Rape and sexual violence are being used as a ‘weapon of war’ by the Russian aggressor. Hundreds of Ukrainian women have been raped by Russian soldiers. Unfortunately, the risks for women of becoming the victims of violence does not end once they cross the border to seek refuge in the EU. Of the 5 million refugees, over 90% are women and children. Human trafficking is one of the greatest risks for them – even before the war, Ukrainians were the fifth most common victims of human trafficking to the EU.
Under the leadership of the Socialists and Democrats, the European Parliament will later today adopt a resolution drafted by S&D MEP Robert Biedroń urging stronger EU efforts to support Ukrainian women, both in the country and fleeing the war. They must be protected from sexual exploitation and no woman should be forced to continue a pregnancy that resulted from rape.
Ahead of the vote, Robert Biedroń MEP, the chair of the European Parliament’s women’s rights and gender equality committee, said in the plenary debate:
“Despite the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people, Russia’s barbaric war continues. And as usual in such conflicts, women and girls pay a very high price. Every day, independent media sources alert us that mass rapes, sexual and gender-based violence, torture and genocide are being used as a ‘weapon of war’. We will not rest until the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice.
“We must ensure that not a single person seeking refuge in the EU falls into the hands of sex traffickers. European citizens have reacted to the incoming refugees with unprecedented solidarity and for the first time the EU triggered the Temporary Protection Directive. However, more must be done. Member states must improve the registration of all refugees and volunteers and ensure refugees can travel safely.
“It is also crucial that Ukrainian women, both within and outside Ukraine, continue to have access to essential sexual health services. The EU should provide financial support for so-called ‘dignity kits’ to be sent to Ukraine, including contraceptives and sanitary products, in humanitarian packages and convoys through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It is unacceptable that, for instance, women seeking refuge in my country, Poland – the EU country with the highest proportion of refugees – are forced to continue pregnancies that are the result of brutal rapes.”
Note to editors:
The resolution’s demands include:
- an EU anti-trafficking plan, including an EU-wide helpline number for refugee victims or persons at risk of human trafficking
- safe and coordinated transportation for refugees between member states
- better registration of refugees and people providing help
- awareness campaigns in refugee reception centres and transit points used by traffickers
- identification and prosecution of trafficking networks exploiting refugee women and girls
- more direct EU funds for NGOs helping refugees, including the ones providing access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion
- ‘dignity kits’, including contraceptives and sanitary products, to be sent to Ukraine in humanitarian packages and convoys through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism
- collection of the testimonies of victims and documentation of all the cases of sexual violence to bring the perpetrators to justice
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An op ed highlighting this topic was published by S&D MEPs in a range of media channels across Europe:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/womens-bodies-must-not-be-a-battlefield
https://www.antena3.ro/be-eu/corpul-femeii-nu-devina-camp-lupta-638427.html
Women’s bodies must not be a battlefield
by Iratxe García Pérez and Robert Biedroń*
Hundreds of Ukrainian women have been raped by Russian soldiers, often in front of children. Rape and sexual violence are being used as a ‘weapon of war’. We must ensure victims get all the help they need, including emergency contraception. Not a single person seeking refuge in the EU should fall into the hands of sex traffickers, or be forced to continue a pregnancy that resulted from brutal rapes. On Thursday the European Parliament will adopt the resolution on the impact of war against Ukraine on women.
Two months after Russia’s invasion, women are clearly paying a very high price. In Irpin, a 17-year old girl witnessed her mother and 15- year old sister being raped and beaten to death by Russian soldiers. They said they spared her because she was ugly and they wanted her to live to tell others what they have done. This is just one of many horrific reports of sexual violence carried out by Russian troops – part of a strategy of terror.
President Putin and all the perpetrators must be brought to justice for all these war crimes, in Bucha, Irpin and elsewhere. The EU must redouble their efforts – through funds and logistics – to collect and document the testimonies of victims and scrupulously record all the cases of sexual violence.
But Ukrainian women are not entirely safe even once outside Ukraine. Of the approximately 5 million refugees who have fled from Ukraine to the EU, 90% are women and children. Human trafficking is one of the greatest risks for them – even before the war, Ukrainians were the fifth most common victims of human trafficking to the EU.
The European Union has already taken an unprecedented step to protect refugees from Ukraine by activating the Temporary Protection Directive. It grants EU-wide protection and rights to people fleeing the conflict, allowing them to work and giving them access to social security and education. This means that the market for migrant smuggling has been largely removed for the criminal gangs. But the risk of trafficking remains high and more must be done to prevent it. The Commission must come up with more anti-trafficking measures, such as a free EU-wide helpline number for refugees providing help in Ukrainian for victims of human trafficking or sexual and gender-based violence.
We are all impressed by the outpouring of solidarity shown towards refugees by citizens and civil society in Poland, Moldova, Romania and other states. There is no doubt most people who offer to help have good intentions, but unfortunately not everyone. Traffickers abuse the vulnerability of refugees by posing as fake volunteers, with fake promises of housing or transport. This must not happen. Member states must provide safe and coordinated transportation for refugees between countries.
An absolute priority is to improve the registration of all refugees and volunteers to ensure their safety. The NGOs, civil society organisations and volunteers who are working hard to help the 2.8 million refugees in Poland admit that they are not able to keep track of where all the refugees have ended up. It’s high time the Polish government stepped up efforts to ensure better coordination on the ground and better task distribution. The priority must be the protection and safety of refugees, preventing sexual exploitation and providing access to healthcare and education for children!
A big problem Ukrainian women face in Poland, but also in Hungary and Slovakia, is access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). NGOs receive hundreds of calls from pregnant women fleeing Ukraine who are not able to terminate their pregnancies due to the de facto abortion ban in Poland. This is unacceptable! We remind governments that all member states, including Poland, are legally obliged to guarantee access to abortion care for women who became pregnant as a result of rape. We call for specific EU programmes for women and girls who are survivors of violence and more direct funds to support local organisations providing services and shelter to the victims of gender-based violence among the refugees. If needed, they should be offered immediate transfer to other EU member states to overcome national restrictions on abortion.
We must also not forget about the needs of the Ukrainian women that remain in the country. As result of the war they also lack access to healthcare and sexual and reproductive rights. There are currently an estimated 80,000 women waiting to give birth in Ukraine. They need medical support to deliver their babies safely. Others may need emergency contraception, safe and legal abortion or clinical treatment following sexual violence. We call for urgent funding to provide essential and lifesaving sexual health services, in particular for sending so-called ‘dignity kits’, including contraceptives and sanitary and hygiene products in humanitarian packages and convoys to Ukraine through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Sexual violence is sadly part of our societies, even in peacetime. Wars and armed conflicts exacerbate it, turning it into a weapon of war, because in such extreme situations protective mechanisms break down. Women’s bodies must never become the battlefield!
Iratxe García Pérez MEP, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament
Robert Biedroń MEP, the chair of the European Parliament’s women’s rights and gender equality committee and the author of the resolution
