【Text/Observer Network Zhang Zhaodong】
According to the British "Mirror" reported on March 12 local time, the police in Wroclaw, Poland, recently arrested a 49-year-old man for rape, and he lured a 19-year-old Ukrainian female refugee to his home to rape on the pretext of providing a shelter. If convicted, the man faces up to 12 years in prison.
It is worth mentioning that this case is by no means an isolated case, and in Romania, Hungary, Germany and other European countries, ukrainian women and children refugees have been abducted and trafficked frequently. This has raised concerns about the security of ukrainian refugee groups, and cases of human trafficking and sexual exploitation are likely to become more common.
Screenshot of the report
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced special military action against Ukraine on Feb. 24, a large influx of Ukrainians has poured into neighboring European countries. According to data released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on March 12, nearly 2.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine. Most of these refugees are women and children, and the number of children has exceeded 1 million. UnHCR Director Filippo Grandi called it the largest wave of refugees in Europe since World War II.
Ukraine's western neighbor, Poland, hosts more than half of Ukraine's refugees. The Ukrainian border guard said on the 12th that more than 1.596 million Ukrainians have entered Poland.
The influx of refugees, women and children, has given traffickers and other criminals an opportunity.
On March 10, local time, police in the polish city of Wrocław arrested a 49-year-old man accused him of raping a 19-year-old Ukrainian female refugee. Police said the man knew the girl by posting aid messages on the Internet. The man committed rape after promising the girl help and shelter and luring her into his home.
She fled war-torn Ukraine and didn't speak Polish. She trusts someone who promises to give her help and shelter. Unfortunately, it all turned into deceptive manipulation. Police wrote in a statement.
The man will face up to 12 years in prison for his "cruel crimes."
Ukrainian refugees in Medica, Poland Source: The Paper
In another case reported by Polish media, a man overheard promising a 16-year-old refugee girl a job and a home, which prompted the authorities to intervene.
In a refugee camp on the border of Medyka, Poland, a man was suspicious because he only helped women and children among refugees. When questioned by the police, the man denied it.
Also at the Medica border, seven former members of the French Foreign Legion volunteered to provide security for refugees and were wary of traffickers.
"This morning we found three men who tried to get a group of women into a van," said one of the former legionnaires, "and I can't say one hundred percent that they tried to recruit them for sex, but when we started asking and approaching them, they got nervous and left immediately." ”
"We just want to try to get women and kids to a safe place," he added, "and the stakes are very high because there are so many people." ”
The Associated Press reported that security officials in Romania and Poland said plainclothes intelligence officers were spying on "criminals." Authorities in the Romanian border city of Siret said local men who offered free rides to Ukrainian female refugees had been expelled.
German traffickers and pimps are also targeting Ukrainian refugees. German media reported on March 12 that a 55-year-old man in Germany specifically targeted young women from Ukraine and promised to drive them to hamburg, and this person has a record of sexual assault in the police. Two other men, 29 and 21, intentionally hooked up with women who were alone or with children, and two men in their 50s and 53s gave refugee women money if they were going home with them.
Berlin police posted warnings on social media specifically in Ukrainian and Russian, reminding Ukrainian women and children not to accept overnight invitations from strangers and urging them to report any suspicious situations.
Ukrainian refugees arrive at Central Station in Berlin, Germany Image: The Paper
These cases have raised concerns about how millions of Ukrainian refugees, mainly women and children, can be kept safe and protected from trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Trafficking in persons is a serious violation of human rights and involves various forms of exploitation, such as forced prostitution, forced labour, domestic slavery, organ removal, forced crime, etc.
Migration Data Porta notes that conflict-related humanitarian crises "could exacerbate pre-existing human trafficking trends and trigger new trends" and that the trafficking industry could thrive because "families and communities are unable to protect themselves and their children."
Tamara Barnett, director of a British charity called the Human Trafficking Foundation, said such rapid and large-scale population displacement "led to disaster".
"When you find that there's a very vulnerable group of people who are in desperate need of money and help," Barnett says, "it's a breeding ground for exploitation and sexual exploitation." When I saw all these volunteers providing their houses, my mind began to worry. ”
Reception point for Ukrainian refugees set up by Szczecin University in Poland Source: The Paper
Madalina Mocan, director of the committee for anti-trafficking group Project, said there were already "worrying signs" in the Ukrainian refugee community that some refugees were being offered shelter at the cost of having to provide cleaning and babysitting services, which could lead to exploitation.
"Traffickers will try to take victims from Ukraine across the border." "Women and children are vulnerable, especially those who don't have families, friends and other dependencies," Mokan said. She also said the ongoing conflict would mean more and more refugees arriving at the border.
According to a 2020 human trafficking report released by the European Commission's Executive Commission, the criminal industry's annual profits are estimated to be 29.4 billion euros (about 203.3 billion yuan) worldwide.
Sexual exploitation is the most common form of human trafficking in EU member states, with nearly three-quarters of victims being women and nearly a quarter being children, the report said.
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