Embattled Federal Agency Failed To Verify Ukraine Aid Partners Weren’t Enabling Sex Trafficking

A foreign aid agency under scrutiny from President Donald Trump did not properly vet humanitarian groups it funded to prevent sexual abuse of Ukrainian war victims, a watchdog report says.

A Thursday report by the agency’s inspector general office at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) found the agency did not follow its own policies on approving aid for war-torn Ukraine and refused to fully follow the report’s recommendations to fix the problem. The probe adds to ongoing criticism of USAID’s handling of taxpayer dollars as the Trump administration moves to shut the agency down – to the dismay of some on the left.

The inspector general’s office found that more than 90% of Ukraine funding awards “between February 2022 and September 2023” lacked “prevention and reporting measures” required to show that aid groups were protecting Ukrainians from rampant human trafficking dangers.

Media reports and international advocacy groups warned that Ukrainian women fleeing the war with Russia are a prime target for sex traffickers, some of whom have reportedly been spotted near aid shelters in Europe.

The inspector general’s office noted that “approximately 90 percent of the people who fled the country” after Russia invaded in 2022 “were women and children, with women at the greatest risk of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), human trafficking, and forced prostitution.”

The aid groups were required to explain their measures to safeguard their clients when applying for USAID funding, the report said. Many applications “lacked sufficient detail” on the issue and did not meet USAID’s standards, but the agency funded the organizations anyway – to the tune of around $750 million.

USAID then failed to properly monitor the organizations’ compliance with its prevention policies. “Due to movement restrictions in Ukraine, staff relied on virtual meetings and a third-party monitor” to conduct oversight, the inspector general’s office found.

The office said it received zero reports of sexual abuse affecting USAID partners in Ukraine by August despite the likelihood of such cases, raising fears that they were going “underreported.”

USAID addressed the office’s concerns in a December 2024 response, agreeing to two of its three procedural suggestions. It refused a proposal to ask “questions” about “protection from sexual exploitation and abuse-related guidance” while inspecting aid sites.

The agency claimed questioning the entities it pays about “highly stigmatized and sensitive topics … may result in further harming the very people USAID is meant to support and is not consistent with best, evidence based practice.”

Since Trump closed USAID in February, conservative figures and organizations have criticized numerous actions throughout its history, while others say it is needed to help vulnerable populations around the world and advance “democracy.”

“USAID is a prime example of the fraud, waste, and abuse that American taxpayers are tired of funding,” Terry Schilling, president of the conservative American Principles Project, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Instead of functioning as a responsible government agency, it has been writing checks to programs that clearly should not exist with the help of Joe Biden and other Democrat leaders.”

The White House removed Paul Martin as inspector general Tuesday as it attempts to dissolve the agency, the New York Post reported. USAID’s website no longer functions and it could not be reached for comment.

The Trump administration now faces court rulings blocking the aid freeze and its plans to dismantle USAID.

USAID and the State Department allowed millions of dollars to go toward foreign terrorists and leftist advocacy groups before Trump announced a pause on foreign aid programs. American Principles Project also released a database on Feb. 6 of USAID’s history of funding “Gender Ideology” around the world.

“Instead of owning up to the corruption,” Schilling told the DCNF, “Democrats have thrown public hissy fits. Their pandering to the public is an embarrassment at best.”

“President Trump and Elon Musk need to continue to root out all the waste that has infected our government agencies, but it doesn’t stop there,” Schilling said. “Congress must cut funding across the board so our government agencies stop acting as a slush fund for the radical left to destroy our country and wreak havoc across the world.”

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