Sexual violence against Ukrainian men in Russian detention is significantly underreported due to the “stigma and perceived emasculation” attached to the crime, a United Nations agency has warned.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) says the official Ukrainian figure of 114 men who have been subjected to sexual violence since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 is likely an underestimate.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office recorded those cases, as well as those of 202 female survivors.
The UNFPA says it is likely that for each incident that was recorded, there were a further 10 to 20 cases that went unreported.
In September, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022, revealed the systematic use of sexual violence as a method of torture, often targeting men, in detention centres by Russian authorities.
The findings of its investigation included detailed testimonies from inside detention centres in the occupied areas of Ukraine and Russia, with reports that higher-ranking Russian personnel “ordered, tolerated, or took no action” against such treatment.
The UNFPA told media that although the vast majority of victims of this crime were women and girls, this kind of violence was also commonly used against men, boys and people of diverse gender identities.
All survivors of conflict-related sexual violence face significant barriers when seeking support, Massimo Diana, the UNFPA Ukraine representative, told media.
This can include structural barriers such as limited resources and systems still being developed during the ongoing war but also others that are “deeply personal, rooted in stigma, shame, and fear”, Diana said.
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