The rapes and sexual assaults attributed to Russian forces in Ukraine constitute a “military strategy” and “a deliberate tactic designed to dehumanize the victims,” ​​said Pramila Patten, UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Smoke covers the sky over the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine after Russian attacks. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP/ND

“The signs are all there,” Patten told AFP in Paris, where on Thursday he signed an agreement with the NGO Libraries Without Borders to support victims of sexual assault during the conflict.

“When women and girls are kidnapped and raped for days at a time, when boys and men are raped, when we see a series of cases of genital mutilation, when we hear testimonies of women talking about Russian soldiers using Viagra, you are definitely considering a military strategy,” he said. .

“And when the victims talk about what was said during the rapes, it becomes clear that this is a deliberate tactic to dehumanize the victims,” adds the 64-year-old British-Mauritian lawyer, special envoy since 2017.

She points out that the first cases were reported “three days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine,” on February 24. Since then, the UN has verified “more than 100 cases,” but reported cases are “just the tip of the iceberg,” says Patten.

“It is very difficult to have reliable statistics during an active conflict. The numbers will never reflect reality because sexual assault is the least reported and least condemned hidden crime,” Patten emphasizes, citing fear of reprisals and stigmatization.

According to the UN representative, the victims are mostly women and girls.

In a report published in late September by an independent international commission of inquiry set up at the request of the UN Security Council, “crimes against humanity committed by Russian troops” were confirmed, he recalls.

“According to the testimony, the age of victims of sexual violence ranges from 4 years to 82 years. There are many cases of child sexual abuse being raped, tortured and kidnapped,” says Patten.

– International awareness –

“My fight against sexual violence is a real fight against impunity,” insists the lawyer.

Patten said his visit to Ukraine in May was intended to “send a strong message to the victims, reaffirm our support for them and ask them to break their silence.”

“But it also sends a strong message to rapists: the world is watching and raping a woman or a girl, a man or a boy will have consequences,” he adds.

Rape as a weapon of war exists in all conflicts, from Bosnia to the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), but Patten sees the war in Ukraine as an international “resurrection of conscience.”

“Now there is political will to fight impunity and a consensus that rape is being used as a military tactic, a terror tactic,” he analyzes.

“Is it because the action takes place in the heart of Europe? Perhaps there is an answer, ”adds the UN representative, hoping that Ukraine will not overshadow other conflicts.

“I find it very positive to be interested in the issue of conflict-related sexual violence, which has always been considered inevitable, as a collateral damage, a cultural issue… But no, it is a crime,” he emphasizes.

Another concern for the UN representative is the risk of human trafficking.

“The women, girls and children who have fled Ukraine are very vulnerable, and for predators what is happening in this country is not a tragedy, but an opportunity. Human trafficking is an invisible crime, but it is a serious crisis,” he warns.

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, more than 7.6 million Ukrainians have taken refuge in other European countries.