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In the midst of cases of sexual violence by Russian army in Ukraine, reports now show men and boys among alleged rape victims. Some cases like that have been investigated, said UN officials and Ukraine.
I have received a report, not yet verified about cases of sexual violence against men and boys in Ukraine,” said Pramila Patten, a special representative of the United Nations on sexual violence in war, at a press conference in Kyiv, as quoted by The Guardian.
Patten added that it might be more difficult for male rape survivors to report the crime. “It is difficult for women and girls to report [rape] because of the stigma among other reasons, but often more difficult for men and boys to report that we must create a safe space for all victims to report cases of sexual violence,” he said .
He warned that dozens of cases being investigated “only represent the tip of the iceberg”, because he urged the survivors to move forward. He appealed to the international community to find the perpetrators and consider them responsible. “Today’s documentation is the prosecution tomorrow,” he said.
Attorney General Ukraine Iryna Venediktova said on Tuesday that her office had collected reports of sexual violence against men and women of all ages, from children to parents by Russian troops.
Speaking at a press conference, Venediktova said Moscow had used rape as a deliberate strategy to frighten civil society. “This, of course, to frighten civil society to do everything to [forcing Ukraine to give up.”
He said some people who survived left the country, while many were afraid to talk about their experiences. However, the prosecutor and investigator team gathered proof of sexual violence since the resignation of Russian troops.
Gang rape, attack with weapons, and rape carried out in front of children is one of the gloomy testimonies that they have collected from their victims and families,” he said.
According to a report in The Guardian, Commissioner of Human Rights in the country, Lyudmila Denisova, has officially documented cases of 25 women stored in the basement and was systematically raped in Bucha, the neighbor of Irpin.
Forensic experts are doing an autopsy on the body of a woman in the mass grave and have found evidence that some were raped before being killed by Russian troops.
Some Russian troops have been identified by Ukraine investigators for war crimes including sexual violence, and arrest warrants have been issued for one person accused of rape.
