The UN Human Rights Office has documented more than a thousand cases of sexual violence since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is stated in the Office’s report, UNN reports.
Details
During the reporting period, OHCHR documented 1,004 cases of sexual violence committed both in detention and outside it. Although representative, these data do not purport to provide a comprehensive overview of cases of sexual violence, which, as in other situations, are underreported in Ukraine
It is noted that the observed patterns indicate that sexual violence was used as a method of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against prisoners of war and civilians.
The majority of these cases verified by OHCHR—89%—are linked to the authorities of russia, including representatives of the Russian Armed Forces, the Federal Penitentiary Service and the Federal Security Service. 11% of the confirmed cases are attributed to the Ukrainian authorities, including servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine
The report states that in the occupied territories of Ukraine and within russia, the Russian authorities committed sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and detained civilians at all stages of captivity, including during capture, transfer, interrogation and detention.
The violations included gang rape, rape, mutilation of the genitals, and the use of electric shocks to men's genitals with a Soviet-era field telephone known as a "tapik." The findings were based on interviews with victims of sexual violence committed by both sides.
Most victims held in detention were men, including prisoners of war and detainees, although women and children also suffered, mainly in the territories of Ukraine occupied by russia. The youngest documented person to survive rape was a four-year-old girl, while the oldest was an 82-year-old woman.
In territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine, nearly half of the violations attributed to the Ukrainian authorities against Russian and third-country prisoners of war and detainees involved threats of sexual violence and beatings of the genitals; at the same time, no cases of Russian prisoners of war being raped by Ukrainian soldiers were documented.
Recall
russia has launched another stage of an information campaign aimed at discrediting international investigations and denying the war crimes of the russian army in Bucha.