Hier alvast sprekende over verkrachting:
54. While OHCHR cannot yet draw conclusions regarding the scale of CRSV perpetrated since February, it has documented numerous cases perpetrated against women, girls and men. The precarious security situation in parts of Ukraine, stigma and trauma associated with sexual violence, and lack of victims’ access to services are all factors contributing to underreporting of such cases. OHCHR documented 9 cases of rape (against 8 women and 1 girl), 15 cases of sexual violence used as a method of torture or ill-treatment against men, and 11 cases of forced public stripping against both men and women considered to be ‘lawbreakers’.
OHCHR also recorded 8 cases of other forms of sexual violence (against 5 women, 1 man, 2 girls), such as forced nudity, unwanted sexual touching, sexual abuse and threats of sexual violence. Many of the documented cases were associated with other human rights violations, such as wilful killings, incommunicado and arbitrary detention, torture and looting. Thirty cases were committed by Russian armed forces or law enforcement,35 2 cases were committed by Ukrainian armed forces or law enforcement 36 and 11 cases were committed by civilians or members of territorial defence units.
37 All forms of sexual violence are human rights violations under international law,38 and some cases documented by OHCHR may also amount to war crimes. 55. In one documented case, three Russian soldiers approached a house in Kyiv region in March, and asked a 59-year-old woman where her husband was. When she replied that he had died, one soldier ordered her to undress, threatening that if she did not comply, her situation would get worse. He forced her naked outside, poking his rifle at her, and then resting it between her legs and buttocks. He ordered her to turn around, while the two other soldiers watched and laughed. He then pushed her into the house, knocked her down on the sofa with the rifle and raped her twice. During the entire ordeal, he did not let go of his gun.
56. In another documented case, also in March in Kyiv region, two Russian soldiers came to the house of a couple and their four-year-old daughter. At gunpoint, they took the woman to another room, ordered her to her knees and gang-raped her. Her husband was brought from another room and forced to watch. They then beat him with a pot and forced him to perform a sexual act on her while they watched. The woman heard her daughter crying in another room, but could not see what happened to her. Later, the daughter told her mother that a man “gave her his wee-wee”, which suggests she was also subjected to an act of sexual violence. When Russian soldiers left, they said that they would “go to others”. OHCHR received two more allegations of sexual violence from the same location and timeframe, but has not yet been able to corroborate them.
57. The majority of cases of CRSV documented by OHCHR against women and girls occurred while Russian armed forces were stationed in residential areas, close to their military positions. In these cases, women were subjected to rape, including gang rape, by members of Russian armed forces. The majority of CRSV cases against men occurred in the context of detention by Russian armed forces. Beatings in the genital area, electrocution to genitals, forced nudity, unjustified cavity and body searches, and threats of rape against detainees and their loved ones were used as a method of torture and ill-treatment to intimidate, punish or extract confession.
OHCHR also received some allegations of sexual violence and harassment of women at checkpoints during socalled ‘filtration’ processes organized by Russian armed forces. 58. OHCHR has grounds to believe that many combatants of the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups did not receive information or instructions on the lawful conduct of hostilities, including the prohibition of sexual violence, as is required by IHL.
59. The armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has reduced access to services for victims of sexual violence. A lack of comprehensive and long-term services for victims of sexual violence, including healthcare, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support, will impede the healing process, contribute to delays in reporting, and may hinder accountability efforts in the future. 60. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, 43 criminal cases involving sexual violence were opened against members of the Russian armed forces between 24 February and 31 July. Five Russian servicemen were notified of suspicion.
De toon is gezet, het beeld is gevormd. Het politieke mandaat wat versterkt.... En dat is toch alles wat telt in een oorlog niet?
