Sexual violence against Ukrainian men held in Russian detention is severely underreported, largely due to the “stigma and perceived emasculation” associated with such crimes, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed.
The official Ukrainian figure of 114 men subjected to sexual violence since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 is believed to represent only a fraction of the actual cases, according to the UNFPA.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office documented those cases alongside reports from 202 female survivors.
The UNFPA estimates that for every recorded incident, there could be 10 to 20 unreported cases. In September, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022, highlighted the systematic use of sexual violence, including torture, in Russian-controlled detention centres.
Evidence gathered included testimonies suggesting that high-ranking Russian officials “ordered, tolerated, or took no action” to stop such abuse.
The UNFPA has noted that while women and girls constitute the majority of survivors, sexual violence has also been 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’s representative in Ukraine, told reporters.
He emphasised that the challenges extend beyond structural issues, such as limited resources and disrupted systems, to more personal obstacles “rooted in stigma, shame, and fear.”
“For male survivors, these barriers are often compounded by concerns about being labelled or misunderstood, including fears of being associated with sexual minorities,” Diana explained.
Mental health professionals at a UNFPA-supported centre in Ukraine, which provides free and confidential services to survivors near the front lines, report that male victims frequently experience profound shame following their abuse.
Psychologists have struggled to gain survivors’ trust and ensure anonymity, particularly as digital tools are sometimes exploited to disseminate footage of abuse.
The UNFPA, citing psychologists working with victims, disclosed that Russian forces have sent videos of male Ukrainian detainees being raped to their families, either to blackmail them or to inflict further humiliation.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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