Within a span of just two weeks, a hotline for rape and sexual assault victims by Russian troops in Ukraine has been inundated with 400 calls.
Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ombudsman for Human Rights in Ukraine, has stated that the line is facing an overwhelming response, with the five psychologists managing it unable to keep up with the high volume of calls.
The victims reaching out for help encompass both adults and children, both male and female. There have been horrifying reports of attacks where terrified relatives were forced to witness the assaults, according to Daily Mail. In Bucha, 25 victims aged 14 to 25 were reported to have been ‘systematically’ raped while being held captive in a basement, resulting in nine pregnancies.
The hotline, established in collaboration with Unicef, saw a surge of 400 calls between April 1 and April 14, coinciding with the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv region following a failed attempt to capture the capital.
Mrs. Denisova expressed the urgent need for additional support, stating: ‘Our five psychologists cannot cope with this load. I asked Unicef to almost double the number of psychologists, to ensure that the care is of good quality and that there is no burnout, including those psychologists who receive such appeals day and night. And these cases are very terrible.’
Despite the distressing reports, Russia has refuted allegations of using rape as a ‘weapon of war’.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that ‘Hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded, including those of young girls and very young children. Even of a baby.’