Sexual violence against women in ECHR practice: mechanism of international protection during the Russian-Ukrainian war

Abstract

The Russian army commits sexual violence against Ukrainian people, especially women. Police have launched a series of criminal proceedings because of rape of women and girls in Donetsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Rape is a kind of crime that is extremely traumatic for victims. Sexual violence during the war means not only rape in physiological dimension, but also humiliation supported and approved by Russian authorities. Currently no data exist to assess the scale of sexual crimes committed by the Russian military, said the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Irina Venediktova. The quantity of these crimes changes constantly, day by day, but the whole situation cannot be estimated to the fullest. Those who have suffered sexual violence are afraid and ashamed to talk about it. The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the International Human Rights Organization La Strada-Ukraine also reported about the lack of the exact numbers. UN Women has reported that the war increases the exposure of women and girls to war crimes, especially all forms of gender-based violence, arbitrary killings, rape and trafficking. It is difficult to change the situation on the forefront, however, it is essential to bring up the question of sufferings of the most vulnerable groups of Ukrainian people. At the same time, it is crucial not only to inform people about war crimes at this stage of the war, but also to understand, how exactly international mechanisms work to protect victims of sexual violence. Ukrainian authorities may fail to investigate allegation of rape properly and consequently the State duty to provide an effective legal protection against sexual abuse will be in breach. Subsequently, the European Court of Human Rights will be involved in such cases, thus, it is crucial to understand the relevance of its practice in this situation. This issue is also becoming more relevant given that sexual violence during martial law and occupation has not been considered by the European Court of Human Rights in the context of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Keywords

• rape
• sexual violence
• human rights
• the European Court of Human Rights
• gender-based violence
• conflict-related sexual violence