[DailyMail] Calais aid workers volunteering in the Jungle have been accused of having sex with migrants, some of whom are believed to be underage, according to a whistle blower. The revelations have caused a furious row on Facebook, with some volunteers claiming the allegations should have remained secret and criticised the whistle blower for expressing his concerns. According to the whistle blower, some volunteers avail of the service of the Jungle camp prostitutes, while others have multiple partners in one day.
One whistleblower revealed the extent of sexual abuse of vulnerable refugees at the Jungle camp at the hands of unscrupulous aid workers, some of whom use the women as prostitutes. Other aid workers have complained that unscrupulous volunteers are treating the camp like a 'free for all festival' and 'find it difficult to keep it in their pants'.
The original allegations were aired on a Facebook thread concerning the People to People Solidarity group, which has since been deleted.
It was claimed that female volunteers were more likely to have sex with male migrants than any other combination. One volunteer was described as having 'a bad reputation' for sleeping with male refugees and was asked to leave the camp.
One male volunteer had to be 'persuaded by other male volunteers' against returning due to his 'inappropriate behaviour with female refugees'.
Some volunteers have claimed critics are more interested in maintaining their reputation than preventing further incidents of sexual abuse in a similar manner to the Catholic Church. Another criticised volunteers who did not want to address the exploitation issue publicly.
According to the original post, the whistle blower claimed: 'I have heard of boys, believed to be under the age of consent, having sex with volunteers. I have heard stories of men using the prostitutes in the Jungle too. I have heard of volunteers having sex with multiple partners in one day, only to carry on in the same vein the following day.
'And I also know, that I'm only hearing a small part of a wider scale of abuse.'
Several volunteers severely criticised the whistleblower for discussing the abuse allegations in an open forum.
However, one volunteer defended him claiming: 'It always really worries me that we're more concerned with the press/our reputation than we are with the sexual abuse itself.'
According to the Independent, some volunteers believe sexual relationships between aid workers and refugees is 'natural' while others believe it breaks the 'usual codes of conduct'.
The UNHCR said it has a 'zero tolerance' policy concerning the sexual exploitation of refugees in such camps.
However, some of the volunteer groups in the camp do not have clearly defined 'codes of conduct', while others complain about so-called 'independent volunteers' who are not attached to any particular group.
Clare Mosely, founder of Care4Calais told the Independent: 'At the end of the day it isn't recognised as an official refugee camp, it's an illegal settlement. So we’ve got no way of forcing anyone to leave. That is the difficulty.'
Care4Calais has a 'zero tolerance' policy concerning sexual relations between volunteers and camp inhabitants.
Another volunteer wrote: 'In my view, most defo beyond inappropriate - breaches all sorts of codes, highlights massive deficit of integrity, blurs reciprocal boundaries beyond measure.
'Pretty much no different to sex tourism. This is the sort of stuff that makes others with better resolve, cringe - need to have a rocksolid mindset that separates the camp environment from that of a freeforall "festival" - if you're incapable of "keeping it in your pants" then consider whether you ought to be there.'
Another contributor added: 'So the concerns around exploitation of vulnerable people should be 'kept private' should they? 'kept within the group' .
'Whatever your feelings on sex between volunteers and refugees it is clear that it is a very important subject to discuss OPENLY.
'The press is a perfectly valid place to analyse and protect vulnerable people. It is exactly this notion of protecting people that ensured children were abused for years within childrens homes and the Catholic Church.'