Ukrainian teenager with special needs trafficked to Ireland

Last week, Tusla said it was dealing with an "unprecedented" situation regarding unaccompanied children arriving here, not just from Ukraine.

A teenage girl from Ukraine was taken into emergency care amid fears she had been trafficked here and that she had been groomed in her home country.

The case of the girl, who may have an intellectual disability and who is also suspected of having suffered neglect back in Ukraine, is among the latest batch of cases highlighted by the Child Law Project, which reports on family law cases, often involving neglect and abuse.

It comes amid heightened concerns over the possibility of Ukrainian children being trafficked into Ireland as the war there continues and with Tusla admitting it is under pressure due to the number of unaccompanied minors arriving here.

According to the case study included in the latest batch of Child Law Project reports, a District Court made an emergency care order in respect of an unaccompanied minor who had arrived in Ireland from Ukraine in the company of a man who was no relation to her.

The social worker told the court that the child presented at the Ukrainian centre at the airport with no identification and accompanied by a man. The child was interviewed by a social worker and initially said that the man was her uncle but then said that he was her cousin. It later transpired that the man was not related to her at all.

According to the CLP report, the girl told authorities that she met the man in school and had known him for four years, that he bought her nice things and that her parents didn’t look after her. Tusla had attempted to make telephone contact with the girl’s family using numbers in the child’s phone, but had been unsuccessful and it was understood her mother and grandmother were in two different EU countries.

One of the people contacted, the mother’s former partner, told Tusla that the man the girl was with was not a good man and that she should be taken away from him.

The man was arrested and interviewed by the gardaí, but was later released without charge and his whereabouts were currently unknown.

According to the report, the court was informed that the girl asked repeatedly if she could speak with the man and said that she wanted to speak to him about "a lady issue". The court was told that she presented as a very vulnerable person and while she said she was 17 and provided a passport, the social worker told the court that she presented as much younger.

The girl said she attended a special school in the Ukraine and that her stepfather drank vodka all of the time.

'Unprecedented'

Last week, Tusla said it was dealing with an "unprecedented" situation regarding unaccompanied children arriving here, not just from Ukraine.

Of the 386 such referrals Tusla has received since the start of the year, 113 were from Ukraine, 62 of whom are in the care system.

A Tusla spokesperson said plans are currently being finalised for a further national campaign later in the summer to recruit foster carers for those arriving unaccompanied from overseas, and for foster carers generally. Tusla has also commissioned three new Residential Care Units since the start of the Ukrainian crisis to expand its capacity to meet the increasing demand.

CEO of the Child Law Project, Dr Maria Corbett, said the case showed the importance of having social workers involved in the identification process at ports and airports, adding that while the arrival of any unaccompanied minor carried risks, the CRP was not aware of any other such case involving people from Ukraine.

Executive Director of the Child Law Project, Dr Carol Coulter, said: “While the majority of Ukrainians arriving into Ireland are coming as family groups, there are a small number of separated children arriving on their own. 

"With such a large and chaotic movement of people across borders, trafficking and exploitation can arise. The Child and Family Agency is to be commended for its efforts to safeguard this child.”