By Home For Ukraine scheme a potential ‘danger’ for refugees
According to reports potentially abusive men are using a UK scheme to host Ukrainian refugees.
The BBC reported that some men with a reported history of violence, contact the women on Facebook groups specially set up to connect sponsors and hosts.
The report says some refugees have also become homeless after relations with hosts broke down or because housing was not well vetted.
A UK government official said safeguards were in place including Home Office security and background checks on sponsors, including a council visit to the property.
However a Charity head has labelled the Homes For Ukraine scheme dangerous and said she was “shocked by the absence of safeguarding checks”.
In March, the government announced the scheme would allow anyone to host a family or individual, if they agreed to housing and criminal-records checks.
Facebook groups were set up by local support networks and individuals which have become one of the main ways of connecting families and sponsors.
Last month the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, raised concerns, highlighting what it called “the need for adequate safeguards and vetting measures to be in place against exploitation”.
In EU countries, accommodation is organised primarily by national authorities and charities.
While British charities have tried to match applicants with potential hosts, many refugees are using Facebook groups.
“One whistleblower with knowledge of the official scheme told the BBC in some local authorities, as many as 30% of all registered would-be sponsors are single men over 40 – the majority of them offering to host single women in their 20s and 30s.”
The BBC findings were “deeply concerning and undermine the sponsorship programme”, said Robina Qureshi, chief executive of Positive Action in Housing. She described the scheme as “dangerous”.
She said her organisation would never place a woman with a single man, and the government, she said, “has created chaos, no risk checks, no due diligence”.
