Since the beginning of the full-scale war, prosecutors have recorded 280 cases of sexual violence against Ukrainians committed by the Russian army. Among them are 101 cases of sexual violence against men and 179 cases against women. These include rape, mutilation or abuse of genitals, forced nudity, threats and attempts at rape, and forcing people to watch sexual abuse of loved ones.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General in response to a request from Slidstvo.Info.
In the more than two years of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the largest number of cases of sexual violence has been recorded in Kherson Oblast – 84, of which 50 were men. According to the statistics of the Office of the Prosecutor General, 53 cases of sexual violence were recorded in Kyiv oblast, including 1 case of abuse against men, 73 in Donetsk oblast (34 men), 30 in Kharkiv oblast (4 men), 18 in Zaporizhzhia oblast (7 men), 7 in Chernihiv oblast, 3 in Luhansk oblast (1 man), 10 in Mykolaiv oblast (3 men), and 2 in Sumy oblast (1 man).
Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is sexual violence that occurs in the context of armed conflict. CRSV encompasses physical and non-physical acts or threats of such acts and is directed against persons of any sex or gender and sexual orientation.
“When it comes to SRSV, some experts suggest using ‘sexualised violence’ instead of ‘sexual violence’, as they believe it will make it clearer that the perpetrator’s motive is to demonstrate power and control, not to gain sexual gratification,” the Prosecutor General’s Office explains.
However, when documenting and investigating cases of CRSV, the term “sexual violence” is used in accordance with international humanitarian law.
In 2023, the Office of the Prosecutor General established the Coordination Centre for Victims and Witnesses, which is tasked with providing full information support and coordination of psychological, social and legal assistance in cooperation with a wide range of partners from the state and public sector.
On 27 March, the Slidstvo.Info team will present a documentary about sexual violence against Ukrainian men committed by Russian army soldiers in Kherson torture chambers. The film “He Too: Stories of Ukrainian Men Abused by Russians” tells about the abuse of Ukrainians who were under occupation and held in Kherson torture chambers for their active pro-Ukrainian position. To force cooperation and break the men psychologically, the Russians raped them or threatened them with rape. The film will premiere on 27 March at 18:00 in Kyiv. You can register for the event here. After the screening, the film will be available on the Slidstvo.Info YouTube channel.
