First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska took part in the International Conference “United for Justice: Strengthening Partnerships to Support Survivors of CRSV.” The event was held as part of Ukraine’s chairmanship of the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI).
Ukraine’s chairmanship of the Alliance aims to strengthen global coordination, expand practical tools to support survivors, and advocate for the prevention of such crimes worldwide. During Ukraine’s tenure, the Alliance has grown to 33 members.
“Ukraine has painful experience in this area because of the numerous cases of sexual violence committed by Russian occupiers against defenseless people – women, men, children, civilians, and captured servicemembers. We are learning of more and more such cases as survivors find the strength to speak. Sometimes it takes years,” the First Lady noted.
Olena Zelenska stressed that the state is creating the conditions necessary to ensure that all survivors can speak about what they have endured.
“With the support of international partners, we have been able to scale up existing services, mobile teams, and assistance centers, and to train psychologists and law enforcement officers in trauma-sensitive communication. And the foremost demand of survivors is not only respect and safety, but the punishment of perpetrators and justice. That is why Ukraine has adopted a law on the legal and social protection of survivors of sexual violence related to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, as well as on urgent interim reparations. I very much hope that it will begin working in full soon,” the President’s wife said.
The conference also discussed the implementation of the pilot project on urgent interim reparations. Since its launch, 1,208 applications have been submitted, nearly 950 reparations have already been approved, and more than 600 survivors have received payments. This initiative has also served as a practical basis for developing a draft law on the status of persons affected by sexual violence related to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.
The conference further underscored the importance of ensuring the law’s effective implementation.
