Ukraine's hidden trauma: Sexual violence under occupation
"People do not understand," says Halina, a resident of Irpin. She witnessed many human tragedies when Russia attacked her homeland, Ukraine. Unfortunately, sexual violence is an inseparable part of the aggression by wartime oppressors.
20 November 2024 17:54
Destruction, rape, torture, death. This is the everyday reality for the people of Ukraine in areas where the war is ongoing. In Irpin, a town not far from Kyiv, Halina says 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 centre and site of cruel crimes
During the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian town of Irpin became a Russian command centre. As Halina told Welt, Russian soldiers started entering homes where unimaginable dramas occurred. In 2022, when the town was liberated, the scale of cruelty became visible: destroyed homes, torture basements, mass graves, including raped and murdered women.
Halina herself also went through hell. One day, two Russians demanded she undress completely. One of the men ran away, 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 the report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, Russians regularly employ their wartime practices, which include sexual violence and torture. The number of victims by Russian oppressors is difficult to estimate.
"Where there is occupation, there is sexual violence"
Oksana Korolowych cares for victims of sexual violence. She is also 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 - says Oksana in an interview with Welt.
As she adds, there came a time when doctors working in hospitals began only treating the physical effects of rape because there were so many victims. Oksana personally knows families who lived under Russian occupation.
- All these families have had this experience: they saw women in the family being raped, or the entire family, including husbands and children. And sometimes it happened multiple times - reveals the woman.
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 costly treatment. Many rape victims have been deprived of their teeth, which has consequences for both their social and professional lives.
