Judy: More than 4 and half
million people who fled Russia's
war in Ukraine have sought
refuge in the European union.
Around a quarter of them in
neighboring Poland.
Most Ukrainians receive a warm
welcome, they are offered
blanket access to temporary
residence permits so they can
work and receive social
benefits.
But so many women and children
seeking to build new lives in
trying circumstances also
creates opportunities for sexual
and labour exploitation.
Special correspondent Rosie
Birchard reports from Poland.
Rosie: Packing up for the long
ride to Ukraine has become a
ritual for elzbieta jarmulska.
For months, the Polish
entrepreneur has been rallying
women volunteers who drive to
the border and beyond to pick up
female Ukrainian refugees and
their children.
They hope to offer a few hours
of protection in the comfort of
another woman's car, so arrivals
can avoid relying on male
strangers.
>> I personally heard stories
about the drivers wanting sexual
favors from women.
For the drive, obviously,
telling them first it's for
free.
When it comes to accommodation,
there are also a lot of stories
we heard, even abuse in terms of
slavery work, so working for
-- working super hard for
accommodation and being abused
mentally.
Rosie: Olha fomina and alla
haivoronska who both fled dnipro
in southeast Ukraine alone, or
waiting for elzbieta at this
border-town train station.
Amid all the distress of
displacement, they are grateful
for the ride to Warsaw.
>> Yesterday I was walking
around dnipro looking at all the
monuments.
I felt that it could be my last
time, because I don't know if I
will see them again.
It was so painful.
>> It is misery like this that
can offer fertile ground for
human traffickers and criminals
seeking to profit from
desperation.
Especially when most of those
escaping are women and children.
Police quickly realized the
risks.
>> We have adopted a zero
tolerance policy.
We have sent a lot of uniformed
police officers to the border.
They even traveled by trains
with refugees so they could feel
safe moving further into Poland.
We have also sent plain clothes
officers to monitor the
situation and we used cameras
and other gadgets to track the
license plates of the cars
coming to pick up refugees.
Rosie: Around seven million
people have crossed from Ukraine
into Poland since the day of the
invasion last February.
Here at the polish-ukrainian
border, signs remind refugees to
keep safety in mind. They say
most people have good intentions
but some may wish to exploit
vulnerabilities.
For many, making it here, onto
eu and nato soil, is a relief.
But for some, the road ahead
brings new risks.
As millions of Ukrainians settle
into life across Europe, an
unsettling trend lingers beneath
the surface.
Web searches for Ukrainian
refugee pouring -- porn surged
in the first half of this year.
Regina, who asked us to use her
first name only, is not
surprised.
She received an online offer of
rent-free accommodation in
exchange for housework and sex
with the host.
And says she feels the fear and
discomfort of objectification in
daily life.
>> Even in Facebook, in normal
communication with Polish men,
often, dialogue starts with some
parts of my body, for example.
Or asking if I like to swim
without clothes.
And I think that only with
Ukrainian girls this situation
can be because we are afraid of
many things in this country.
We don't know our rights.
Rosie: It was finding fair
employment which proved tricky
for Tatiana.
For months, she worked
undocumented as a cleaner and
had most of her wages withheld.
With little in the way of local
language skills, she felt
especially exposed.
>> Week after week, month after
month, I was waiting for
payment, but they paid me just a
small part of what I was owed.
In the end it was all empty
promises.
The company thinks that they can
fool us because we are
Ukrainians.
Rosie: We asked Tatiana's former
employer for comment but
received no reply.
The Polish government, like the
rest of the European union,
offers all Ukrainians fleeing
war access to work and residence
permits for up to three years.
But despite its best efforts to
protect refugees through one-off
support payments, free hotlines
and job-search support, a lack
of local knowledge and language
barriers can leave some slipping
through the net.
That's a global phenomenon.
Migrants are three times more
likely to be trapped in
exploitative working conditions.
Often hidden in sectors like
agriculture, construction or
manufacturing.
In Poland, thousands of manual
jobs were once filled by
Ukrainian men who lived in the
country but have now left to
fight for their homeland.
Now, migrants from across the
world are filling those jobs,
finding themselves newly
vulnerable to exploitation.
Eu home affairs commissioner
ylva Johansson is tasked with
tackling trafficking and
organised crime across the bloc.
She has made it her mission to
turn things around.
>> We are looking into setting
up a special expert group of
prosecutors that are specialised
into these specific crimes to
have more people convicted.
I'm also looking into whether we
should strengthen the sanctions
directive on how employers did
their responsibility for
employers to make sure they do
not use or exploit people on the
labor market.
Rosie: Back in Poland, Ela hopes
to offer refugees more than just
a ride in future.
She is busy building a shelter
for up to 80 Ukrainians near
Warsaw.
>> This place is just dedicated
to women and their children so
they can have a safety bubble
and be in it for a while.
Rosie: For now this aspiring
sanctuary faces mounting costs
and remains under construction.
Like the dreams of so many
Ukrainians who hoped they would
never have to leave home behind
at all.
For the pbs newshour, I am Rosie