WAR WITHOUT RULES: Gender-Based Violence in the Context of the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine Kyiv 2017 War without Rules: Gender-Based Violence in the Context of the Armed Conflict В 42 in Eastern Ukraine / Andriy Aliokhin (Sections 2.2, 10.1), Anton Korynevych (Section 2.1), Mariia Krona (Section 10.2), Helgi Nemo (Sections 3.2, 3.4, 4, 6), Myroslava Statkevych (Section 3.3), Oleksiy Lazarenko (Chapters 8, 9), Tetiana Sirenko (Chapter 9), Serhiy Kyrychenko (Section 3.1), Volodymyr Shcherbachenko (Chapters 3, 4, 5, 7), Hanna Yanova (Chapters 1 and 6, Sections 3.2 and 3.4); eds. Volodymyr Shcherbachenko, Hanna Yanova // NGO Eastern-Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives, K.TsP “KOMPRINT”, 2017. — 126 pages. ISBN 978-966-929-583-5 This study was developed to cover the situation involving gender-based violence associated with the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The report provides an overview of national legislation and international legal norms and highlights gaps in the legal framework, shortcomings in the collection and compilation of statistics, different forms of violence in the armed conflict, as well as the impact of the conflict on the prevalence of gender-based violence in territorial communities located away from the conflict area. The study focuses on an analysis of sexual and gender-based violence in illegal detention facilities created by illegal armed groups in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as by the Ukrainian military and members of volunteer armed groups in the context of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. ISBN 978-966-929-583-5 © NGO Eastern-Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives, 2017 5 The English version of the report was developed by the Eastern-Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives in cooperation with partner organizations from the Justice for Peace in Donbas Coalition with funding provided by the International Renaissance Foundation and the United States Government. The authors are solely responsible for the content of the report. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the members of the Justice for Peace in Donbas Coalition, the United States Government or of the International Renaissance Foundation. 6 CONTENTS SUMMARY 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 11 BACKGROUND 13 RESEARCH DEFINITIONS, AIMS, OBJECTIVES, SUBJECT AND METHODOLOGY 18 FOREWORD 22 1. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM IN THE REGION ACCORDING TO ORGANIZATIONS 23 SUPPORTING VICTIMS OF GBV 2. DOMESTIC LEGISLATION AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NORMS 26 2.1. INTERNATIONAL LAW: STANDARDS ON PREVENTION OF GBV 26 2.2. DOMESTIC LEGISLATION: STANDARDS AND IMPLEMENTATION IN UKRAINE 30 3. GBV IN THE SELF-PROCLAIMED REPUBLICS 34 3.1. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGES IN TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND 34 THEIR IMPACT ON THE PREVALENCE OF GBV 3.2. GBV IN ILLEGAL DETENTION FACILITIES 38 3.3. GBV AGAINST LGBTI 44 3.4. SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ILLEGAL DETENTION FACILITIES IN DONBAS ESTABLISHED BY IAGS 47 3.4.1. Sexual violence against women 48 3.4.2. Sexual violence against men 51 3.4.3. Identified illegal detention facilities where sexual violence took place 53 3.4.4. Potential perpetrators of sexual violence in illegal detention facilities 60 4. SEXUAL VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY UKRAINIAN GROUPS DURING THE 73 CONFLICT IN EASTERN UKRAINE 5. NUMBER OF VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE CONFLICT IN DONBAS. 78 CHARACTERISTICS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE 6. SEXUAL VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY IAGs IN THE ARMED CONFLICT IN 83 EASTERN UKRAINE 6.1. CONDUCT 83 7 6.2. CONTEXTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES 86 6.3. MODE OF LIABILITY 88 7. SEXUAL VIOLENCE AS AN INFORMATION WARFARE COMPONENT DURING 91 THE ARMED CONFLICT IN DONBAS 8. ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS ON CRIMINAL OFFENCES CONNECTED WITH GBV 95 IN TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES OF THE CONFLICT AREA 9. GBV IN COMMUNITIES REMOTE FROM THE ARMED CONFLICT AREA. 98 VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILIES OF ATO PARTICIPANTS 10. RESPONSE OF THE STATE AUTHORITIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CIVIL 103 SOCIETY AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO GBV IN THE ARMED CONFLICT IN EASTERN UKRAINE 10.1. STATE AUTHORITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE BODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR 103 COMBATING GBV: FUNCTIONS AND ACTIONS 10.2. ACTIVITIES OF UKRAINIAN AND INTERNATIONAL NONGOVERNMENTAL 110 ORGANIZATIONS ON PREVENTION OF GBV AND ASSISTANCE TO SURVIVORS OF GBV 11. CONCLUSIONS 112 12. RECOMMENDATIONS 115 ANNEX 117 EASTERN-UKRAINIAN CENTRE FOR CIVIC INITIATIVES 122 JUSTICE FOR PEACE IN DONBAS COALITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 123 ORGANIZATIONS AND