From war zone to the hidden war against women

About Women and Children - Out of the borders

by Elisabedi Katcharava

In the morning of the 24th of February, after Putin’s announcement of "special military operation" to "demilitarize and denazify'' Ukraine, the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. War devastated every single citizen of Ukraine and shocked the whole of Europe. Women especially have been victims of unbelievable cruelty from Russian soldiers: the cases of sexual assault and rape increased in the past few months, as women during war time are one of the most marginalized group and rape is often used as a weapon.

Around 8 million Ukrainians fled the country since February; among those, 90 percent of refugees are women and children. One of the major destinations for shelter has been Poland: despite its harsh policy during the refugee crisis, Poland had warmly welcomed Ukrainian refugees and was widely praised for it from the world. When it seemed like they finally found a safe place to settle and get help, many of the Ukrainian women faced a harsh reality. In Ukraine, abortions are legally provided on request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, oral contraception is sold over the counter without prescription and the morning-after pill is readily available. By crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border, Ukrainian women who became pregnant due to rape from Russian soldiers faced the strictest law in Europe regarding access to contraception and abortion.

In October 2020, the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland limited an already strict law on abortion, which left women with only right to aborte in case of rape, incest or if the mother’s health is under severe threat. Since then an anti-government demonstration, ”Women Strike’’ took place, however there still is no change in 2022.

Ukrainian women who seek for abortion because their significant other is on a front line in a war, or just they do not want to give birth in a time of war when everything is uncertain, need a support which is difficult to find in a foreign country, especially during war. As abortion is officially denied to women, the only solution in some cases is to find a doctor who could practice it in secret, facing the risk of getting to jail.

On paper, women who had been sexually assaulted during a war can have legal right to abortion but in practice, activists and providers say that abortions for rape victims are almost never performed. It needs to be approved by a prosecutor and victims have to explain exactly when, where and how it happened, which is very hard for a victim who came through a long way to talk about it. Trauma, fear and stigma can deter people from coming forward. Krystyna Kacpura - president of Feda- a women's rights group, said - "They want to keep it top secret… They don't want to share it with their families. They said to me, 'The war will end one day and we have to continue our normal lives.”

Polish gynecologist Dr.Agnieszka Kurczuk in an interview with VICE recalled an episode: “One day Katya came to the clinic, 21 years old from Kharkov. She said that she was raped by many Russian soldiers. She was in total PTSD and she couldn’t say when it was, where it was other than just ”few days ago”.

The exact number of cases of sexual violence during the war against Ukranian womenis not certain. Hundreds of girls like Katya are out there today. They are scared of the past, present and future and the Polish government continues to ignore the issue depriving every single woman of the right to their own body. One thing is certainly clear: war continues in Ukraine, and so it does in Poland against women.