In Ukraine, as of the beginning of November, 59 Russian servicemen are suspected of committing sexual violence. The investigation has been completed for another 36 people, and judges are expected.
This was reported by the head of the SNPC Crime Department of the Prosecutor General's office, Anna Sosonskaya, reports UNN.
Sosonskaya commented on the number of cases of sexual violence related to the conflict known to prosecutors.
As of the beginning of November 2024, we have 326 such facts in our work. Of these, 209 are for women, 117 are for men, and 17 are for minors. The largest number of cases of SNPC was recorded in the Kherson region – 103, in the Donetsk region – 77 and in the Kiev region-59
She stressed that these figures in no way reflect the real state of affairs. The number of victims of sexual violence is much higher.
"However, we can only work if a person is ready to give evidence. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready for this yet, although we protect them from disclosing information," Sosonskaya said.
She also said that the investigation has been completed and the case of a Russian serviceman who raped a woman in the occupied part of the Kiev region in 2022, threatening her with a weapon, has been sent to court.
Suspicion was reported to three Russian soldiers who used physical force against a local resident in the occupied Chernihiv region in 2022, threatened to torture and kill her, and sexually assaulted her. Another suspicion is a Russian military man who raped a girl in the Kherson region, realizing that she was a minor. Among the recently discovered facts are torture, detention in inappropriate conditions and sexual acts against a resident of the Kherson region in 2023; torture and sexual violence against another man in a prison in Kherson
She noted that joint mobile groups of prosecutors, police officers and psychologists work in the unoccupied territories, who communicate directly with people and identify such facts. We can say with confidence that sexual violence is recorded wherever the occupiers were.
As of the beginning of November, we have 59 Russian servicemen in the status of suspects. The investigation has been completed for another 36 people, and we are waiting for the courts. Five more were sentenced in Ukrainian courts: from 10 to 12 years in prison
Sosonskaya also explained what distinguishes SNPC from "domestic" sexual violence.
Using the example of the Kherson region, it can be argued that the Russian military is deliberately looking for and abusing the wives, sisters, and mothers of our defenders. This is a certain pattern of behavior that has been repeated over and over again, which indicates the genocidal nature of such actions. Sexual violence is another tool of terror and destruction of Ukrainians as a nation
According to her, this is also indicated by the fact that Russian officers, in general, the command staff do not make any attempts to stop sexual violence. On the contrary, there were cases when officers encouraged subordinates to such behavior and initiated such actions.
Sexual violence is widely practiced by the occupiers in dungeons and other places of illegal detention of civilian Ukrainians. The same thing happens in places of detention of Ukrainian prisoners of war. In addition to torture, beatings, threats, lack of water, food, and medicine, the Russian military also uses sexual violence.The most common type is electric torture of the genitals using the so – called "tapik", a Soviet field telephone. There are also numerous cases of threats and attempted rape
WHAT SHOULD A PERSON WHO HAS EXPERIENCED OR WITNESSED SEXUAL ABUSE DO?
Sosonskaya noted that the first thing to remember is that only the abuser is always to blame for sexual violence. There are no excuses for such actions. In the case of the SNPC, the intention to punish and destroy everything Ukrainian is added to the violence as such.
The victim or victim, as well as minors who have witnessed sexual violence, may need a psychologist. Do not consider contacting a psychologist as a weakness. On the contrary, this is the behavior of a rational person. We don't consider it a weakness to go to the dentist when a tooth hurts, do we? Sexual assault is a serious trauma that needs to be dealt with professionally
She also noted that it is worth contacting law enforcement officers and giving evidence. This will help us find the culprit and bring him to justice.