Just under half of girls who undertook an au pair placement ran away from their host family’s home before their term had finished, a survey exclusive to Ulysses has found.  

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The analysis conducted earlier this year focused on 100 responses from a variety of both UK and international private Facebook au pairs groups. It revealed that 47% of respondents ran away before their placement term had come to an end, and a further 13% were kicked out by their host families.

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This shocking stat reveals the depth of unhappiness in a notoriously unregulated industry.

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Sarah von Gagne, a Canadian au pair to Italy who was forced to run away two months into her placement due to the unbearable conditions reveals: “I ended up having no money and no permanent place of residence. Then I was couch-surfing not knowing any Italian. I even started to dress like a boy so I wouldn’t get harassed.”

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Cynthia Cary, Executive Committee Member of the British Au Pair Agencies Association (BAPAA) has before spoken out about the link between exploitative au pairing experiences and not registering through an agency.

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This trend sees au pairs and families connect either through online forums such as Facebook or through free websites such as AuPairWorld.

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She believes this creates a considerable risk factor for au pairs by introducing them to potentially unsuitable families: “Au pairs think they can save themselves money by not registering with an agency, fine, if you want to take that risk. We try and shape policy, we try and implement best practice, but they are not law. There is no law.”

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