Sexual violence in the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Difference between revisions

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removing "mass rape" and "rape as weapon of war". We cannot say this with wikivoice as we don't have enough independent RSs supporting these WP:EXCEPTIONAL claims. Removed repetion: since we provide the ratio of Ukr/Russian crimes, there's no need of the unsupportred claim "much smaller"
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'''Sexual violence in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine''' has been committed by [[Armed Forces of Russia]], including rape of children.<ref name="KyivIndep_hide_the_girls"/> As of May 2022, about 82.4% of cases of sexual violence related to the conflict that were reported by the [[United Nations]] were alleged to have been perpetrated by Russian or Russian-aligned combatants, while about 9.25% were reported to have been committed by the [[Ukrainian Armed Forces]] or [[National Police of Ukraine|law enforcement]].<ref name="OHCHR_June" /><ref name="HRW_UA_apparent_war_crimes" />
'''Sexual violence in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine''' has been committed by [[Armed Forces of Russia]], including the use of mass rape as a weapon of war and rape and torture of children.<ref name="KyivIndep_hide_the_girls"/> A much smaller number of accusations has also been made against Ukrainian forces. As of May 2022, about 82.4% of cases of sexual violence related to the conflict that were reported by the [[United Nations]] were alleged to have been perpetrated by Russian or Russian-aligned combatants, while about 9.25% were reported to have been committed by the [[Ukrainian Armed Forces]] or [[National Police of Ukraine|law enforcement]].<ref name="OHCHR_June" /><ref name="HRW_UA_apparent_war_crimes" />


==Risk factors==
==Risk factors==
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==Rape by soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces==
==Rape by soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces==
===Overall scale===
===Overall scale===
According to the ''Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict'' data set, sexual violence by Russian forces has been reported in three of seven years of conflict since 2014 in eastern Ukraine.<ref name="WashPost_are_RU_troops_using" /> On 29 June, 2022, the OHCHR reported that it had received 108 allegations of conflict related sexual violence and it had verified 23 cases. Out of 108 allegations, there were 78 allegations of rape, including gang rape, 7 of attempted rape, 15 of forced public stripping, and 8 of other forms of sexual violence. The alleged perpetrators were Russian soldiers in 87 cases, pro-Russian separatists in 2 cases, and civilians or unidentified actors in territory controlled by Russian armed forces in 2 cases, and they were Ukrainian armed forces in 9 cases, Ukrainian law enforcement in 1 case, and civilians and unidentified actors in Government-controlled territory in 7 cases.<ref name="OHCHR_June" />
According to the ''Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict'' data set, sexual violence by Russian forces has been reported in three of seven years of conflict since 2014 in eastern Ukraine.<ref name="WashPost_are_RU_troops_using" /> On 29 June, 2022, the OHCHR reported that it had received 108 allegations of conflict related sexual violence and it had verified 23 cases. Out of 108 allegations, there were 78 allegations of rape, including gang rape, 7 of attempted rape, 15 of forced public stripping, and 8 of other forms of sexual violence. The alleged perpetrators were Russian soldiers in 87 cases, pro-Russian separatists in 2 cases, and civilians or unidentified actors in territory controlled by Russian armed forces in 2 cases.<ref name="OHCHR_June" />


