Psychosocial Support for Victims of Sexual Violence During the War in Ukraine: Challenges for Social Work

Abstract

Since February 2022, when Russia started the war, people living in Ukraine face evidence of war crimes, including sexual violence committed by Russian aggressors against Ukrainian citizens. Sexual violence by soldiers has been defined as a weapon of war in most armed political conflicts. It is a symbol of the enemy’s humiliation of individuals and communities. While men are fighting at the frontlines, their loved ones are being violated while no one can protect them. The most prevalent forms of sexual violence in wartime include rape, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, threats of sexual violence, forced witnessing of sexual abuse, forced abortion, genital mutilation, sexual slavery, and forced nudity. Victims of sexual violence suffer serious psychological trauma and physical pain, experience post-traumatic stress disorders, develop mental health problems, and may attempt suicide. The problem of providing assistance to the victims is further complicated by the fact that sexual violence remains a taboo in Ukrainian society. People who have suffered from it, mostly women, are often scared and ashamed to seek help from professionals. Social workers are the professionals who generally provide psychosocial support to the victims. However, for Ukrainian social workers, this type of work is relatively new. Social workers working in governmental services and public organizations for the victims of war-related sexual violence need additional knowledge of intervention of how to offer effective psychosocial support for the victims of war sexual violence. To address the issue, the authors conducted a series of expert interviews with social work professionals (n = 43) who work in social services and meet people victimized in war. The experiences of social workers and of the survivors can help to identify the problems of the victims and can help social workers work effectively.