The scene played out in early March, when the first displaced persons from the war in Ukraine began to land in France. Outside the reception center recently opened by the association France Terre d’Asile (France Land of Asylum, in free translation) in the north of Paris, a man has aroused suspicion among the women waiting. Two Ukrainians finally alerted the volunteers that “a stranger” suggested they “work” for him.
“He harassed the women in the queue. Since then, we have been closely monitored by the police,” says Delphine Rouilleault, general director of the association. Some refugees also said they, like many others helping the newcomers, attended a “troubled” first night at the home of a man who offered shelter.
The risks are greatest for women, who, together with children, make up 90% of Ukraine’s refugees from the conflict. They are in the crosshairs of malicious people accompanying this exodus and “will attract opportunistic aggressors posing as volunteers and criminal networks specializing in human trafficking,” warned Europol, the European police force, in late March.
The risks for refugees are greatest at the first borders, such as Poland and Romania, but the threats persist until they arrive in France, where “no case of human trafficking has been proven” so far, says Secretary General Elisabeth MoironBraud of Miprof, the interministerial mission in charge of combating trafficking in human beings.
“On the other hand, there are suspicions and warnings from social workers who are the target of complaints, and we’re working on prevention,” he says are,” he adds.
But what particularly worries French authorities, according to Elisabeth MoironBraud, are the “risks of human trafficking involving people who receive them and who exploit women’s vulnerabilities,” she said. “That is the great danger of this crisis,” he concludes.
Some hosting suggestions are suspicious. “They say they only want a young Ukrainian girl, not children. Others openly say they want a blonde with blue eyes,” says the official responsible for selecting volunteers at a refugee reception center, on condition of anonymity.
In order to combat the abuses, the France Terre d’Asile association has started the “work of control” of the accommodation proposals. Measures include criminal investigations into people who offer to take in refugees and home visits. “We declare that there is no exchange for service. Human trafficking is not just sexual. Women can also be forced to do housework,” emphasizes Delphine Rouilleault.
Refugees should “never give out their identity documents” and “beware of offers that seem too good to be true,” said Celine Schmitt, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in France. She called for strengthening control mechanisms to “check” all good intentions.
In order to support these often exhausted women, Ukrainians already living in France are also organizing themselves. “By accompanying them to visit the apartment, talking to their hosts, we try to limit the risks,” says Nadia Myhal, president of the Association of Ukrainian Women in France. “We prefer families or women. If it’s just a man, we turn down the offer,” she says. Despite all efforts, the risks remain, admits Delphine Rouilleault. In her opinion, it is more difficult to recognize problematic situations when women are already staying. .