On 3 April, [[La Strada International Association|La Strada Ukraine]], which runs a hotline for helping survivors of [[human trafficking]], sexual assault and domestic violence, stated that rape is underreported and stigmatised in peacetime and that the cases known to the organisation could be "the tip of the iceberg".<ref name="Guardian_rape_as_a_weapon" />
On 3 April, [[La Strada International Association|La Strada Ukraine]], which runs a hotline for helping survivors of [[human trafficking]], sexual assault and domestic violence, stated that rape is underreported and stigmatised in peacetime and that the cases known to the organisation could be "the tip of the iceberg".<ref name="Guardian_rape_as_a_weapon" />
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''[[The New York Times]]'' described one woman "held as a sex slave, naked except for a fur coat and locked in a potato cellar before being executed", found after the [[Kyiv offensive (2022)#Ukrainian counter offensive (16 March – 4 April)|late March 2022 liberation of the Kyiv region]].<ref name="NYT_they_shot_my_son" /> Bucha mayor [[Anatoliy Fedoruk]] stated that at least 25 rapes had been reported during [[Bucha massacre]].<ref name="MoscowTimes_Biden_accuses_Putin" />
''[[The New York Times]]'' described one woman "held as a sex slave, naked except for a fur coat and locked in a potato cellar before being executed", found after the [[Kyiv offensive (2022)#Ukrainian counter offensive (16 March – 4 April)|late March 2022 liberation of the Kyiv region]].<ref name="NYT_they_shot_my_son" /> Bucha mayor [[Anatoliy Fedoruk]] stated that at least 25 rapes had been reported during [[Bucha massacre]].<ref name="MoscowTimes_Biden_accuses_Putin" />

==Ukrainian forces==
Since the beginning of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion]], videos circulated on social media and local media outlets showing people believed to be "marauders", bootleggers, pro-Russian supporters and curfew violators being tied to electricity poles or trees and beaten in public.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lauvergnier |first=Chloé |date=1 April 2022 |title=Ukraine: People accused of looting tied to poles, stripped and beaten |url=https://observers.france24.com/en/europe/20220404-ukraine-poles-public-humiliation-punishment-looting |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=[[France 24]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smart |first=Jason Jay |date=6 May 2022 |title=Tethered to the pole: the appearance of vigilante justice in Ukraine |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/tethered-to-the-pole-the-appearance-of-vigilante-justice-in-ukraine.html |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=[[Kyiv Post]]}}</ref> Perpetrators were civilians, police officers and members of the territorial defence.<ref name="HRMMU_update_UA_26March2022" /> On 26 March 2022, a report by the [[UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine]] (HRMMU) noted that this practice may constitute a form of conflcit-related sexual violence, when alleged marauders are partially or fully stripped.<ref name="HRMMU_update_UA_26March2022" /> The HRMMU report also mentioned the case of a captured Russian soldier who was threatened with castration on camera.<ref name="HRMMU_update_UA_26March2022" />

On 29 June, the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|OHCHR]] reported that out of 23 verified cases of conclifct-related sexual violence, 5 cases were committed by Ukrainian armed forces and policemen, and consisted in forced denudation and threats of sexual violence.<ref name="OHCHR_June" /> The human rights agency also noted that forced public stripping of suspected looters may qualify as conflict-related sexual violence.<ref name="OHCHR_June">{{Cite report |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/situation-human-rights-ukraine-context-armed-attack-russian-federation |title=The situation of human rights in Ukraine in the context of the armed attack by the Russian Federation, 24 February to 15 May 2022 |date=29 June 2022 |publisher=[[OHCHR]] |access-date=4 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112851/https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/situation-human-rights-ukraine-context-armed-attack-russian-federation |archive-date=2 July 2022 |url-status=live |at=para. 96-102}}</ref>

==Sexual violence during refugee crisis==
==Sexual violence during refugee crisis==
{{Main|2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis}}
{{Main|2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis}}

Revision as of 15:53, 21 December 2022

See also: Women in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine § War crimes and violence against women, and War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
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Sexual violence in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has been committed by Armed Forces of Russia, including the use of mass rape as a weapon of war and rape and torture of children.[1] A much smaller number of accusations has also been made against Ukrainian forces. As of May 2022, about 82.4% of cases of sexual violence related to the conflict that were reported by the United Nations were alleged to have been perpetrated by Russian or Russian-aligned combatants, while about 9.25% were reported to have been committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces or law enforcement.[2][3]

Risk factors

In its report covering the initial period of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, from 24 February to 26 March 2022, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) listed four types of risks of sexual violence. Increased military presence and activities in civilian areas, the destruction of homes and infrastructure, internal displacement, and high numbers of women and girls leaving Ukraine caused high risks of conflict-related sexual violence and human trafficking.[4] OHCHR stated that reports to the National hotline for the prevention of domestic violence, trafficking in human beings and gender discrimination[5][6] indicated a high risk of sexual violence, and that several factors made under-reporting likely.[4]

