The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine is investigating 171 cases of sexualized violence committed by the Russian military against the inhabitants of Ukraine after the start of a full-scale war. This was announced by the wife of the President of the country, Elena Zelenskaya, at the United for Justice conference, held in Lvov.
According to her, among the victims, including 39 men and 13 minors, including one boy. Zelenska stressed that these are only known cases, about which the victims themselves tell law enforcement. The number of cases of sexualized violence in the occupied territories is not known.
“Many of those who have suffered from crimes such as rape say that their life was only “before”. After is existence. When it’s scary to remember what happened to you, when it’s difficult to talk to law enforcement officers, it’s impossible with your family, the media attention is unbearable,” Zelenskaya said.
One of the conference participants was the President of Latvia Andra Levite. She also talked about survivors of sexualized abuse:
“The visible effects of sexual crimes and rape include a variety of injuries. The invisible ones include shame, anger, disgust, fear, and humiliation. And these are the initial emotional stages. They can be followed by more severe and long-term mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, panic or suicidal tendencies, aggression, sleep and eating disorders, and unpredictable flashbacks.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that the organization recorded dozens of cases of sexualized violence against the inhabitants of Ukraine by the Russian military. In addition, the UN has documented hundreds of cases of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention of civilians.