INITIATIVES 8 SUMMARY The findings of the study conducted by the Eastern- compiling statistics does not meet minimum standards for Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives (EUCCI) within the preventing and responding to gender-based violence. framework of the Justice for Peace in Donbas Coalition show a lack of protection from gross violations of human rights in the There is no joint interagency document on cooperation or legal vacuum that emerged with the onset of the armed conflict on the exchange of information between agencies responsible in eastern Ukraine in 2014. This situation occurred in the for preventing and responding to gender-based violence in territories under the effective control of the Russian military Ukraine. As a result, there is no effective system of referrals for and illegal armed groups, as well as in the areas controlled by victims at the national or local level. The National Action Plan the Ukrainian military and volunteer formations. for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security until 2020 includes tasks The practice of gender-based violence is ongoing in the to ensure the activities of the Interagency Working Group on armed-conflict area in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Implementation of the Resolution and coordination between and there is a need to record cases and conduct effective stakeholders working on its implementation; however, there investigations. The level of violence depends on several is no provision for such cooperation in a broader context. factors, including the conflict phase, distance from the line of contact and the entity exercising control over the Survivors of gender-based violence have limited access area (whether illegal armed groups in separate areas of to medical, social and legal assistance. State authorities the Donetsk and Luhansk regions or the government of responsible for preventing gender-based violence lack Ukraine). The majority of recorded cases of gender-based qualified personnel and financial resources, in particular violence took place from 2014 to early 2015 during the for specialized rehabilitation programmes. active phase of hostilities. The problem continues due to unresolved structural issues that enable violence. According to the interviewees, sexual and gender-based violence in illegal detention facilities was widespread and The sources of information used in this study include used to intimidate, humiliate and punish combatants semi-structured interviews with survivors of, and/ belonging to the other side and political opponents. Despite or witnesses to, gender-based violence, experts, media this, competent authorities have failed to document publications, official statistics from state authorities, books, gender-based violence properly, to analyse the available academic articles, analytical publications and reports by information and to create an evidence base for national and international missions and organizations. The research international judicial bodies. highlights a number of issues in the field of preventing and combating gender-based violence. The study shows that only a small number of perpetrators of gender-based violence have been held There is no definition of gender-based violence in accountable. It indicates the lack of effective investigations Ukrainian legislation. State authorities usually refer to of gender-based violence, inaction and the low level of it in the context of domestic violence or violence against awareness among the competent state authorities. It also children. The terms “gender-based violence”, “domestic illustrates the stigmatization of victims and the practice of violence” and “sexual violence” are often confused and used silencing cases of violence. interchangeably. The study findings stem from an analysis of only a part There are no statistics on gender-based violence in of the spectrum of gender-based violence associated with Ukraine. The system for recording acts of violence and the armed conflict in Donbas. 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Collecting information on sexual and gender-based on an entirely new topic for the Ukrainian human rights violence is extremely complicated. Victims and witnesses community presented a challenge for our research team. of violence experience shame and sometimes guilt, as well We are grateful to everyone who supported and helped us as stigmatization by society. Therefore, victims of sexual in developing the research concept or co-authored the text. and gender-based violence prefer not to speak about these crimes. On behalf of the entire research team, we Unfortunately, due to security concerns, we cannot would like to thank the dozens of people who were able name several individuals from among the staff and partners to overcome their pain and shame and shared what they of the Eastern-Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives saw and experienced. Without your efforts, Ukraine and who provided extremely valuable support in collecting the international community would never have found out information about sexual