An Irish escort website encouraged men to live out their “war-inspired” fantasies by paying to have sex with Ukrainian women.
A European counter-trafficking expert has warned that the Irish sex work ‘market’ is already meeting growing demand from men to ‘identify and have sex with’ women and girls fleeing the conflict.
Valiant Richey, a special representative for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was speaking at a National Council of Women event yesterday.
He said that at a time when a mass movement of vulnerable Ukrainian women and girls was moving across Europe, there was a “significant spike” in online searches “related to the purchase of sex to Ukrainian women”.
Mr Richey, the anti-trafficking coordinator, said that in some countries, search terms related specifically to sex with Ukrainian women “have increased by 600%”.
“In other words, one of the first measurable reactions in Europe to the crisis was men’s attempts to identify and have sex with women and girls fleeing conflict,” Mr. Richey.
“The influx of vulnerable women and girls into Western Europe has led to an immediate increase in men’s interest in exploiting them.”
He said the increased demand from men to have sex with Ukrainian women would be a “strong incentive” for human traffickers to entrap and exploit women.
“And indeed, we are already seeing the market reacting. For example, one of Ireland’s largest escort websites offered men the opportunity to live out their ‘war-inspired fantasies’ with Ukrainian women,” Mr Richey said, adding that the same website reported a 250% increase in searches for Ukrainian women.
The leading escort website has since removed parts of a blog post where it discussed a “significant increase in interest in Ukrainian escorts”.
The blog post had attempted to argue that it was better to search for a Ukrainian escort in Ireland than to search for porn featuring Ukrainian women.
“It’s a much more ethical and above all consensual and wholesome way to live out any war-inspired fantasy than to exploit the misfortune of others in real life,” he said, while asserting that the use of Ukrainian escorts was a better way to show “solidarity” with Ukraine. people.
Among a number of Ukrainian profiles on the website, many are from women who say they are new to the region.
The website did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Richey was one of many speakers to speak at an online event on trafficking, prostitution and sexual exploitation in the context of the war in Ukraine.
He also warned that people making informal arrangements on social media to house refugees could also leave women and girls vulnerable to exploitation.
The Red Cross received thousands of offers of accommodation from Irish people when the conflict broke out in Ukraine.
However, long delays have meant that some people who have offered spare rooms have still not been vetted or have their accommodations inspected.
This has led to some people using large public Facebook groups to offer accommodation to Ukrainians who have already arrived in Ireland and are in need of accommodation.
Mr Richey said it was important to ‘celebrate the huge response’ from people across Europe who have offered their homes to Ukrainians.
“The challenge, of course, is making sure people are safe,” he added.
Mr Richey said the OSCE recommended the use of a formal registration system, in which people offering accommodation could be vetted.
