Sisters We Need to Talk About Staying Safe

Sisters we need to talk about……staying safe.

We just wanted to address some criticism that we have seen over the past six months and again more recently for our female-only policy in our main Facebook group. We wanted to share a bit of the history of why Sunflower Sisters exists and hopefully help to make it clearer what we set out to do.

Back in March when the first discussions began about women and families from Ukraine relocating to the UK Alice had the idea of a group to support them. It wasn’t about finding homes or matching but about offering female support, solidarity, and companionship to those dealing with these difficult choices and challenging times.

Women in Ukraine and in the countries of Europe to which they fled were at high risk of sex trafficking and this was raised as a concern by many who were just looking for a place of safety. Some had experienced sexual violence and atrocities in their home areas by the invading soldiers (imagine how difficult that is to experience anywhere, let alone in the place where you should feel safest, your home) and in these circumstances, it is hard to feel safe with any men, let alone strangers.

Additionally, once our visa scheme opened, we began to hear rumours of predatory approaches from people in other groups, making inappropriate suggestions or offers in return for sponsorship or accommodation. Soon we were getting approached to help with this process to try and keep everyone safe – the rumours, unfortunately, proving to be all too true.

We have always only allowed females to join our group.

Although we realise that not all females are ‘safe’ and trustworthy, just as all men are not dangerous or untrustworthy, it DOES lessen the odds of certain unwelcome advances. We have group rules that are agreed to on joining and membership questions that need to be answered before membership is granted. (If someone you know is struggling to join, not completing this section or agreeing on rules is likely the reason). We have a team that checks the profiles before joining and often asks for clarification or further information.

We constantly monitor posts on the page for content but please do report to group admins anything you feel is not right – we cannot 100% guarantee everything but we definitely try to keep everyone as safe as possible with your help.

Although our main Facebook group is all female people can and do often contact us privately or through our public page for help. We have helped numerous male sponsors and Ukrainian men outside of the group and our sponsor support is also open to everyone.

We have been lucky enough to come across many men who understand our ethos and why we need the safe space that we try to create for vulnerable women. Many work with us outside of the Facebook group and direct women to us for help. We appreciate everyone who offers genuine help and support.