LONDON (Dispatches) -- Ukrainian refugees in search of safe homes in the UK are at risk of sexual exploitation by British men, The Times has reported.
An investigation by the paper has revealed that British men are offering “safe homes” on social media to female refugees fleeing war in their home country in return for sexual favors.
A new plan by the British government requires refugees to connect with their British hosts directly, which has forced thousands of people to resort to unregulated Facebook groups to link up.
As part of the investigation, an undercover reporter from The Times posed as a 22-year-old Natalya from Kiev who was “bombarded with inappropriate and sexually suggestive messages from men seeking relationships” minutes after she posted on the largest Facebook group for UK hosts.
One of the male hosts sent a voice message saying: “I am ready to help you and maybe you can help me also.”
According to the report, British men ask female refugees to share a bed in exchange for their stay, and in some cases, get married for sponsorship into the UK.
Out of the 75 private messages that the reporter received during two days, 41 were from single men who lived alone and made inappropriate proposals.
A 32-year-old woman from Ukraine’s Bakhmut told the Guardian newspaper that she had received suggestive messages from men on Facebook’s Messenger app, offering sponsorship in return for sex.
In protest against the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, charity Refugee Action said that the new measures are not safe enough for the refugees.
“What we have is a government-run scheme that is leaving women at risk of sexual exploitation,” Louise Calvey, the head of services and safeguarding at Refugee Action, was quoted as saying.
“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 said, stressing that if the scheme continues in this manner, some refugees would face dangerous situations.
The UN refugee agency has called on the UK government to stop matching single British men with lone Ukrainian women because of fears of sexual exploitation.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that “more appropriate measures are needed to ensure female refugees are matched with families or couples.
“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,” it added.
Those who want to move to the UK must have a sponsor before applying for a visa.
It comes after the UK government announced that it plans to forcefully transfer asylum seekers of Middle Eastern and African origin to Rwanda, claiming the measure would stop human smugglers from sending desperate migrants on treacherous journeys across the English Channel.
The new plan has drawn harsh criticism both locally and internationally.
On Sunday, parliament’s independent complaints body revealed that more than 50 lawmakers in the UK have been accused of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to more serious wrongdoing.
According to reports citing Westminster insiders, around 70 complaints about 56 members of parliament (MPs) have been received by the parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
The latest cases are complaints against two Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs accused of sexual assault and harassment.
According to Sunday Times, the former nationalist chief whip Patrick Grady and Patricia Gibson, MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, are said to have received the investigation’s findings and asked for a response.
The revelation comes weeks after Conservative MP David Warburton was suspended over sexual misconduct against a woman.
It also follows the detention of an unnamed Conservative MP last year over suspicion of rape.
Imran Ahmad Khan, a conservative member of the parliament, resigned last week after his conviction for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old in 2008.
UK officials in different bodies and even at ministerial levels have repetitively committed sexual assaults against their staff, which, in some cases, has led to their resignations.
Last year, British Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, was accused by Virginia Giuffre of having raped her at the London home of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.