Ukrainian refugees at risk: gender-based violence, trafficking and exploitation (SEREDA CEE)

This project examines the risks, experiences and awareness of GBV and trafficking in Poland and Ukraine to help develop adequate policy and safeguarding measures.

This project is related to the research on Sexual and gender based violence in the refugee crisis: from displacement to arrival (SEREDA).

The war against Ukraine forced millions of people to flee, escalating one of the fastest-growing displacement crises. Children, pensioners and women constitute a disproportionately large share of refugees, with most working-age men remaining to defend the country. Evidence of gender-based violence (GBV) towards female refugees exposes a lack of vetting system in refugee accommodation provisions and rise of trafficking during transportation across Europe. In eastern Ukraine, every third women witnessed or experienced conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), compared with every fourth man (Busol 2020). There are also evidences of CRSV in Ukraine from the Russian army (The New York Times 2022).

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) support is limited due to stigma, shortcomings of the criminal justice system, and lack of mental health professionals. Anecdotal information indicates enormous risks and increasing prevalence of trafficking. Most international aid programs focus on immediate humanitarian assistance – issues of GBV and trafficking remain unaccounted. Women also have no voice to report sexual abuse and CRSV during strenuous journeys of refuge. An urgent need to examine the risks, manifestations, and awareness of GBV and trafficking arises to develop adequate policy and safeguarding measures.

Research objectives

  • To examine protection and safeguarding concerns in the recent feminised displacement emergency from Ukraine with a focus on experiences in transit and countries of (temporary) refuge
  • To help understand conflict-related (sexual) violence in Ukraine
  • To explore GBV and trafficking prevention and response initiatives in Poland and Ukraine
  • To explore coping strategies of victims of GBV, trafficking and exploitation
  • To understand risk mitigation and perceptions of risks among refugees and internally displaced people and awareness of access to support
  • To build on prior extensive SEREDA evidence and AHRC project led by Dr Kuznetsova, impact and policy engagement with UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs, with the aim of impacting policy and practice.

Outputs and impact

The project will generate baseline data on GBV in forced migration routes from Ukraine and in Poland against Ukrainian refugees in the current humanitarian and displacement emergency. It aims to highlight the voices of the unheard in displacement contexts, in particular, refugee women to provide an evidence base for policy development.

The outputs and impact include:

  1. New dataset on emerging GBV and trafficking risks in war-torn Ukraine and forced migrant journey to, and refuge in, Poland based on interviews with Ukrainian refugees and stakeholders in Poland
  2. Research report with findings and recommendations
  3. Policy briefing and ongoing advocacy
  4. Public awareness and policy engagement workshop
  5. Development and dissemination of infographics via social media to inform at-risk populations about risks of GBV and trafficking, and available supports

Latest publications

Project Team

Dr Irina Kuznetsova

University of Birmingham, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Dr Sandra Pertek

Senior Researcher and Policy Advisor

Project collaborations

Evgeniia Dergacheva

Convictus, Community-based researcher (Poland)

Liliia Huk

Convictus, Researcher (Ukraine)

Madiha Z Sadiq

Research support

Malgorzata Kot

Researcher (Poland)

Nataliia Semytotska

Convictus, Community-based researcher (Poland)

Yuliia Tsarevska

Convictus, Researcher (Ukraine)