Sergiy Nizhynskyi: The abuser always blames the victim, even when his guilt is obvious

A Ukrainian translation of the book “Towards Justice: Strength and Stories of Survivors” was recently presented in Pristina.

This publication was first published in Kosovo two years ago on the initiative of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, led by Executive Director Feride Rushiti. The book was published in Ukraine thanks to the support of the NGO UA Experts and the Pro Peace – Kosovo platform. In an exclusive interview with The Geopost, the founder and director of UA Experts, human rights activist Sergiy Nizhynskyi, spoke about cooperation between Ukraine and Kosovo at the level of non-governmental organizations.

healthin The full version can be found here:

The Geopost: What significance does this project have for the Ukrainian audience and for Ukrainian society?

Nizhynskyi: Thank you for your question and for your attention to this book. We spent a year and a half publishing it in Ukraine. During this time, translators and literary editors typed and corrected very difficult materials. After all, this is a book about the history of victims who, 20 years ago in Kosovo, experienced perhaps the most terrible thing that can happen in war – sexual violence.

These stories inspired Ukrainian victims not to hide their problems and to share them with those still living in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. This was a good reason for many human rights activists to understand that everything needed to be systematized.

Finally, some of the stories collected by volunteers are addressed to the Hague Tribunal. Another part of society understands that the work of psychologists consists mainly of case studies, of understanding how to talk to victims, witnesses – men and women – and children, both personally and through other examples. The publication of these stories and their performance at the Diplomatic Academy, the Lesya Ukrainka Library and the Parliamentary Library show that we need to report as much as possible about these facts, which people are usually ashamed to talk about, in the world. After all, sexual violence during an armed conflict is the most hidden crime. I hope that the translation of this book will help raise awareness among many people that it needs to be discussed. It is important to know how to react – from victims and witnesses to psychologists, lawyers and human rights activists working on this issue.

The Geopost: You rightly said that documenting war crimes is a central and crucial element in the path to justice. Unfortunately, it took years for this to happen in Kosovo. What about documentation in Ukraine?

Nizhynskyi: Of course, we rely on the report of the Ukrainian Ombudsman, the reports of the UN Monitoring Mission, and the facts entered by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine into the Unified State Register of Investigations. However, we know that more facts emerge every month. This is both good and bad. It is good because more people understand exactly what acts constitute this type of crime. Finally, they are being investigated, and people are receiving relevant information through the media and the Internet about what exactly constitutes the crime of sexual violence in war. In particular, forced undressing at checkpoints is the most common type of crime. This is the information that our society really needs.

On the other hand, this is negative information, because we see a real number of people turning to law enforcement after experiencing sexual violence. Some remain silent about the crime and have the right to do so. Others, however, have witnessed it and want to speak out. Some have become victims. I have already stated in the media that 70% of the victims in Bukha are men. According to the report of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the youngest victim is four years old and the oldest is 82 years old. These figures underline the horror of this crime, which we are trying to inform the public about. It is not for nothing that a separate column, the eleventh, in the register of victims of Ukraine has been allocated for victims of sexual violence during the war. They are entitled to reparations, compensation and all other guarantees provided to persons who benefited in connection with the war.

The only thing that matters is what benefits these people receive – this is our task as human rights activists and the Verkhovna Rada. We should examine them as much as possible, especially by studying the experiences of our neighbors – countries where wars have already happened – and improve them in order to provide the greatest possible assistance to these people.

It is not for nothing that the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in War, Pramila Patten, noted that the successes that Ukraine has achieved in two years – both at the legislative level and in human rights work – are incredible given the global context. Today there are more than 70 military conflicts in the world, and not everywhere do we find legal mechanisms like those that exist in Ukraine: deepening and developing algorithms for compensation, prosecution, investigation, payment, the creation of special funds and the provision of maximum support – from quotas in professions to children’s access to schools and kindergartens. This is the work that the human rights sector in Ukraine is doing with maximum efficiency. For us, this is truly pleasant and important, and we hope that it will bring maximum practical benefit.

The Geopost: The organization you founded and lead, UA Experts, is making significant progress in this direction and is encouraging lawmakers to protect people who have been victims of sexual violence. Please tell us about your other initiatives.

Nizhynskyi: UA Experts was founded in 2013 and will turn 12 on July 4. On the one hand, we were a big nuisance for the authorities – a thorn in the side of civil society because we constantly exerted pressure and addressed many issues. The full name of our organization is the Union of Experts Against Corruption. This suggests that UA Experts has an anti-corruption segment and that corrupt activities are always afraid of publicity. The public disclosure of relevant facts, investigations (journalistic, legal, human rights) and project activities was not always convenient for the authorities.

