An escort website in Ireland is encouraging men to follow any "war-inspired fantasies" they may have by having sex with Ukrainian refugees, an anti-trafficking expert says.
Valiant Richey, a special representative from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has warned that sex work in Ireland is already seeing more demand for women and girls who have fled the conflict in Ukraine.
He spoke of how there's been a spike in internet searches "related to buying sex from Ukrainian women", reports the Belfast Telegraph.
And it's come at the same time that vulnerable women and girls have had to flee their homes in Ukraine and move across Europe due to Russia's invasion.
Mr Richey, who spoke today (May 19) at a National Women's Council event said some countries have seen a 600% rise in internet searches related to having sex with Ukrainian women.
He said: “In other words, one of the early and measurable reactions in Europe to the crisis were attempts by men to identify and have sex with women and girls fleeing the conflict.
“The influx of vulnerable women and girls into Western Europe led to an immediate increase in interest by men in exploiting them.”
He added that this significant rise in demand from men searching for sex with Ukrainian women provides a "strong incentive" for human traffickers to target and exploit these women.
Continuing, Mr Richey said: “And indeed, we are already seeing the market responding. For example, one of Ireland’s largest escort websites offered men the opportunity to live out their ‘war-inspired fantasies’ with Ukrainian women."
He said the same website has increased the number of Ukrainian women offering services by 250%.
Mr Richey added that if arrangements are being made informally through social networks for instance to house refugees, this could also leave women and girls open to being exploited.
The Red Cross has received so many accommodation offers from people just in Ireland alone, but delays mean some still haven't been checked or vetted.
The OSCE recommends there be a formal registration system so that anyone offering up rooms to refugees can be vetted.
It means massive public Facebook groups have popped up where people post offering accommodation to refugees from Ukraine.
Mr Richey clarified that it's important to "celebrate the tremendous response" from people offering their homes and their help to aid people fleeding from Ukraine.
But he added: “The challenge, of course, is making sure that people are safe".
