Gender equality, which is one of the foundations of the Constitution of Ukraine, is increasingly being extended to various aspects of our lives. The war changed not only the political and economic situation, but also opened new professional horizons for women that previously seemed unattainable. Women are now mastering professions that were previously considered exclusively male – subway driver, long-distance driver, tractor driver, etc. This trend has not escaped the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since February 2022, the number of women in the ranks of the Armed Forces has increased by 40%, and this is a record indicator in the history of independent Ukraine. As of September 2024, 68,000 women are serving in the Armed Forces, of which 48,000 are conscripts, and 5,000 are serving directly in the combat zone, as State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Lyudmila Daragan notes. However, the expansion of women’s rights in the military sphere brought not only new opportunities, but also serious challenges. One of them is sexual violence. And although it is not customary to talk about this problem out loud, it exists. The army, which is supposed to be a protection for all, can become a place where women face threats from their own brothers. What legal mechanisms are available to female military personnel, and what to do in cases of violence?
Lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association advise how to act when the rights of female defenders are violated.
It must be honestly noted that not only noble, patriotic men with a high level of moral values join the ranks of the Armed Forces. As a result of the mobilization processes in the country, completely different men find themselves in the military units, sometimes with antisocial behavior, sometimes with behavioral deviations, and the years spent on the front line leave some of them with not the best imprint in their moral and ethical state. Therefore, recently, the topic of sexual violence against female military personnel in the ranks of the Armed Forces has become increasingly relevant.
Periodically, interviews or stories about sexual violence against female colleagues by military personnel appear in the media space of the country, but when the outraged society demands explanations or investigations, the scandal ends where it began, without any specifics or strong evidence. Of course, this topic is quite intimate and few women want to openly talk about the violence that happened to her, especially since she continues her military service. Our task is to guide women to what they are entitled to and how to act in this difficult situation.
There is no comprehensive list of examples of sexual harassment during military service. From practice, it can be: any hugs and/or kisses without permission and consent; any touching of hands, neck, face, head, other exposed parts of the body without permission and consent; any patting, pinching of the buttocks, thighs and/or any other part of the body without permission and consent; laying hands on knees, hips and/or any other part of the body without permission and consent; persistent offers to massage the neck, legs, hands, head, or other parts of the body or direct such massage without permission and consent; refusal to leave premises where a woman is naked; requests to expose/show any body parts; sexualized parodies of sex and other acts of a sexual nature.
Norms of legislation on sexual violence
Let’s start with the fact that the legislation has a number of relevant norms related to the punishment of acts of a sexual nature. The following new articles have appeared in the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, which provide for administrative punishment:
- Article 137-6 of committing gender-based violence, i.e. the intentional commission of any actions (actions or inactions) of a physical, psychological or economic nature, directed against a specific person due to his belonging to a certain gender or stereotypical ideas about social roles (position, duty relationship, behavior, etc.) of a woman or a man in society, as a result of which damage was caused to the physical (without causing bodily harm) or mental health of the victim, – entails the imposition of a fine from UAH 1,700 to UAH 3,400 or community service for a period of twenty to forty hours, or corrective work for a period of up to one month with a deduction of twenty percent of earnings.
Repeated within a year of the violation provided for in part one of this article, for which a person has already been subject to an administrative penalty, entails the imposition of a fine from UAH 3,400 to UAH 5,100 or community service for a period of forty to sixty hours, or correctional work for a period of one to two months with deduction of twenty percent of earnings, or administrative arrest for up to ten days.
- Article 173-7 – sexual harassment, i.e. the intentional commission of offensive, humiliating acts of a sexual nature against a person’s will, expressed verbally or non-verbally (words, gestures, body movements), including using electronic communications, entails the imposition of a fine from 1360 UAH up to UAH 2,720 or public works for a period of twenty to forty hours, or correctional works for a period of up to one month with a deduction of twenty percent of earnings.
Repeated within a year of the violation provided for in the first part of this article, for which a person has already been subject to an administrative fine, as well as the commission of such a violation against a person who is financially, officially, or otherwise dependent on the offender, shall entail the imposition of a fine of UAH 2,720 up to UAH 3,400 or community service for a period of forty to sixty hours, or correctional work for a period of one to two months with deduction of twenty percent of earnings, or administrative arrest for a period of up to fifteen days.
The entry into force of the specified norms will take place on December 19, 2024, that is, it can be applied to offenses that will occur starting from this time.
In turn, the Criminal Code of Ukraine (CCU) has a number of relevant articles that are already in force. Thus, Article 152 defines:
- Committing acts of a sexual nature, related to vaginal, anal or oral penetration into the body of another person using genitals or any other object, without the victim’s voluntary consent (rape) – is punishable by imprisonment for a term of three to five years .
- Rape committed repeatedly or by a person who previously committed any of the criminal offenses provided for Articles 153-155of this Code, or committing such acts against a spouse or ex-spouse or another person with whom the offender is (was) in a family or close relationship, or against a person in connection with the performance of an official, professional or public duty by this person, or in relation to a woman who was known to the perpetrator to be pregnant – shall be punished by deprivation of liberty for a term of five to ten years.
