Them high impact, regularly featured in the media and even inciting demonstrations and protests against the Kremlin in places such as Cannes Y San Francisco. Numerous Ukrainian women reported being attacked and raped by Russian troops in the weeks they continued to occupy their cities and towns before retreating. While the UN claims to have received more than one hundreds of complaintsNon-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch have documented some cases and even Soon to elucidate whether sexual abuse is used as a weapon of war by invading troops, that is, whether it constitutes a policy that has the approval of military commanders, or whether it is instead related to individual cases whose responsibility is ultimately liable. an individual nature. Ukrainian NGOs he claims to have counted dozens of cases, and he thinks they are nothing more than one case. the tip of the iceberg There is no information on what is going on as many victims need time to acknowledge the trauma and report these crimes.
“We have conflicting evidence as to whether the rape was used as a weapon of war by the Russian troops; in one incident in the town of Bucha, it was the gang rape of two soldiers, the commander knew about it and even joined him. ; In the second case, in Kherson, the person in charge broke in at the time of the violation and threatened the perpetrator,” he stresses. Julia Gorbunovaof the Human Rights Watch. The researcher asked for more time to explain what her pattern of action was, and cautioned that the fact that her organization was only able to document “four cases” does not mean that “rape was not used as a weapon.” war.” “These are very sensitive crimes and it can take months for victims to accept them,” he says.
The UN claimed to have received complaints 124 cases, As noted pramilla patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict. Of these, he was able to document. a total of 2412 of them were attributed to Russian troops or pro-Russian militia, five perpetrated by Ukrainian forces and Seven some of them are in the territory under the control of kyiv. in total 44 the rest could not be verified 48 cases awaiting review.
women but also men
For its part, la Strada, a Ukrainian NGO focused on gender equality issues, 17 alleged violations Those deemed responsible committed by Russian soldiers and two others in Ukrainian-controlled territory will be killed. citizens of Ukraine. “The first complaint I received was on March 4, when a woman from the occupied territories told us how difficult the situation was, via a phone call, after talking for 40 minutes she confessed that she had been raped by the Russians.” explains over the phone. Ukraine Alona Krivuliakorganization worker. Among all the victims treated, a 19-year-old man from Mariupol stands out in particular, who managed to evacuate and reach the territory under the control of the army. Kyiv government. The activist explains that she has not only been “repeatedly gang-raped”, but also made “sexual slaves” of the occupiers. “He’s not gay, he was in a relationship with someone. a girland now, the most important thing, neutralize guilt for allowing and not resisting abuse; We’re trying to tell him that he’s doing the right thing because in a situation like this, every person’s priority should be to save their life,” she continues.
Generally speaking, Krivulak argues that a deep sense of helplessness and insecurity persists among victims of sexual abuse in the Ukraine war. “A lot they are unwilling to talk; Those living in the areas where the Russians have withdrawn are afraid they may return and the nightmare will begin again,” Krivulak continues.
While the extent of the acts of sexual violence perpetrated during the Ukraine war has not yet been clarified, an additional problem that arises is the practical impossibility of having an abortion in Poland, one of the main reception countries for Ukrainian refugees. Polish feminist organizations, for example Abortion Dream Team anyone Dziwechiki Foundation decided to launch an information campaign to make refugee women aware of the possibility of abortion. The Ukrainian state has created a hotline to deal with victims of alleged war crimes and its members, sexual abuse when they appear.