REPORTS OF ‘UKRAINIAN WOMEN FEELING AT RISK FROM MALE SPONSORS’ IN UK: UN REFUGEE AGENCY

Thu 14 April 2022:

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has expressed concern over the potential exploitation of Ukrainian women in relation to a UK scheme that allows British residents to house Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

The agency said it was aware of an increasing number of reports of Ukrainian women feeling at risk from male sponsors, and that it believed women and mothers with children should be matched with couples or families 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,” the UNHCR said in a statement.

The scheme connects the two parties together outside any regulatory framework, mainly through social media, according to the UN’s report which also highlighted that some Ukrainian refugees (especially women) were receiving “inappropriate and sexually suggestive messages from men, sometimes within minutes of making contact online.”

Refugees seeking asylum in the UK need to have a sponsor before applying for a visa to settle there. The UN reported “bureaucratic delays” in issuing visas to refugees compared to the swift process and action taken by several central and Eastern European countries that have welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war.

The UNHCR stressed that “appropriate training and information” was needed to ensure that the hosts were making an “informed decision when applying to become sponsors” of the refugees.

“Housing a stranger in an extra bedroom for an extended period is not for some people sustainable,” the agency added. “There will need to be close support and communication between the relevant ministries, councils and vetting processes.”

The British government introduced the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme last month, allowing Britons to sponsor Ukrainians and provide them somewhere to live for a minimum of six months.

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