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Ukraine Emergency – UNHCR Poland Protection Factsheet (15 August 2022)

Attachments

KEY FIGURES

Over 5.4 million views of UNHCR Poland HELP page, making it the most visited page on the site globally

10,697 respondents have been interviewed for protection profiling, and 2,192 refugees using the protection monitoring tool

10 community centres providing counselling and assistance active across Poland, including Blue Dots

Over 31,500 refugees from more than 14,000 households received in person support and counselling in Blue Dots in Poland

876 people benefitted from protection-related trainings conducted by UNHCR and partners

What protection risks do refugees from Ukraine face?

As almost all refugees from Ukraine arriving in Poland are women, children and older people, the high level of distress, family separation resulting in large numbers of unaccompanied and separated children and single parents, and risks of genderbased violence, sexual exploitation and abuse are multiplied. Trafficking risks by those who might try to exploit refugees’ vulnerability with promises of free transport, accommodation, employment, or other forms of assistance are heightened.
UNHCR’s work to protect refugees in Poland includes information and communication with communities, identification of people with specific needs, referrals to specialised services and legal counselling. These interventions are increasingly tailored to specific groups, including the LGBTIQ+ community, people with disability, isolated older persons, minorities, and women and girls at risk.

How does UNHCR help to protect refugees from Ukraine?

UNHCR works with authorities and partners to promote legal and physical protection for refugees, helping them to reach safety, identifying those in need of support — like women at risk, children separated from their parents or other family members, persons with disabilities, and older people without support.
UNHCR staff and partners in Poland speak with refugees in person, via phone and online to find out what kind of support they need and use these findings to shape their operational response. Protection monitoring and mapping the needs of people forced to flee are essential activities to understand their ever-changing situation during an emergency. It enables UNHCR to allocate aid where it is needed most, as well as to engage host communities, authorities and partners more effectively by advising them about refugee needs.
UNHCR leads the overarching refugee coordination structure in Poland, including the Protection Sector, the Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence subsectors, the Accountability to Affected Populations working group, and the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Technical working group and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) network. Protection is mainstreamed across other sectors and working groups, including on cash, trafficking, third country nationals, education, health.