British men are reportedly offering
female Ukrainian refugees a place
to stay in exchange for sex
British men are reportedly offering female refugees – who have fled their homes in Ukraine – a place to stay in exchange for sex.
The UN has estimated that more then 10 million refugees have left the country following Russian invasion, with those seeking refuge in the UK being required to find a place to stay through the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme. As part of the scheme, British hosts must connect with Ukrainian refugees themselves which, according to The Times, has forced thousands of people to resort to unregulated Facebook groups to link up.
Sadly, not all of the hosts using such platforms are doing so with good intentions, with an undercover investigation carried out by The Times revealing that British men are asking female refugees to share a bed, have sex in exchange for their stay and in some cases, get married for sponsorship into the UK.
As part of their investigation, a reporter from The Times posed as 22-year-old Natalya from Kyiv who was "bombarded with inappropriate and sexually suggestive messages from men seeking relationships" within minutes of posting on the largest Facebook group for UK hosts.
"I have a large bed. We could sleep together," read one message, with someone else sending a voice note that said: "I am ready to help you and maybe you can help me also." In another message, a 47-year-old man asked Natalya if she was single, before repeatedly proposing that they marry. "I [will] marry with you," the man said, according to the report. "Don’t worry. I am not [a] sex maniac. I am not that kind of m[a]n."
Another man said that he wouldn't offer a home to anyone who wouldn't engage in a sexual relationship. "What if I never want to be physical?" Natalya asked, to which the man reportedly said he was "not offering sponsorship to a person unwilling to have sex" although he said this would be "with the consent of both." The 43-year-old man claimed to have "passed all the safe checks" to be a member of the refugee-host matching group on Facebook.
Out of the 75 private messages that the reporter posing as Natalya received across two days, 41 were from single men who lived alone.
What measures are in place to protect refugees being hosted in people's homes?
As part of the scheme, those applying to be a sponsor have to pass a Police National Computer check, and once a refugee is matched with a host, a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check is required.
But is this really enough to ensure that those seeking refuge are kept safe? Refugee charity Refugee Action doesn't think so. "What we have is a government-run scheme that is leaving women at risk of sexual exploitation," said Louise Calvey, the head of services and safeguarding at Refugee Action, in response to The Times' investigation.
"Criminal record checks do not pick up sexual predators who have no criminal record, allowing them to register and pass checks to sponsor a refugee in their home," Calvey added. "If the scheme continues in this manner we have no doubt that some refugees may be placed into very dangerous situations by the Homes for Ukraine scheme."
