Rehabilitation, compensation, satisfaction, guarantee that the same will not happen again. This should be the essence of the reparations program for survivors of sexual violence in wars around the world. However, survivors rarely receive comprehensive reparations, spend years in courts to get at least some form of justice, while perpetrators and states often avoid accountability.
"The possibility of Russia paying for reparations is closer than we think"
After surviving wartime sexual violence, Lyudmila Huseinova is today an activist and one of the leading voices in the fight for the rights of survivors in Ukraine. When the war started in 2014, she helped orphans in the Novoazovsk district, which was then located near the front line. But in 2019, she was kidnapped by militants from the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic", which is supported by Russia.
She was brought to the "Isolation" prison in Donetsk, which was controlled by the Russian army and separatists, where she was accused of "espionage" and "extremism." She spent three years in "Isolation" and other prisons. She, like many other prisoners, as she said in an interview with RSE, were subjected to torture and sexual violence.
"Let's say they all went through forced stripping in 'Isolation,'" he recalls. "And then, it's impossible to say who was lucky and who wasn't, because it will sound cynical, there were many women who survived (sexual violence). Militants blackmailed some women with the ability to see or hear their children. That's how cynical and so disgusting".
In addition to the psychological and physical traumas inflicted in prison, Huseinova also developed chronic diseases due to the inhumane conditions in detention.
She was released in 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia with 107 other women. Now she is fighting for reparations and punishment for the rapists not only in her case, but also in the cases of other survivors of sexual violence. After her release, she filed a complaint against Russia with the Ukrainian prosecutor's office, but also with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
"One of my wishes is for them to be punished. I was very happy when I received a message that the court accepted my appeal for consideration. And there it says 'Huseinova v. Russia' and I listed everything that happened: illegal detention, inhumane conditions, facts of sexual violence and the impossibility of receiving any medical help, the impossibility of any legal protection," says Huseinova.
The Ukrainian Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, announced in April 2024 the start of a temporary reparations program for survivors of wartime sexual violence by the Russian military. As announced, up to 500 survivors will receive a one-time compensation of $3.200 and additional psychological assistance provided by the Global Survivors Fund (GSF), which manages the project.
"Reparations for survivors of severe human rights violations, especially victims of sexual violence in conflicts, are not limited to economic support. It is an important step towards the establishment of justice," said the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, in early March 2024.
Each application, as they said in GSF, will be considered individually before payment. However, they did not provide individual details of the verification process.
In addition to temporary reparations, Ukrainian authorities will seek reparations from Russia, said Irina Didenko, head of the Office of the Prosecutor General's Office for the Investigation of Wartime Sexual Violence Crimes.
"We mainly collect evidence for international courts. Our victims are ready to go and testify in another country. We are trying to achieve this in all possible ways," said Didenko.
Those who experienced war crimes in Ukraine can receive reparations from Russia much faster compared to victims from other war-torn countries, according to the senior advisor for reparations and transitional justice at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Igor Cvetkovski, who currently works in Ukraine.
"The longer way is to wait for the court process before the International Court of Justice and for Ukraine to win the case, which also requires effort. The shorter way is for a group of willing states to seize either interest or the full value of the property," Cvetkovski explains.
He also adds that there is a third, experimental option to use these funds without confiscation so that they serve as a pledge, a cover for the purchase of bonds from the income of which would pay for compensation and reconstruction of Ukraine.
"That's why the prospect of Russia paying reparations for damage done to Ukraine, including victims of sexual violence in the conflict, is closer than it seems. And more likely than elsewhere."
However, monetary payments from Russia are not the only form of reparations that organizations for the protection of human rights seek for surviving victims of sexual violence, says the director of JurFem, a women's organization, lawyer Kristina Kit.
"It is, first of all, a whole system of rehabilitation for victims of sexual violence, even if that rehabilitation has to last throughout their life. We are also talking about satisfaction, which is extremely important, and it is also a form of reparations. For people, it is not so important punishing the criminal, how important is the guarantee that they will be safe in the future, as well as the guarantee that they will be able to receive appropriate services for recovery and support in the community in which they live".
And Cvetkovski says that it is necessary to discuss the psychological aspects and the impact on their well-being.
"A person's ability to participate in social and economic life is reduced. And that needs to be fixed even 20, 30, even 40 years after (the attack)," he adds.
