Ukrainian Women are Raped, Men are Killed: The Russian Federation Violates International Law

Abstract

Summary The large-scale use of rape against women and the murder of men by the Russian armed forces has been widely documented since it first invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Consequently, many Ukrainian families have been affected both physically and mentally by the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a method of war. This paper presents a detailed analysis of these ‘classical’ sexual and gender-based violence cases from the perspective of grave breaches of international humanitarian law. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and case law, these cases constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Investigations have already commenced into cases of sexual and gender-based violence on both the national and international level. The first Russian soldier formally accused of raping a female (wife) and killing her husband, is already standing trial before the Ukrainian courts. The International Criminal Court, within the ad hoc jurisdiction given by Ukrainian authorities, as well as specially established mechanisms and law enforcement agencies of foreign states; have also begun investigations into cases of ‘classical’ sexual and gender-based violence on the international level.