Working with investigators and prosecutors to tackle sexual and gender-based crimes can be a frightening experience. It involves hearing, reading, and listening to sickeningly detailed accounts of unimaginable suffering.
To support the work of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, Mobile Justice Teams (MJT), consisting of Ukrainian and international experts, were deployed throughout the country to investigate war crimes and acts of sexual violence. Through these MJTs, we learned about hundreds of women, men, girls, boys, the elderly, and the disabled who are suffering from sexual crimes committed by the Russian military throughout Ukraine.
At military checkpoints, in official and unofficial detention centers, in their homes, while foraging for food or visiting relatives, civilians and prisoners of war are subjected to the brutal forms of sexual and gender-based violence they deserve. Not spared. Protected under the Geneva Convention.
A mother of two was raped by Russian soldiers and left in a forest near an occupied village. Her husband blamed himself for not being able to protect her despite her disability and could not hold back her tears as he remembered that night. The perpetrator has been identified and is currently wanted in Ukraine on suspicion of war crimes.
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An elderly woman, the mother of a Ukrainian soldier, was dragged from a basement where she was hiding from an onslaught of bombs and artillery fire and sexually abused. She provided evidence to our investigative team, held out a jar of her homemade strawberry jam, and asked if the International Criminal Court was going to hold her abuser accountable. The investigation into this incident is ongoing. The culprit has not yet been identified.
Russian troops have captured a middle-aged man after occupying territory in southern Ukraine. He is now unable to bear children after Russian prison staff repeatedly forced electrical current into his genitals. The investigation into the perpetrator is ongoing.
Although the true scope and scale of these acts of violence have not yet been revealed, sexual violence is no secret and is part of Russian military conduct everywhere. Investigations into these crimes are long-term, resource-intensive, and complex.
Obstacles to investigating sex crimes extend beyond the Russian war, including the trauma suffered by survivors, the stigma surrounding the subjects, and the challenges posed by the ongoing conflict. The fact is that when Russian fighter jets fly very low, the first reaction is to hide in the bushes, so it is not easy to concentrate on collecting evidence. Witnesses sometimes confuse the chronology of events for obvious reasons when they see a missile through a window during an interview.
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Obstacles to justice stem from the sheer scale of the problem at hand rather than a lack of attention or priority by Ukrainian authorities. While the search for accountability may therefore be protracted, it will never be ignored or downplayed by prosecutors, police, and national and international organizations that support justice for victims of sexual violence.
Tackling sexual and gender-based crimes requires targeted and concerted efforts and, importantly, efforts to ensure that survivors are treated with dignity and respect in the judicial process. It requires diligence and consideration. In the words of a Ukrainian prosecutor, “all survivors deserve the best.”
The Attorney General’s Office requested and welcomed technical assistance and assistance from international organizations and experts with a particular focus on sexual violence. The Specialized Sexual Violence Unit has been in place for over a year and has a clear strategy for dealing with such incidents, as well as a collaborative effort between multiple actors to ensure a comprehensive response to victims. There is also a working group that coordinates the
However, the quantitative impact of these efforts will not be immediate or immediate. There are 270 confirmed cases, of which 173 involve female survivors and 97 involve male survivors. To date, 39 perpetrators have been identified, and prosecutors have filed 24 indictments in domestic courts.
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While these numbers may seem low on the surface, progress needs to be measured in many ways. Progress is measured by the enthusiasm of investigators and prosecutors to learn international standards and best practices in sex crime investigations. This is measured by multiple mentorship sessions with long 18-hour work days and improved quality of subsequent interviews.
Progress can also be made by taking the time to explain to survivors and witnesses their rights and judicial processes, and ultimately by respecting their decisions about whether they are willing to participate in accountability processes. will also be evaluated. It is also measured by properly assessing your psychological well-being and choosing to wait if the progression of the case could have a negative impact on your mental health.
Two years into the war, those accountable have uncovered the tip of the iceberg of sexual and gender-based violence. Each incident, each survivor’s story is unique, and we know that as time goes on, we will unfortunately hear of many more horrific incidents. I am aware that with Russia’s gradual withdrawal from some regions of Ukraine and the return of civilians and prisoners of war held by Russia, hundreds of new cases of sexual violence will be registered. We are also fully aware of this.
We sincerely hope that international and national responsible actors, civil society organizations, international experts, and the international community in general can support more survivors of these horrific crimes who come forward to report them. And hopefully, as we watch the progress of our nation’s criminal justice system, justice will become more than just an aspiration, but a reality for all those who have endured the unspeakable horrors of war crimes. I am.
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the editorial section are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Kyiv Independent.
Anna Mikitenko