So far, Ukraine is aware of about 300 cases of sexual violence committed by the Russian army since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. These are cases that are currently being investigated by the Office for the Investigation of Wartime Sexual Violence under the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Human rights activists from the organization "SEMA Ukraine" and the Office of the Chief Prosecutor tell RSE that sexual violence continues to occur in the territories occupied by Russia. Because of this, survivors are physically unable to testify. Also, the number of people who are possibly exposed to sexual violence in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have been under Russian occupation since 2014, is unknown.
Researchers and human rights organizations say the actual number of cases is significantly higher, but is not included in official statistics because survivors are either unwilling to go through the legal process or do not report cases at all. However, it is important that survivors of sexual violence have the opportunity to seek help even decades later, says Igor Cvetkovski from IOM.
"War crimes do not have a statute of limitations. Nor do reparations have a deadline. But I would recommend the Ukrainians to keep the process open as long as possible. Especially for the victims of sexual violence. There were many victims in Bosnia and they came forward late. In Ukraine there are also a lot of them and they already come forward, very quickly - which is interesting, which doesn't happen in many other conflicts. But (survivors) usually come forward, because there is a certain stigma."
Unequal treatment of victims in BiH
Almost 30 years after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, persons who survived sexual violence during the war did not get full access to the necessary assistance and protection systems.
Mrs. A was raped near Sarajevo in 1993 in the territory under the control of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). She was 32 years old and has been waiting for compensation for almost as many years. In 2015, the perpetrator was sentenced to eight years for wartime rape and was ordered to pay the victim a little more than fifteen thousand euros. Mrs. A never received that money. The member of the VRS who raped did not have the means to pay, Mrs. A complained to the United Nations Committee against Torture, which decided that the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina should pay compensation and apologize to the victim. That has not happened to date.
"Already since 2019, after the decision itself was made, until today it has been clearly shown that the working group that was appointed to implement the decision and create a strategic plan of measures for implementation was indeed dysfunctional," says Ajna Mahmić, from Trial International, an organization that is a rape victim represented before the UN.
Five years later, the decision still stands on the formation of a working group.
"The decision was several times before the Council of Ministers, which did not show a political consensus for both full and partial implementation of the Committee's recommendations. The above also represents a realistic picture of the current political readiness for the processes of dealing with our wartime past," explains Mahmić from Trial, an organization that fights impunity for crimes and supports victims, especially survivors of sexual violence.
In addition to the decision on the payment of compensation for the rape victim, the UN Committee ordered the creation of a fund for all victims of wartime sexual violence, a public apology and a process of psychological support.
Ms. A is one of at least 20.000 women who were raped during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 40s. Fewer than 96 people were convicted of this crime before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, while around 8.200 verdicts were handed down before the local courts after the closing of the Hague Tribunal. In some cases, the perpetrators were required to pay compensation from 33.000 to XNUMX dollars.
Efforts in the countries of the former Yugoslavia were focused on criminal trials, says Igor Cvetkovski from the IOM.
"There was no regional reparations program, nor a corresponding national reparations program. Apart from the laws in Croatia and Kosovo and some efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But there was no comprehensive approach to reparations for victims of sexual violence or any other type of victims".
According to Jasna Zečević, the president of Viva Women, an association that works to support surviving victims of war rape, there are basic principles of treating trauma and abused persons.
"Rehabilitation, the right to justice, the right to treatment, reparation and a guarantee that it won't happen again. These are some five basic principles established by the UN," explains Zečević.
However, the system is not uniform, as stated by Zečević. Some women achieved justice, some were rehabilitated, but there is no reparation or guarantee that the same thing will not happen again.
"It can only be a law on victims of torture, so that the state guarantees that this will never happen to you again," adds director Viva Žene.
The complicated administrative system of the country also means three special laws on the basis of which victims can exercise their rights depending on whether they live in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska or Brčko District.
In the Federation of BiH entity, victims of war rape are covered by the Law on Basics of Social Protection, Protection of Civilian Victims of War and Protection of Families with Children. In another entity, Republika Srpska, the Law on the Protection of Victims of War Torture is in force. In Brčko District, as a separate administrative unit in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a Decision on the Protection of Civilian Victims of War.
According to Trial, the uneven legal framework has led to uneven access to rights, as well as unequal monthly amounts. Depending on where they live, victims of war rape receive from 137 KM to 680 KM monthly benefits.
But the need is much more. All those who have the status of civilian victims of war also have health insurance. However, as Zečević states, this is not in accordance with their needs. Today, they are women in their 50s, 60s or 70s.
"They have a need for spa treatment. They have a need for this type of medical care, and they cannot get it. They are not exactly without health care, most of them have health care under various laws, social protection, but they do not have adequate health care. They do not have adequate care from the state at all ", states Zečević from Viva Women.