- Rape committed by a group of persons is punishable by imprisonment for a term of seven to twelve years.
- Actions provided for in partsthe first, the secondor the third of this article, which caused serious consequences, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years.
In addition, Article 153 defines:
- Committing any violent acts of a sexual nature, not related to penetration into the body of another person, without the victim’s voluntary consent (sexual violence) is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.
- Sexual violence committed repeatedly or by a person who previously committed any of the criminal offenses provided for articles 152, 154, 155of this Code, or committing such acts against a spouse or ex-spouse or another person with whom the offender is (was) in a family or close relationship, or against a person in connection with the performance of an official, professional or public duty by this person, or in relation to a woman who was known to the perpetrator to be pregnant – shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to seven years.
- Sexual violence committed by a group of persons is punishable by imprisonment for five to seven years.
- Actions provided for by the first, second, third or fourth parts of this article, which caused serious consequences, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years.
As you can see, the sanctions in the CCU are quite severe. The term of criminal prosecution of the guilty person depends on the article of the Criminal Code that qualifies the crime, but everything starts from five years from the date when the woman suffered from sexual violence. Of course, it is necessary to report the committed crime as soon as possible in order to effectively preserve and collect evidence in the case.
Note that according to Art. 38 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, as a general rule, an administrative fine can be imposed no later than two months from the date of the commission of the offense, and in the case of an ongoing offense – two months from the day of its detection. But with regard to individual articles, the term of prosecution is different. Administrative penalty for committing an offense provided for in Article 173-2 of this Code, may be imposed within six months from the date of the relevant offense.
At the same time, sexual violence against military personnel can also be considered a war crime, which can additionally be qualified under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- if committed by the commander – Art. 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Exceeding power or official authority by a military official;
- if it is committed by your equal brothers – Art. 406 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Violation of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel in the absence of subordinate relations”);
- if committed by your subordinate – Art. 405 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Threat or violence against a superior”).
What should a female military service member do if there is a fact of sexual violence
Our recommendation is that women should act in all directions, because it is in this case that the maximum effectiveness of actions will be achieved. From 2021, a working group was created in the structure of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in General Staff of the Armed Forces regarding the formation of an internal response mechanism to sexual harassment. At the same time, the positions of gender advisers were introduced. In parts where there are already gender advisors, there are fewer cases of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, etc. Therefore, if such an advisor is available, we recommend that you definitely contact him.
It is also mandatory to call the hotline, although the term of consideration of such applications is 30 days, but it is absolutely necessary, because it is called “leaving procedural traces”. The more such traces are left, the more likely it is that the situation will not be hushed up.
The following mandatory steps are:
- submitting a report to “Armiya+”;
- reporting directly to your commander or higher command. According to such a report, an official investigation should be ordered. If signs of a crime are detected during the investigation, the law enforcement agency, in particular the State Bureau of Investigation, will be notified about it, which will deal with it in the future;
- submitting a statement to the police, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the military and defense sphere;
- submission of an application to the Military Law and Order Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (“VSP”). Although the VSP does not investigate crimes, it can conduct a fact check, in particular, conduct a survey in the unit, take statements from witnesses, etc.;
- appeal to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
However, unfortunately, the effectiveness of considering such applications depends in many cases on the woman herself. After all, it is desirable to report not only the fact of violence itself, but also data about the person who committed the violence (name, position, etc.), data about possible witnesses , material evidence (biological substances, damaged clothing, etc.).
Effective protection requires:
- keep all sent letters, text and audio recordings related to the fact of violence;
- save screenshots of correspondence in messengers with the possibility of identifying the number with which communication was conducted;
- if there is an opportunity to inconspicuously record a conversation with the offender on a voice recorder, this should be done, or after calling him for a frank conversation, enlist the help of a witness who will be inconspicuously present during this conversation;
- seek medical help in order to carefully record all traces of violent action (bruises, scratches, tears, etc.);
- keep clothes with traces of violence.
Regarding personal protection from violent acts. It must be remembered that the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for extreme necessity and necessary defense (self-defense). In order for a woman’s actions to fall under these norms, it is necessary that the damage caused by the woman to the criminal should not exceed the damage he caused to her. That is, you cannot kill for rape. Although all concepts are evaluative, taking into account that crimes on a sexual basis are serious and especially serious (depending on qualifications), a woman can and should defend herself, but keeping in mind the limits of such protection.
We would like to point out that regardless of the circumstances, it is prohibited to voluntarily leave a military unit, as this can be considered a crime: voluntarily leaving the place of service (Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) or desertion (Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
However, if you do not make enough publicity and do not take active actions to punish the rapist, then the maximum that can happen in a military unit is the transfer of a female victim to another unit or unit in order, as they say, to separate the rapist and the victim from different corners . Therefore, whether the offender will receive a fair punishment for his actions depends precisely on the woman and her active actions in this direction. Moreover, the more such offenders are punished, the fewer people will want to encroach on women’s inviolability in the future. Thus, the injured woman helps not only herself, but also her sisters in arms in the future.
