccompanied are at risk. According to UNICEF, more than 500 unaccompanied children crossing the Ukrainian border were identified between February 24 and March 17.
Actions by the Polish authorities
The article also says that in the town of Medyka, located near the border with Ukraine , groups of men in uniform have emerged claiming to protect women and children crossing the border. The military showed up there after humanitarian organizations expressed fear that the refugee crisis would spark a wave of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
«The problem with human trafficking is that most transportation is not organized. These are volunteers who come from various places in their own cars», says one of the volunteers of the Polish Red Cross.
However, local volunteers say that the uniformed vigilantes are not affiliated with any official Polish authorities, but are members of foreign paramilitary legions. A local police spokesman said they had no information about the vigilante group or their intentions, but denied that there were foreign soldiers at the border.
In addition to the rather chaotic situation in the border town, where authorities and local volunteers provide assistance refugees, the appearance of people in uniform is confusing who the official security forces are at border crossings.
One of the UNICEF humanitarian teams working in Poland said that unverified individuals acting in isolation from the Polish authorities are a cause for concern.
«I cannot speak for the Polish authorities, but security is actually their realm. I think that any kind of lynching is an alarming sign», said UNICEF representative Joe English.
Women are being lured to Germany
Germany accepts refugees from Ukraine. However, there are also reports that traffickers and pimps want to take advantage of situations where women and girls come alone, reports dw.com.
At Berlin Central Station, a 55-year-old man offers young women from Ukraine a ride to Hamburg. However, he is known to the police as a person prone to sexual harassment. A 29-year-old man and his 21-year-old friend try to strike up a conversation with girls who have arrived alone or with small children. Two other men, aged 50 and 53, work as volunteers and occasionally offer money to young women if they agree to go to their home.
«Unfortunately, there are men who want to take advantage of the desperation and plight of incoming refugees. Their behavior is so suspicious that they attract the attention of both volunteers and the police stationed at the station. Dozens of such attempts have already been thwarted, but so far no sexual crimes have been registered», — a federal police spokesman told DW.
A huge wave of solidarity and readiness to help Ukrainian refugees swept through Germany, the number of which has already reached almost 110 thousand people. This situation, unfortunately, is being exploited by human traffickers. Daily Chaos at Berlin Central Station and in other large cities creates ideal conditions for them to deceive women into their homes for the purpose of sexual harassment.
«We were approached by a frightened Ukrainian woman who encountered such men. The police officers had to escort them out of the station building with a warning that if they happened again, they would have to be brought to administrative responsibility. We now have a huge number of people who want to sincerely help refugees, but there are those among them who have completely different intentions», — emphasizes the representative of the police.
Registration and explanatory work as counteraction
Volunteers who meet refugees at train stations report that they have had to intervene more than once when they noticed suspicious men trying to offer their services to single women. Therefore, the police posted a warning on social networks, including in Ukrainian, Russian and English. In addition, the police inform volunteers and volunteers working at stations during morning meetings about the existing danger and ask to be vigilant. And in case of need, immediately contact the police for help. But is all this enough to protect the arriving Ukrainian women and youth?
«It would be better if those who are ready to host single Ukrainian women or with small children would register with us, — says social educator Monika Cissek-Evans. — Unfortunately, some people, under the guise of voluntary assistants, are trying to mislead women who find themselves in an unfamiliar place and show confusion. Refugees should not blindly trust not only the offers of dubious men, but also women who can work on the orders or instructions of human traffickers».
Monika Zissek-Evans founded the «Jadwiga» for victims of human trafficking. The Polish name of the center was not chosen by chance, because mostly women from Eastern Europe fall into the networks of criminals. Monika and her team have published leaflets in Ukrainian, which are distributed at the stations where the refugees arrive.
«The leaflets tell people not to let go of their passports and identity cards. They always kept their phones with them. They are advised to take pictures of car license plates before getting into them. Refugees must ask for identification of those who offer them rooms or apartments, write down their names and addresses. This is a normal procedure in such situations, and people with good intentions will not hide their data. We urge in these leaflets to be careful if someone immediately promises to help with money», — explains Monica Cissek-Evans.
Pimps try to cash in on refugees
If anyone can best explain how quickly women can find themselves in forced prostitution networks, it's Huschke Mau. The writer and activist, whose real name is hidden under a pseudonym, was herself a prostitute for ten years and wrote an autobiographical book. The name symbolizes her fight against human trafficking: «Entmenschlicht — warum wir Prostitution abschaffen müssen», which can be translated into Russian as — «Dehumanization: why we should end prostitution».
«Every day in Germany just over one million men use the services of prostitutes. The country leads the European Union in human trafficking. We — this is the brothel of Europe. And we should be ashamed of it. Human traffickers and pimps approach Ukrainian women on the platform because they know that a lot of money can be made from refugees», — Hushke Mau emphasizes.
On Twitter and in special forums for men who use the services of prostitutes, there have already been posts about new «Ukrainian prostitutes», who, they say, will soon replenish brothels, some even share their sexual fantasies.
«A volunteer assistant told me that a refugee from Ukraine didn't even dare to drink something on the platform, because she was afraid: what if sleeping pills were mixed into the drink and she might end up in a brothel. Soon we will see that there will be a lot of Ukrainian women in them. And it's a shame», — Hushke Mau warns. «Many people really want to sincerely help, but Ukrainian women should be careful and proceed from the fact that among «assistants» there may well be pimps», — Hushke Mau warns. The activist fears that after the terrible experiences during the war in Ukraine, refugees who arrive alone may experience additional mental and emotional trauma, being in the networks of intruders.
UN urges to protect refugees from Ukraine from risk become a human commodity
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
call to protect Ukrainian refugees from criminals. They call on anyone who wants to help those who fled the war to coordinate their actions with local authorities, register and leave their contact details, as well as report the routes of movement of the people they help and their locations.
At IOM noted that today mainly women, children and the elderly are leaving Ukraine. Many children ended up abroad without parents.
Even before the war — in 2021 — IOM in Ukraine identified more than a thousand victims of human trafficking and provided them with assistance. Now the organization has stepped up its efforts to prevent human trafficking both within the country and in neighboring countries. IOM cooperates with border guards and other government officials and disseminates messages on precautionary measures.
The organization has established hotlines in the Eastern Europe region. In Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, IOM has published materials on safe migration and combating human trafficking. You can also find information about accommodation and transportation there.
Speaking of third-country nationals fleeing Ukraine, the IOM once again called on European countries to combat manifestations of discrimination based on nationality or ethnicity.
How not to become a victim of pimps
Ukrainian women and girls should be careful not to not to get into danger, the Facts report.
What you need to remember:
If suspicious people offer help, it is better to contact the police.