The reason why an adequate system of reparations for Cvetkovski has not been established in the country is not in money but in Bosnia and Herzegovina's policy that prevents things from moving forward. But also in the fact that reparations were put aside.
"When you look at the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska, they have their own problems and priorities," says Cvetkovski. "And the needs of survivors of sexual violence are not high on the priority list. I have worked with a number of organizations there. They are very vocal and they are very vocal with their demands. But, simply, there is a lack of political will".
But it's still not too late he thinks. Because, he adds, "the trauma remains".
"There can be programs that would be specially made based on what the victims in Bosnia need now. Not what they needed 15 or 20 years ago," explains Cvetkovski.
In the meantime, Mrs. A is still waiting for the implementation of the decision, which would have given her 15.000 euros. Almost 30 years after she was raped.
Although very significant, the decision of the United Nations Committee against Torture is not legally binding. However, it carries with it a number of recommendations that the country should adopt in order to solve the problem of reparations for rape victims. Also, this is the first such decision in the world.
"This process shows that justice can be achieved even when domestic judicial bodies have failed to provide it to the victims. In this context, the beginning of the practice at the international level, albeit before a hybrid international body, can serve as a positive example for other legal systems as well," says Mahmić. on the decision of the UN body that made the decision on the payment of compensation for Mrs. A.
"Look at Colombia, don't look at the former Yugoslavia"
Reparation does not mean only monetary compensation, says Igor Cvetkovski from IOM. Nor is there a perfect model for victim compensation. But the best are those who focus on what the victims need. Among those that had somewhat successful reparations systems, Cvetkovski mentions Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq, but especially Colombia. Because the country, as he explains, has an inclusive approach and the process of transitional justice in Colombia arose from the victims and from the need for reparations.
"Look at Colombia, don't look at the former Yugoslavia. The issue of criminal responsibility put, at an early stage, the question of reparations in the former Yugoslavia completely on the back burner, while in Colombia it was the starting point for building the entire ecosystem of transitional justice," explains Cvetkovski. He adds that people still need to see the perpetrators on trial or to discover the truth about what is happening.
"But in many cases, the priority for victims or survivors of sexual violence is actually reparations. Colombia realized early on that this was clearly a problem and needed to be addressed."
The Colombian system focuses on survivors and adjusts the individual approach based on the type of crime, Cvetkovski explains.
"The best form for creating reparations: one-time payments, multiple payments, plus psychological and social support, maybe also professional training, plus support for children born from rape," concludes Cvetkovski.
The armed conflict between the government and various paramilitary groups in Colombia lasted for several decades until 2018. According to the State Truth Commission, more than 450.660 people were killed. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 8,1 million people have been forcibly displaced.
"Justice delayed is justice denied"
Decades have passed since the end of the war in Kosovo. The number of victims of sexual violence from the 1999 war is still unknown. According to a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this figure reaches up to 20.000 cases.
The reparations system in the country has existed since 2018, at the level of monthly payments for all persons who are recognized as victims of sexual violence in war. So far, 230 people are entitled to a monthly allowance of 1.650 euros. But not the right to an old-age pension.
"Although survivors of sexual violence have the right to receive this amount as a form of satisfaction and recognition of their suffering during the war, an old-age pension was not allowed," says the executive director of the Kosovo Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (KRCT), Feride Rushiti, an organization that supports victims of sexual violence. violence.
However, the Basic Court of Kosovo recently ruled in favor of the three survivors who are now entitled to a double pension.
"This decision created a foundation for us; it is a matter of success in representing the survivors who requested the recognition of double pensions," says Rušiti.
Fitorja, whose identity is known to the Kosovo service of Radio Free Europe, received the status of a victim of sexual violence during the war in 2019 and with it a pension of 230 euros. At that time, she was already receiving an old-age pension. But only for a month, after which the government asked to choose which of the two pensions to keep. She chose the one for the survivors because it was taller. However, with the help of KRCT, her fight for a double pension will begin in 2021.
"Stress and waiting destroy you. (Interruption of one pension) should not have happened," says 71-year-old Fitorja.
She is now one of three people who have received the right to a double pension. In addition to these, seven more cases are pending.
Although the reparations system works to some extent, justice is slow. As Rushiti says, "justice delayed is justice denied."
So far, over 1.000 people have been registered as victims of sexual violence, and only one person has been convicted of this crime. Criminal processes are prolonged due to numerous factors, says Rushiti.