Rape by soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces

Overall scale

According to the Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict data set, sexual violence by Russian forces has been reported in three of seven years of conflict since 2014 in eastern Ukraine.[7] On 29 June, 2022, the OHCHR reported that it had received 108 allegations of conflict related sexual violence and it had verified 23 cases. Out of 108 allegations, there were 78 allegations of rape, including gang rape, 7 of attempted rape, 15 of forced public stripping, and 8 of other forms of sexual violence. The alleged perpetrators were Russian soldiers in 87 cases, pro-Russian separatists in 2 cases, and civilians or unidentified actors in territory controlled by Russian armed forces in 2 cases.[2]

On 3 April, La Strada Ukraine, which runs a hotline for helping survivors of human trafficking, sexual assault and domestic violence, stated that rape is underreported and stigmatised in peacetime and that the cases known to the organisation could be "the tip of the iceberg".[8]

Rape and torture of children

In late September 2022, a panel of investigators from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine[9] released a statement which said that the commission has "documented cases in which children have been raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined." and labeled these as war crimes. The same report also referenced children being killed and injured by Russia's indiscriminate attacks as well as forced separation from family and kidnapping.[10]

Notable cases

In late March, the Prosecutor General, Venediktova, started an investigation into a claim of Russian soldiers shooting a man and then raping his wife. The Times published an interview with the woman on 28 March. She stated that she was from a small village in Brovary Raion. According to her account, soldiers arrived at the couple's house, shot the couple's dog, shot the husband and said "You don’t have a husband anymore. I shot him with this gun. He was a fascist."[11] They held a gun to the wife's head and took turns to rape her while her son was in the boiler room of the house, crying. The two men took a 20 minute break and carried out the second round of rape, and later the third round of rape, by which time they were "so drunk they were barely standing". The wife escaped with her son, and testified to the police, and identified one of her alleged rapists from online social media profiles.[12]

Meduza published an in-depth account of the same rape (and of another) in Bogdanivka and of surrounding events.[13] Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the allegations as "a lie".[14] Venediktova stated that an arrest warrant for a Russian soldier based on "suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war" had been issued.[14][15] The OHCHR verified the allegation and described the case in its June 2022 report on human rights in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.[11]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on a 13 March beating and rape of a 31-year-old woman in the village of Mala Rohan in Kharkiv Raion, controlled at the time by the Russian Armed Forces. Around midnight on 13 March, a Russian soldier entered a school where the woman was sheltering with her family and other villagers. The soldier forced the woman to undress under gunpoint. He shot at the ceiling and raped the woman. The soldier threatened the woman with a knife, raped her again, cut her neck, cheek and hair with his knife, hit her face and slapped her. Around 7 am on 14 March, the soldier released the woman and left the building. The woman and her family walked to Kharkiv and received medical assistance.[3]

On 12 April 2022, BBC News interviewed a 50-year-old woman from a village 70 km west of Kyiv, who said that she was raped at gunpoint by a Chechen allied with the Russian Armed Forces. A 40-year-old woman was raped and killed by the same soldier, according to neighbours, leaving what BBC News described as a "disturbing crime scene". Police exhumed the 40-year-old's body the day after the visit by BBC News. The police chief of Kyiv Oblast, Andrii Nebytov, stated that the police were investigating a case on 9 March when Russian soldiers shot a man, two of them repeatedly raped the man's wife, and then the soldiers burnt the house and shot the family's dogs. Police exhumed the man's body.[16]

The New York Times described one woman "held as a sex slave, naked except for a fur coat and locked in a potato cellar before being executed", found after the late March 2022 liberation of the Kyiv region.[17] Bucha mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk stated that at least 25 rapes had been reported during Bucha massacre.[18]

