Rape is a war crime” – the international campaign launching with this message will raise awareness about gender-based violence in war zones and provide help to victims of sexual violence.
The initiators of the information campaign – the Vilnius University (VU) Faculty of Law, the Centre Against Human Trafficking and Exploitation (KOPŽI) and the Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association JurFem – will seek to encourage men and women who have survived sexual violence due to the war in Ukraine or people who have knowledge about such cases to report war crimes anonymously. The website dedicated to the campaign provides the most important information about medical, legal and psychological support available to survivors.
Will inform about aid
As Russia’s war against Ukraine continues into its sixth month, reports of sexual abuse are on the rise alongside civilian killings, injuries and other attacks.
“More than a third of Ukrainians have already left their homes because of the war, a large part of them are women and girls. Reports of sexual abuse are increasing by the day. However, victims of gender-based violence often are left alone in their pain. Survivors of such atrocities need all kinds of support, including professional legal, medical, psychological assistance and representation. That is why, together with other non-governmental organisations, we initiated the campaign Rape is a war crime”, says Kristina Mišinienė, Head of the Centre Against Human Trafficking and Exploitation.
Sexual assault cases are among the most difficult to solve because victims rarely seek help. Many victims of abuse are afraid to seek help also because of the stigmatisation of this topic in Ukraine. Therefore, awareness raising and public condemnation of sexual violence are essential in combating these stigmas in the country.
Moreover, in wartime, such research is particularly complicated due to the lack of personnel and infrastructure, as well as basic lack of safety. These barriers are not insurmountable and, on the contrary, should act as an impetus to mobilise resources and adapt processes as well as institutional practices to the needs of survivors of gender-based violence.
Sexual violence as a weapon of war
A team of international experts willingly contributed to the initiative. “Before the start of the campaign, we organised training in order to provide the necessary tools and skills for lawyers to effectively investigate cases of such violence and work with the cases of war crimes. We have created a website to inform survivors of sexual violence about the available help. This website also contains training material and links to more detailed legal documents. We hope that by ensuring the rights of survivors of war atrocities, we will help punish war criminals”, says one of the initiators of the campaign, lecturer at the Faculty of Law of VU, Attorney at Law Dr. Inga Martinkutė.
“Survivors also suffer psychologically, because sexual abuse is another weapon in the war. We want to ensure that the starting information campaign will help survivors of gender-based violence find the necessary information and help”, says Martinkutė.
The campaign partners were joined by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, the law firm Milašauskas, Martinkutė, Smaliukas ir partneriai, the Faculty of Law of VU, the communication agency Agency 1323 and the European Institute for Gender Equality.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence during the armed conflict in Ukraine and you need psychological, medical or legal help – contact the following contacts: +370 662 42920 or info@rapeisawarcrime.org