HWR is sounding the alarm.

Poland must "urgently" strengthen its prevention and surveillance measures to protect Ukrainian refugees on its soil, in particular women, victims of trafficking, violence and rape, warned on Friday April 29, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HWR).

"Insufficient and inconsistent measures to control vehicles and private accommodation offered to refugees increase the risks of trafficking, exploitation and gender-based violence", estimates HRW in a survey based on interviews with twenty refugees, volunteers and representatives of NGO.

>> "War in Ukraine: at the heart of a refugee accommodation center in Poland"

Among the testimonies quoted, that of a 29-year-old refugee who claimed that the managers of a club where she had accepted a job as a dancer had tried to force her into prostitution.

Four other women interviewed also said that their employers had wanted them to work without pay.

The report also recalls the arrest of a Pole accused of raping a 19-year-old Ukrainian woman he was sheltering.

"No systematic measures have been implemented to control transport or private accommodation (...). There is no clear system for reporting problems", deplores HRW, observing that the difficulties in finding and paying for accommodation place some refugees at great risk.

Overwhelmed social services 

“Abandoning this responsibility to volunteers and activists puts the burden of refugee security on well-meaning people but mostly without training, infrastructure or support,” said Hillary Margolis, researcher at the NGO.

"Our ability to control the drivers (who support them) is limited. We are not the police," laments a volunteer, judging the procedures for checking the databases listing the vehicles too slow.

Regarding accommodation, "volunteer and government efforts have reduced the risks, but verification remains inconsistent," observes HRW.

Thus the social services of Warsaw, which check the accommodation in person, are overwhelmed with the thousands of apartments to visit.

>> To read: "The reception of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, or how to heal the wounds of History"

In addition, none of the five reception centers visited by HRW had planned measures "to detect abuse or identify the need for appropriate treatment", medical or psychological "after rape or gender-based violence".

While Polish laws strictly restrict abortion, the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, which has set up a gynecological helpline, assured HRW that it does not know of any cases where Ukrainian women have seen themselves refusing care following sexual violence.

The Abortion Without Borders organization, for its part, claimed to have helped 267 displaced women in Poland to access abortions between the beginning of March and mid-April, often by providing them with abortion pills.

With AFP

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