"But it is important, first of all, to provide adequate support to survivors of sexual violence, to establish internal reparations at the state level, in order to empower and recognize survivors. They sometimes do not trust institutions and often face challenges and stigma within their families. Therefore, the recognition of the state institution becomes a preparatory process for entering criminal proceedings".
The deadline for submitting an application for obtaining this status, which is granted by the state commission, has been extended until 2025. From 2023, April 14th is celebrated in Kosovo as the Day of Victims of Sexual Violence from the Last War. Officials say the day serves to "acknowledge the pain" of all those who survived sexual violence during the war and to contribute to collective remembrance.
Almost impossible to report cases
Even almost 30 years later, thousands of people who lost their homes and family members during both wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and 2000s are unable to receive compensation from the authorities. Many are still suing Russia. Survivors of sexual violence were left without any support.
The most famous case of alleged sexual violence is the trial of a former Russian army colonel who allegedly kidnapped, raped and killed an eighteen-year-old girl. Accusations of rape were excluded from the indictment on the basis of which he was eventually sentenced to ten years in prison. The colonel was also ordered to pay the family about $11.000, but that never happened. The family asked for compensation from the state, but they didn't get it either.
Although almost no cases have been publicly recorded, human rights organizations say federal forces have systematically used sexual violence against Chechnya's civilian population. Human Rights Watch confirmed at least six cases of sexual violence during just one raid by federal troops in the Chechen village of Novije Aldi, near Grozny, in February 2000.
The exact number of survivors of sexual violence during both wars is not known.
"The socio-cultural structure of Chechen society makes reporting such cases almost impossible," Human Rights Watch said in a report. "Women, as a rule, do not talk about sexual assaults due to fear of embarrassment or retaliation. Some tried to report it to local authorities, but they did not receive support."
During the Second Chechen War, representatives of the Memorial Center also reported a case of mass sexual violence in the city of Sernovodsk during the so-called "cleansing operation". As stated in the Memorial, in this case alone, it could be almost 60 surviving victims of sexual violence.
There is no law regulating payments to victims of the war in Chechnya. Russian authorities paid small one-time compensations under special government decrees to civilians who lost their homes, were forced to relocate, were wounded, or had relatives killed. But as many have said before, even these payments were difficult to get because they often had to go to court to get compensation.
Silence and stigma of women in Afghanistan
Sierra Leone, Colombia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Philippines, Iraq. In all these countries there is some system of protection for victims of war crimes. However, in Afghanistan, where decades of war have taken their toll on women, little is known about survivors of sexual violence.
To date, no help or support has been provided to survivors of sexual violence. The last president of the Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan, which was disbanded by the Taliban after coming to power, Scheherazade Akbar, says that since the arrival of the Taliban in 2021, there is no institution that would deal with the rights of war victims.
She is currently in exile and heads the human rights organization "Ravadari". He adds that even before the Taliban came to power, there was no effective system for dealing with cases of women who were victims or survivors of sexual violence and rape during the war. Certain officials of the internationally recognized government blamed the survivors themselves for not seeking justice, and therefore the government did not have a plan to solve this problem.
"There was no official mechanism to solve their problems. The only thing the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission could do was document all cases of war crimes, which included sexual violence and rape during the war," explains Akbar. "There was no political will or inclination to address the rights of war victims."
Afghan women have suffered the most during past wars, says former member of the Afghan parliament and former Afghan ambassador to Canada, Shinkai Karokel.
"Unfortunately, there was no mechanism to identify women who were sexually assaulted during the war, to listen to their demands and to give them the courage to come forward and speak about the sexual assault they experienced. In Afghanistan, victims of sexual assault."
Survivors of sexual assault in Afghanistan have never spoken up or asked for their rights, says Karokel: "As a result, there is no mechanism to address the needs of victims of sexual assault. Another problem is that the subject of sexual assault is very sensitive for Afghans and they do not want to they bring such things to the public. Therefore, no one worked on this issue or inquired about the victims".
Stigma is one reason that prevents women from coming forward. As the former ambassador to Canada explains, even if women wanted to come forward and talk about it, their families wouldn't allow it, "because it's considered a matter of honor and families try to cover it up."
During the past 20 years of war, around 48.000 civilians have been killed along with 66.000 soldiers in Afghanistan. How many women suffered sexual violence is unknown. Shinkai Karokel says the previous government had plenty of time to inquire about survivors and deal with the attacks, but they didn't.
"It is possible that something was done on this issue during the process of transitional justice in the 'Voice of the People' program, but the report that was supposed to be published never came out".
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