A new report has found that local men distributing food and other international aid in Syria have been withholding deliveries from women, unless they agree to give sexual favours.

“Examples were given of women or girls marrying officials for a short period of time for ‘sexual services’ in order to receive meals; distributors asking for telephone numbers of women and girls; giving them lifts to their houses ‘to take something in return’ or obtaining distributions ‘in exchange for a visit to her home’ or ‘in exchange for services, such as spending a night with them,’” the new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) study found.

The abuse was widespread across governorates in Syria’s south, and particularly affected vulnerable women and girls “without male protectors”, such as widows, divorcees and female IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), said the 2018 Voices from Syria report, which examines gender-based violence.

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An aid worker who spoke to the BBC said that in their experience, some women were refusing to go to aid distribution centres because “people would assume they had offered their bodies for the aid they brought home”.

The UN and partner charities told the BBC they had zero tolerance policies on exploitation, and were not aware of any cases or complaints against partner organisations working on the ground.

However, similar warnings about abuse were raised in 2015, highlighting the difficulties humanitarian agencies face when working in places with no access for international staff, relying on local government and third-party organisations.

Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Show all 8 1 /8 Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Sifting through plastic: the workshop uses plastic from bottles and other waste materials to produce liquid and gas fuels. The liquid is refined into gasoline, diesel and benzene fuels, which in turn are sold for domestic and commercial use Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Khodor, 20, at the workshop in the rebel-held and besieged neighbourhood of Douma, Damascus Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Back to basics: a man checks the heat of a pipe pouring with fuel Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Khodor, 20, must keep an eye on the burning plastic inside the workshop in Douma Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste A young man takes a container of the locally made fuel, which can be used for domestic heating and on farms and bakeries Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Abu Fahad on a rest break with his colleagues inside the workshop, where the air is heavy with toxic fumes Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Fuel drips into a container at the workshop. Most locals are glad of the family-run business, which has restored a degree of normality to the region Reuters Syrians make fuel from plastic waste Khodor extracts fuel from plastic in the workshop Reuters

A June 2015 investigation by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) questioned 190 women and girls from Dara’a and Quneitra, and found 40 per cent had experienced sexual violence while trying to access aid.

The findings along with a focus group study conducted in a refugee camp in Jordan were presented to a UNFPA meeting in Amman that year, leading several international organisations who attended to reform their monitoring and complaints mechanisms in Syria.

However, the abuses identified in the new study raise questions about the effectiveness of the current checks and balances in place.

Danielle Spencer, a humanitarian adviser who conducted the Jordan study, told the BBC that the aid sector wilfully ignores gender based violence to ensure it can still get aid to inaccessible parts of Syria.

“Sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls has been ignored; it’s been known about and ignored for seven years,” she said.