Ukrainians endure horror: Sexual violence in occupied zones
"People do not understand," says Halina, a resident of Irpin. She witnessed many human tragedies that occurred when Russia attacked her homeland, Ukraine. Unfortunately, sexual violence is an inseparable part of aggression by wartime oppressors.
7:31 PM EST, November 20, 2024
Destruction, rape, torture, death. This is the everyday reality for the residents of Ukraine in the areas where the war is ongoing. In Irpin, a town not far from Kyiv, Halina says that the victims of Russian soldiers are not only women but also children and men. Often, the torture was inflicted in view of their loved ones.
Command center and site of cruel crimes
During the war in Ukraine, the town of Irpin became a Russian command center. As Halina told Welt, Russian soldiers started entering homes where unimaginable dramas unfolded. In 2022, when the town was liberated, the scale of cruelty became visible: destroyed homes, torture basements, mass graves, including those of raped and murdered women.
Halina herself went through a harrowing ordeal. One day, two Russians demanded she undress completely. One of the men fled, while the other pushed her into the house, into one of the rooms, and laid her on a couch beneath photos of her granddaughter. Halina was raped. Afterwards, she experienced convulsions and fever. She filed a complaint and described in detail what happened to her. Later, she was interrogated as if the case concerned the theft of chickens.
According to a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, Russian forces regularly employ wartime practices that include sexual violence and torture. The number of victims is difficult to estimate.
"Where there is occupation, there is sexual violence"
Oksana Korolowych cares for victims of sexual violence and is in constant contact with doctors in areas under Russian occupation.
- Where there is occupation, there is sexual violence. It's one of the methods we are considering. It's become a daily reality - Oksana explains in an interview with Welt.
She adds that there came a time when doctors working in hospitals began only treating the physical effects of rape because the number of victims was so high. Oksana personally knows families who lived under Russian occupation.
- All these families have experienced this: they saw women in the family being raped, or the entire family, including husbands and children. Sometimes it happened multiple times - she reveals.
Victims of rape also need legal assistance, which is provided, among others, by the non-governmental organization East Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives (EUCCI).
- It's about transforming the victims of such crimes into subjects, not objects - emphasizes Nadia Nesterenko from the aforementioned organization.
Such practical help is also extremely important. People who suffered traumatic experiences have the right to seek compensation. Very often, they require expensive treatment. Many rape victims have been deprived of their teeth, which has consequences for both their social and professional lives.
