Ukraine takes first steps to pay financial and psychological reparations to victims of sexual violence

Ukraine is expected to begin paying reparations to victims of sexual violence by Russian soldiers during the invasion of the country over the next few weeks, and support is expected to cover up to 500 survivors.

The measure was announced in early March by Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, who considered that financial, medical and psychological support is “an important step towards restoring justice” for people who have been raped or sexually assaulted by Russian forces. .

“Reparations for victims of serious human rights violations, including victims of sexual violence in the context of armed conflict, are not just financial support. And this justice is needed not only in Ukraine. Justice for victims of violence in Ukraine is a mirror for the entire world”, said Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a conference on gender-based violence in Kiev.

This is the first time that reparations will be paid to Ukrainian victims. To the The Guardianthe Global Survivors Fund, the non-governmental organization that is managing the distribution of funds donated by other countries, said that recognition of suffering, more than compensation, is what matters most to those who have been targets of gender-based violence or sexual.

“The reparations scheme offers confirmation that what happened to them is being officially recognized. And it sends a bigger message to the entire community”, said Esther Dingemans, director of the fund created in 2019, to the British newspaper.

Thousands of people affected

However, the full number of victims of sexual violence in Ukraine is not known. Counting victims becomes extremely complicated when a large part of the country remains occupied by Russian forces, which limit the entry of international observers, and many victims fear reprisals. The Global Survivors Fund estimates that thousands of people are affected.

According to the latest report from the United Nations Security Council, on sexual violence in Ukraine, 85 cases were documented by independent entities throughout 2023, with the majority (51) being men, subject to threats of rape, electric shocks and other violent practices in a context of torture. But thousands of cases remain uncounted since 2014, when Crimea was invaded. And on meeting of the April 23 Council on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the United Nations warned that, in Ukraine, “thousands of displaced and refugee women and children face an increased risk of being taken advantage of by traffickers.”

Pramila Patten, the UN representative for sexual violence in the context of conflicts, stated at this meeting that Russia uses rape as “a military strategy”, with reports of soldiers “equipped with Viagra” before moving to a Ukrainian area.

To The Guardian, Lyudmilla Huseynova, who was released in a prisoner exchange in October 2022, said that she was imprisoned for three years by separatist forces linked to Russia in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, reporting nights when she could not sleep, situations of aggression sexual intercourse, and captivity spent “in an overcrowded cage”, where he could barely breathe or see the sun, where the air “was filled with cigarette smoke”, and where he had to ‘relearn’ how to walk.

But the stigma associated with the victims, in a still very conservative country, was another challenge after release.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of victim blaming, especially in smaller rural communities. When I was released, there wasn’t even an understanding of what sexual violence was in the context of conflict,” she said.

When she was released, she was treated in an “overcrowded and understaffed” hospital, where she also found it difficult to talk about what she had suffered. “I don’t hold the doctors there responsible because they weren’t prepared to deal with someone like me. They didn’t know how to approach or talk to you, which caused even more long-term psychological damage.”

Huseynova ended up becoming an activist in defense of survivors of sexual violence in the context of conflict, both in Ukraine and in other parts of the world, and of women who remain imprisoned.

“Reparations can help, but they also need to include physical and mental health support. The trauma of sexual violence never ends”, he highlighted.

Esther Dingemans praised the Ukrainian first lady and the country’s authorities for changing the way we think about sexual violence, and there are already new laws being advanced that will allow greater support for victims of these crimes. And these victims include men who, as Fedir Dunebabin commented, “rarely seek help.”

“Fortunately, this was not the case in Ukraine. Many male survivors are coming forward to fight for their rights and justice,” said the Global Survivors Fund representative in Ukraine.