Behind the Scheme: Challenges Faced by Social Workers Addressing Safeguarding Issues in Housing for Ukrainian Refugees in the U.K.

• In Event: Criminology of Mobility. Panel 3. Refugees and social control

Abstract

The rapid commencement and advancement of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine saw many countries, particularly European countries, hastily develop sponsorship schemes tailored for the influx of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict. Within the United Kingdom, the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which allowed non-related hosts to house Ukrainian refugees in their own home or other accommodation, became a notable example of these sponsorship schemes. (Home Office, 2022) However, the British Association of Social Workers were one of the first national groups to raise the alarm on potential and on-going safeguarding issues within the scheme’s infrastructure. (BASW, 2022) Some of these issues pertain to a lack of a centrally coordinated matching mechanism for host and individual/family to be matched through, which has resulted in informal matching primarily developed over social media, as well as a lack of expert driven placement assessments. These notable safeguarding issues raise significant concern not only for the Home for Ukraine scheme and the safety of the refugee/s and hosts, but also for the well-being of social workers on the ground attempting to identify and address these issues first-hand.

There has been very little research devoted to documenting these types of safeguarding issues and their impact on social workers. Thus, this presentation will discuss preliminary results of an exploratory, online survey that has documented the perspectives of social workers directly supporting both host communities and refugees within the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Through an online survey, this research will focus on social workers’ experiences in identifying and addressing these safeguarding issues and the impact of this role on their well-being.

Authors

• Ashley Michelle Perry, International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute

• Anna Markovska, IPPPRI Anglia Ruskin University