Sexual violence and increasing miscarriages – how women are threatened in war

The International Rescue Committee recently warned that abuse against women is on the rise in Ukraine. Because millions of women are still on the run, which puts their reproductive health in particular at risk and makes them extremely vulnerable to human trafficking and gender-based and sexual violence.

The International Rescue Committee warned last month that abuse against women is on the rise in Ukraine. The news channel Al-Jazeera therefore interviewed the Ukrainian representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Jaime Nadal, to talk to him about the situation of women in Ukraine. These are the main findings:

Births and deliveries under the most adverse conditions

According to Nadal, nearly 180,000 women in Ukraine would have given birth by 2022. Many of them are at risk of death because they do not have access to adequate medical care. The main reason for this is that hospitals and civilian infrastructure have come under repeated attack from the Russian military. “This is a violation of human rights and should never happen.”

Nadal explains that labor and the subsequent days of labor are among the most dangerous moments of pregnancy – for both the woman and the newborn. “Any woman who can’t see a doctor during this time could develop life-threatening complications.”

And even if she made it to the hospital, the supply chain for items needed for caesarean sections and the treatment of birth and pregnancy complications would be seriously compromised.

Sexual violence – also as a toll on the run

The invasion has displaced millions of people – many of them women and children. According to Nadal, this increases the risk of gender-based and sexual violence, human trafficking and exploitation.

The first cases of the most brutal sexual violence became known after the liberation of Bucha and Irpin. It was striking that none of the survivors reported the sometimes extreme cases of sexual abuse to the police. On the other hand, many victims had themselves tested for sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy.

Nadal explains that no criminal charges have been filed: “The subject is very stigmatized and traumatizing at the same time. Sometimes women don’t even admit to being abused.”

But even if women manage to escape from occupied territories, they are not immune to sexual violence. Nadal reports how women are forced to perform sexual acts, for example to pass through checkpoints.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documents and records cases of sexual and sexual violence in Ukraine. But, “The number of reported cases is probably just the tip of the iceberg.”

So they try to help

There are now several government-run mobile clinics supported by the UN, Nadal said. The aim is to reach people, especially women, who have mobility problems due to illness, old age or disability.

In addition, various organizations provide medical, psychological and other support to women and the elderly on their way or in their villages and towns.

(yum)