RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR

Abstract

War is an extraordinary, shameful and bloody phenomenon. During the wars that were fought in different countries of the world, people faced sexual violence from their enemy. Unfortunately, this situation currently exists in Ukraine. During the war launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, civilians are killed by firearms, and thousands of public infrastructure facilities (schools, hospitals, kindergartens, social security services, shopping centers, churches, etc.), high-rise and private buildings are destroyed.In addition to firearms, Russian troops-aggressor also use rape as weapon. There are several explanations why sexual violence is a weapon, and they are presented in this article. Rape and violence perpetrated by aggressors during war are often aimed at terrorizing the population, destroying families, humiliating soldiers whose women and children are left behind, and, as the war in Ukraine has shown, abuse and humiliate even elderly men and women, destroy families and communities. In some countries, there were even ideas that rape will change the ethnic composition of the next generation. Crimes related to rape and other types of sexual violence are usually latent. Victims do not want to talk about it, do not want to testify for many reasons: re-traumatization, stigmatization, and publicity. But evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine is collected by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, so such crimes must be registered. Victims must have a very strong motivation to testify. In some countries, it is already possible to receive compensation for causing damage. This is a tool that, on the one hand, can stimulate testimony, registration of a sexual crime, and on the other hand, to receive material compensation that will improve the standard of living. Social workers, together with other specialists, must advocate for the possibility of receiving reparations for victims in Ukraine.The article contains an answer to why it is important to document the facts of violence and rape, and which mechanisms of assistance exist in the world for victims. The article highlights importance of the work of specialists, namely social workers, psychologists and lawyers, in providing assistance to victims.This article focuses on the work of social workers in the situation of sexual violence during the war, and points out that, in addition to working on improving the provision of assistance to victims, social workers should learn the experience gained in the war situation in Ukraine and the experience of other countries.