It was only on Monday that Munich’s second mayor, Katrin Habenschaden (Greens), presented the city’s action plan against violence against women, but the latest development is not incorporated into it. “The Ukrainian women who arrive will be at risk in a completely different way,” suspected habenharm in view of the wave of refugees that is also spilling over to Munich. “The most common combination is a mother with one or two children,” she has noted. Ukrainian men aren’t allowed to leave the country, they have to defend the country – so the women make their own way to the West.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, organizations have been pointing out the dangers for fleeing women: violence, exploitation, human trafficking, prostitution. The federal police have already warned against dubious offers under the guise of helpfulness. In Berlin, men at the train stations specifically approach Ukrainian women in order to find them accommodation – and presumably to lure them into prostitution. In the beginning it was young, unattached women who fled the Ukraine; now it’s mothers with children who have thought about it for a long time.
the “Advent calendar for good works of the Süddeutsche Zeitung” offers support to people in need – these days especially those fleeing the war in Ukraine. If you want to help, you can donate to the SZ Advent calendar:
“Advent calendar for good works of the Süddeutsche Zeitung eV”
Stadtsparkasse Munich
IBAN: DE86 7015 0000 0000 6007 00
BIC: SSKMDEMMXXX
Purpose: Ukraine
You can donate online here. Every donation goes to a good cause without any deductions. Süddeutsche Verlag bears all material and administrative costs. An overview of the other options available for providing aid to war victims can be found at: www.sz.de/ukrainehilfe
“We cannot confirm here what is being reported in Berlin. But we are sensitized,” says Wolfgang Hauner, spokesman for the local federal police. On the patrols in and around the train station, the officers now check more frequently if they notice attempts to approach Ukrainian women. “It may be that this is well intentioned,” says Hauner, “but it doesn’t have to be in all cases.” Volunteers report that men keep coming forward who specifically want to take in single women – but these men are quickly removed from the list.
With posters and flyers, the Ukrainian women in the train stations are to be informed about the public offers of help and warned against dubious machinations. Women’s need for security is great, says habenschaden, “we’re trying to respond to that.” But with the exception of the municipal accommodation for refugee women on Nailastraße, the accommodation options are not designed as shelters. The mayor assures that the social department keeps an eye on the fact that the women are also safely housed privately. Whether the lecture really has an overview in view of the great improvisation is of course not so certain.