Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001766/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Mathilde Androuët (PfE)
The Council of the EU has accepted the Commission’s proposal to extend the temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until March 2026, including access to the labour market and to housing[1]. As of May 2024, Eurostat[2] reported 4.2 million displaced Ukrainians, mainly in Germany and Poland. According to data provided by the Federal Statistical Office in Germany, 70% of refugees are women, and only 14% of them are in employment. German media and NGOs have recently warned about a high number of ‘very young Ukrainian women’ falling victim to human traffickers and ending up in prostitution rings[3], either on the internet or in brothels, owing to a lack of accommodation and employment. There can be little doubt that this prostitution is not voluntary.
Alarm about the increase in sexual exploitation networks involving Ukrainian refugees, including ‘via online platforms’, had already been raised in November 2022, when Valiant Richey of the OSCE[4], said that the DSA[5] was ‘silent on trafficking in human beings’[6].
What measures has the Commission taken in the meantime, or what measures does it recommended, specifically to address this serious problem?
Submitted: 19.9.2024
- [1] ‘Ukrainian refugees: Council extends temporary protection until March 2026’ – Council of the European Union – 25 June 2024.
- [2] Temporary protection for persons fleeing Ukraine – monthly statistics – Eurostat Statistics Explained -10 October 2024.
- [3] ‘In den Bordellen sind es mittlerweile etwa 50 Prozent Ukrainerinne’, Uma Sostmann, Die Welt, 17 September 2024.
- [4] Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
- [5] Digital Services Act.
- [6] ‘Trafficking and sexual exploitation of Ukrainian refugees on the rise’, Clara Bauer-Babef, 30 November 2022 (updated 25 August 2023).