Sexual violence during refugee crisis

Main article: 2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis

There have been at least two separate cases of women and children refugees who were allegedly taken advantage of while they were fleeing the violence in Ukraine. A man was arrested in Poland in mid-March for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old refugee who reportedly had sought shelter and aid from the man and two men reportedly assaulted a Ukrainian teenage refugee who was staying in German accommodations for refugees.[19] Prior to the launch of the United Kingdom Governments housing scheme for refugees, one woman reported a man who attempted to have her stay with him and promised free accommodation, food, expenses and a monthly allowance in return for sex. The woman reportedly tried to rebuff the man, who only stopped after she informed him she was traveling with her mother.[20]

Claims of intent

Following the late March liberation of the Kyiv region and reports of gang rape, gunpoint sexual assaults, and rapes in front of children, The Guardian asserted that Ukrainian women were facing a threat of rape as a weapon of war.[8]

Canadian and UK Foreign Ministers Mélanie Joly and Liz Truss stated in late April 2022 that sexual violence was used in the invasion by Russian forces as a weapon of war. They described rape as a weapon of war to be "a systematic weapon to exert control and exercise power over women ... as destructive in conflict as chemical weapons or landmines, which are both banned by international conventions, but yet to be treated as seriously."[21][22]

In October 2022, a UN official stated that Russia was using rape as part of its "military strategy", and that the actual number of victims was likely far higher than the official statistics.[23]

Protests

Women held protests at Russian embassies against rape by Russian soldiers in the invasion. The women protested with bags over their heads, their hands tied behind their backs, and their bare legs covered in red liquid, symbolising blood, with four women protesting on 16 April 2022 in Dublin, Ireland,[24] and 80 women protesting on the same day in Vilnius, Lithuania.[25] On 20 April, a similar protest, by 130 women took place in front of the Russian embassy in Riga, Latvia,[26] and another was held by a dozen women in front of the Russian consulate in Gdańsk, Poland.[27]

