Men are more likely than women to seek compensation for sexual violence in war: Commissioner for Gender Policy
War-related sexual violence is not limited to women, with an increasing number of men seeking compensation for the crimes they experienced. About this stated Government Commissioner for Gender Policy Kateryna Levchenko during a press conference.
According to her, the number of applications from men to the interim reparations project exceeded the number of applications from women, which contradicts the common perception that sexual violence during conflicts mainly affects women. However, Levchenko did not provide the exact number of victims who applied for compensation.
Kateryna Levchenko also expressed the opinion that after the crimes committed by Russia on the territory of Ukraine, the country should be added to the “black list” of states that cannot participate in peacekeeping operations. According to the UN procedure, states included in this list lose the right to send their contingents to participate in peacekeeping missions around the world.
“There is a black list of countries that cannot use their contingent to conduct peacekeeping operations in any part of the globe. And today Russia is part of these “peacekeeping processes”. So for this we need advocacy, we need an understanding of how we can work with international partners, and at the bilateral level, and Ukrainian society should also be aware of the need to do this and support such efforts”, — the official explained.
In addition, the government commissioner called for the speedy adoption of the draft law “On the status of victims of sexual violence related to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and urgent interim reparations”, which the parliamentary committee has already recommended for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada.
In August 2024, the government reported that about 270 victims of sexual violence related to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine had already applied for compensation. According to data released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, more than 137,000 war crimes committed by Russians on the territory of Ukraine and against Ukrainians are currently known.
