Improved response to sexual violence is in focus of OSCE project assistance to Ukraine

Improvements in prevention, law enforcement, prosecution and judicial review of sexual violence cases in times of war were the focus of discussions among more than 150 legal professionals, officials and civil society organisations during the of the 4th Forum of Women Lawyers held on 16 June. The event was organized by NGONGO
non-governmental organization Association of Women Lawyers “YurFem” with the support of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine. The discussion, available online, focused on drafting a roadmap to improvements in three key areas – overall legal response to sexual violence, dealing with war-related cases and incidents of violence against minors.

“I do hope the exchange of ideas here will help to bring the perpetrators to justice at the national and international levels. This justice is what all the survivors expect and should receive,” - said Pierre Baussand, the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine Manager welcoming participants of the Forum.  “As for the roadmap that should put an end to sexual violence in Ukraine… let’s try to make the road as short as possible so that women can have a safe life,” he added.

Elaborated proposals include, inter alia, recommendation to establish regular monitoring and analysis of investigation and prosecution of sexual violence cases; specialized trainings for justice sector professionals and local authorities on handling war-related incidents; introduction of assistance to survivors of war-related sexual violence, including rehabilitation programmes and legal provisions enabling emergency reparations; efforts to protect survivors and witnesses; improvement of practices in forensic expertise.  When the Forum’s organizers finalize gathering of the input from the participants of the event the roadmap will be handed over to authorities and shared with the public as an analytical guidance on further reforms.  

In a parallel, on 15 June 2023 the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine trained 20 judges of first instance courts, appeal courts, and the Supreme Court on identification of gender sensitive cases in their practice, review of the sexual violence crimes, including those committed during the war and relevant ECHR practice. The effort implemented in partnership with the National School of Judges will help the trainees to review such cases in line with international standards, as well as promote gender-sensitive approach in justice.

These project efforts are part of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine, implemented with financial contributions from participating states and partners, full list of donors is available here.