Legal response

Ukraine's legislation in the field of (sexual) violence against women and domestic violence had been relatively weak at the start of the 21st century, and the penalties low.[28] In 2011, the Ukrainian government (under president Yanukovych) was one of the authors and first signers of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), but tough parliamentary opposition prevented its implementation in subsequent years, including a parliamentary majority voting against ratification in 2016.[28] Meanwhile, the risk of women becoming victims of gender-based violence significantly increased in eastern Ukraine ever since the Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014.[28] Throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, several Ukrainian organisations campaigned for better protection of human rights, pushing for ratification of the Convention as a means of achieving that goal.[28] On 6 December 2017, the Ukrainian parliament and government (under president Poroshenko) adopted several amendments to its Criminal Code, including consent-based definitions of sexual violence, in order to implement the Istanbul Convention.[29] The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in a surge of reports of domestic and sexual violence committed against civilians, particularly in the Russian-occupied territories, coupled with the Ukrainian government's desire to join the European Union and gain European support against the invasion, were compelling reasons for eventually ratifying the treaty in its entirety.[28] On 18 June 2022, president Zelenskyy registered in Parliament a bill on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. On 20 June 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported the ratification of the Istanbul Convention[30] by 259 votes against 8.[28] Ukraine submitted its instrument of ratification on 18 July 2022, meaning the Convention will enter into force in Ukraine on 1 November 2022.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ Myroniuk, Anna (2022-04-20). "'Hide the girls': How Russian soldiers rape and torture Ukrainians". Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  2. ^ a b The situation of human rights in Ukraine in the context of the armed attack by the Russian Federation, 24 February to 15 May 2022 (Report). OHCHR. 29 June 2022. para. 96-102. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Ukraine: Apparent War Crimes in Russia-Controlled Areas". Human Rights Watch. 2022-04-03. Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  4. ^ a b "Update on the human rights situation in Ukraine – Reporting period: 24 February – 26 March" (PDF). UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. 2022-03-26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  5. ^ "First free national anti-trafficking hotline in Ukraine to start today". Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 2002-11-18. Archived from the original on 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  6. ^ "La Strada Ukraine". La Strada International Association. 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  7. ^ Hallsdóttir, Esther (2022-03-24). "Are Russian troops using sexual violence as a weapon? Here's what we know". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  8. ^ a b McKernan, Bethan (2022-04-04). "Rape as a weapon: huge scale of sexual violence inflicted in Ukraine emerges". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  9. ^ "OHCHR | Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine". Archived from the original on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  10. ^ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (23 September 2022). "U.N. Experts find that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-09-24.
  11. ^ a b The situation of human rights in Ukraine in the context of the armed attack by the Russian Federation, 24 February to 15 May 2022 (Report). OHCHR. 29 June 2022. para. 101. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  12. ^ Philp, Catherine (2022-03-28). "'One soldier raped me, then the other, as my son cried'". The Times. Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  13. ^ "'I can do whatever I want to you' Russian soldiers raped and murdered Ukrainian civilians in the village of Bogdanivka". Meduza. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  14. ^ a b Engelbrecht, Cora (2022-03-29). "Reports of sexual violence involving Russian soldiers are multiplying, Ukrainian officials say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  15. ^ "Ukraine charges Russian soldier with raping a woman and murdering her husband, the first rape trial from the invasion". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  16. ^ Limaye, Yogita (2022-04-12). "Ukraine conflict: 'Russian soldiers raped me and killed my husband'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  17. ^ Gall, Carlotta; Berehulak, Daniel (2022-04-11). "'They shot my son. I was next to him. It would be better if it had been me.' – Bucha's Month of Terror". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  18. ^ Peuchot, Emmanuel (2022-04-13). "Biden Accuses Putin of Ukraine Genocide as Humanitarian Corridors Paused". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  19. ^ Reis, Chen (March 28, 2022). "Ukrainian female refugees are fleeing a war, but in some cases more violence awaits them where they find shelter". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  20. ^ Bradley, Jane (2022-04-01). "Ukraine-Russia: Homes for Ukraine scheme exploited by men offering shelter in return for sex, Scots charity warns". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-19. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2022-04-08 suggested (help)
  21. ^ Paas-Lang, Christian (2022-04-24). "Foreign minister decries sexual violence in Ukraine; top commander highlights information warfare". CBC. Archived from the original on 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  22. ^ Joly, Mélanie; Truss, Liz (2022-04-21). "Sexual violence as a weapon of war in Ukraine – the world is watching". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  23. ^ Chen, Philip Wang,Tim Lister,Josh Pennington,Heather (2022-10-15). "Russia using rape as 'military strategy' in Ukraine: UN envoy". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Griffin, Niamg (2022-04-17). "'Rape is a weapon of war': Women protest outside Russian embassy in Dublin". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  25. ^ Balčiūnaitė, Sniegė (2022-04-19). "Protest outside Russian embassy in Vilnius draws attention to Ukrainian rape victims". LRT. Archived from the original on 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  26. ^ "Protest against the rape of Ukrainian women by russian army took place near russian embassy in Riga". Rubryka. 2022-04-20. Archived from the original on 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  27. ^ "Worki na głowach, związane ręce i poplamione majtki. Protest przeciw gwałtom pod konsulatem Rosji" [Bags on their heads, tied hands and stained underwear. Protest against rape in front of the Russian consulate]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 2022-04-20. Archived from the original on 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  28. ^ a b c d e f Asami Terajima (20 June 2022). "Ukraine ratifies Istanbul convention 11 years after signing treaty to curb gender-based violence". The Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Про внесення змін до Кримінального та Кримінального процесуального кодексів України з метою реалізації положень Конвенції Ради Європи про запобігання насильству стосовно жінок і домашньому насильству та боротьбу з цими явищами" [On amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of Ukraine in order to implement the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Violence...]. Official web-portal of the Parliament of Ukraine. 6 December 2017. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  30. ^ "Deputy of Ukraine have ratified the Istanbul Convention to gain EU candidate status". Unian.net. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  31. ^ "Ukraine ratifies the Istanbul Convention". coe.int. Council of Europe. 18 July 2022. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sexual_violence_in_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine&oldid=1128711877"