Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have created a national registry to document cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by Russian forces, a senior prosecutor told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Viktoriia Litvinova, the country’s deputy attorney general, said the registry was created from a pilot project that had already led to the conviction of five people in absentia. She declined to comment on the details of the cases.
“Before, we had to visit ourselves the territories where hostilities were taking place,” he said. “But now people – individuals who have suffered sexual abuse – are looking to us for information.”
Litvinova said 303 cases of conflict-related sexual violence had been recorded since the start of large scale invasion As of early 2022, 112 involved male victims and 191 involved female victims. Some of the victims have suffered multiple assaults, she said.
The initiative was announced on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence and has received assistance from UN agencies and several Western governments.
Government officials said the registry could be used to file claims for financial compensation for Russian victims in the future. The five convictions stemmed from allegations of sexual assault in areas attacked or occupied by Russian forces, in kyiv and the cities of Kherson and Chernihiv.
Massimo Diana, representative of the UN Population Fund, said the real number of victims is probably much higher than the record.
“This violence has been perpetrated against women and girls, men and boys. “No one has been exempt from the risk of this heinous act,” Diana said.
Her agency had helped create 12 support centers across the country for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, she said, along with three mobile facilities.
To raise awareness about the program and encourage victims to come forward, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna unveiled a painting by artist Julia Tveritina at a gallery and art center in kyiv.
“The (painting) shows men and women surrounded by yellow rapeseed flowers,” Stefanishyna said. “This flower is renewed after frost and symbolizes the hope that all survivors will leave their traumatic events in the past.” ___
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