Since Russia invaded Ukraine, reports of conflict-related sexual violence have started to emerge. One woman described how two Russian soldiers broke into her house, in a village near Kyiv. After killing her husband, they raped her while her four-year old son wept in a corner. Ukrainian MPs have claimed that cases of sexual violence are under-reported, and that Russian soldiers are gang-raping women. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said: “We have numerous cases…when Russian soldiers rape women in the Ukrainian cities.”
It is too soon to know whether these cases are part of a systemic pattern. We do know, however, that sexual violence – normally, though not exclusively targeted at woman – stalks in the margins of most battlefields. In Ethiopia’s current conflict, for example, thousands of women, girls and men have been sexually assaulted, in attacks which the UN Human Rights office has described as “characterised by appalling levels of brutality”.
Sexual violence is a deliberate tactic: a way to dehumanise, demoralise, terrify and destroy your opponents – or an entire ethnic group. When soldiers rape women, they are deliberately inflicting trauma on civilians, creating scars that last across generations. A landmark ruling of the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda was the first to recognise rape as an act of genocide, assaulting (women’s) bodies as a way to harm a whole group. Rape was used in Bosnia, Myanmar, DRC, Syria, Iraq, Kosovo, South Sudan, Ethiopia.
Yet there is a huge gap between the scale of the problem and the international response. While the severity of sexual violence in conflict is now recognised in international law, efforts to hold perpetrators accountable are few, and prone to failure. Impunity is the norm: the number of successful international prosecutions for sexual violence in conflict remains in the low single digits. Changing this will require a new international approach – and in particular a new, permanent, international body to investigate sexual violence in conflict.
The fighting in Ethiopia has now paused for a humanitarian truce. But for the thousands of survivors of sexual violence, there is little chance of justice. While a token handful of soldiers have been prosecuted, they are the scapegoats for a deliberate policy. There are few signs that the great majority of perpetrators, or any senior figures, will be held to account.
In Ukraine, there are nascent efforts to challenge this impunity. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case of the woman raped after her husband’s murder. The situation in Ukraine has been referred to the International Criminal Court, whose investigations will cover sexual violence. The UN Human Rights Council and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe are both looking into reports of atrocities.
On the basis of previous conflicts, however, there is little reason to be optimistic. Ukraine is highly unusual in having so many investigations established, so quickly – and even so it may be some time before they are actually up and running.
The truth is that investigating sexual- and gender-based violence is difficult and sensitive in peace let alone in conflict. It is under-reported by victims who feel shame or face social stigma. It leaves less physical evidence than other atrocities. It is often afforded less importance by investigators and prosecutors than other crimes – or ignored altogether, as inconvenient, difficult, or embarrassing. When high-level perpetrators are put on trial, charges relating to sexual violence are often the first to be dropped, and the least likely to be upheld.
A new, permanent and independent international body would substantially improve our ability to investigate conflict-related sexual violence – and to gather evidence which could be used in court. A permanent body would be able to operate wherever and whenever allegations were reported, without having to go through multiple rounds of scoping exercises, funding bids and long political battles to establish new mechanisms. It could bring expertise and focus to existing investigations, or conduct its own as circumstances demand. Collecting high-quality evidence, in accordance with best practice and do no harm principles, it could support prosecutions in local or international courts, and provide the evidence for other justice and accountability mechanisms, from international sanctions to local reconciliation processes.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has recommitted to Lord Hague’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and made stopping sexual violence against women and girls in conflict one of her priorities. The UK is due to host a global summit this year, to drive forward action. It will be a perfect opportunity for us to step up and lead – and push for tangible outcomes with real impact.
Despite its prevalence, conflict-related sexual violence is not inevitable. There are wars where it does not feature, and armies who do not use rape as one of their weapons. Preventing it is hard work, but possible – if only we have the will and determination. A new investigatory body will not end conflict-related sexual violence overnight. But it will help to end impunity, deliver justice for survivors, and gradually make prevention of sexual violence in conflict a reality, not just an aspiration.
Baroness Helic is a former Foreign Office special adviser