We started by defending the Automaidan activists who were injured by the police in 2013-2014. Then it became a kind of credo of help for us. We realized that there are many sources of untruth that need to be fought. After the start of the large-scale occupation in 2022, we realized that one of the most painful topics is sexual violence in war. And we do not need the state, the authorities and our international partners to be silent about this and say the standard phrase: “Well, this is war, this happens in all wars”. Yes, but Ukrainians will respond to this and certainly will not be silent. In addition to these projects, I think we have worked very successfully with the Ministry of Social Policy. We introduced the Demographic Strategy of Ukraine. This is a large-scale project with a fund in the field of population and social services. We are trying to identify all the possible problems that Ukraine faced during the war, ecocide, genocide and many other challenges, from brain drain to supporting small and medium-sized businesses, especially women's. This mini-reconstruction falls on their shoulders, and working capital falls so that they can at least somehow support the economy.

The third project is combating domestic violence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we intensified this focus because the number of cases of domestic violence in Ukraine tripled. Now, during a full-scale war, the statistics are even worse. Therefore, this is a very important component. After all, family law is at the forefront of the courts of the city of Kyiv: divorce, alimony, due to the war, social and family problems. People in difficult life situations react differently. And it's not only men and women, but also the elderly and grandchildren. There is economic violence and psychological violence. This, of course, has consequences for the state and for the people. We must respond to this and create a caring society. That is why we are implementing many legislative initiatives as widely as possible.

After the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, we are trying, especially in the regions, to explain why it is important for Ukraine that it is no longer just a regulation, but now a criminal obligation. When we talk about joining the European Union, we must be morally, ethically and practically prepared for these things. How can one explain, for example, why the Istanbul Convention, which no one has ever heard of, is important for the region? This is not only about the implementation of our legislation, but also about the development of relevant policies that need to be implemented and harmonized with national legislation. This is important.

Because in some villages, people are ashamed to talk about it because the head of the village council, the police, the head of the SBU and the social security office are acquaintances and relatives, and everyone knows everyone. There is no secret about who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. Everyone understands it all and lives with it.

Therefore, the involvement of mobile teams from other regions, exchanges and relocation of accommodation from large cities to urban-like settlements, for example, are of great importance. This is our task – to help the state and social services.

The Geopost: I heard community representatives during trainings say: “What kind of violence is this? She herself consented to it.”

Nizhynskyi: Such examples of perpetrators and victims are reminiscent of the rhetoric of Russia and Ukraine. Russia commits a crime, kills people, and then gives interviews to the world’s leading media outlets, saying “we are protecting Russian-speaking people” and so on. This reminds me very much of such an example of a perpetrator-victim relationship, because the perpetrator always blames the victim, even when their guilt is obvious.

The Geopost: Russian propaganda spreads the narrative that sexual violence is simply a byproduct of war, not a genocidal strategy or secret weapon that suppresses a person's will and destroys their personality. Does Ukraine have sufficient resources to collect all the evidence and bring the perpetrators to justice in international courts?

Nizhynskyi: You have clearly demonstrated how Russia manipulates these phenomena. Moreover, Russian propaganda is unfortunately one of the most powerful in the world.

And even residents not only of Russia, but of the whole world, often believe this information.

There are other facts about sexual violence during the war. The Main Intelligence Directorate published a conversation between Russian soldiers and their wives, which was broadcast live on many TV channels. In it, the wife says to a Russian soldier: “You kill, you rape, everything will be forgiven, give it to them, humiliate, demoralize” and so on. This once again confirms the fact that the main goal of sexual violence for Russians is demoralization. To humiliate, to oppress, to tell them that “you do not exist, that there is no language, that there is no faith”. Unfortunately, this was also the case with our grandparents, who told the same story. Now we understand this not only from books and legends, but also in real life.

This disinformation is becoming more and more intense. Faced with the huge informational and legal resistance of Ukrainians on the world stage, the Russians began to spread stories like this: “Russian soldier Ivan fell in love with a Ukrainian woman and betrayed his wife Alenka” and similar narratives. This version is more understandable to Russians, as they automatically support the aggression of their compatriots. They distort the facts about sexual violence and instead invent stories about “betrayal” and the violation of “values”. They blame Ukrainian women who have been raped for supposedly defending themselves against their husbands. We must record these narratives and immediately comment on them in the media so that many people do not fall prey to these accusations of the aggressor.

The Geopost: Mr. Serhiy, thank you for your message. I am grateful for the efforts you are making to move this unshakable rock in our society. I hope that the authorities, the public sector and journalists will succeed in achieving justice together.

Nizhynskyi: Thank you. Finally, I would like to mention a story from the book that we translated under the coordination of Feride Rushiti and Korab Krasniqi. It is about how a man in Kosovo married a woman who suffered from sexual violence. How he tried to be with her every day, support her, encourage her and advocate for different positions with her. This shows that love still conquers evil. I am sure that Ukrainians will rise up and defeat this evil. I am sure that many stories from Ukraine will be published and the victims themselves will receive compensation, reparations and appropriate support from the state.

I recommend everyone who sees this interview to watch our short film how empathy defeats violence. In it, a woman does not think about compensation, but about how she can send her child to kindergarten in Ukraine, where electronic queues are everywhere. And how many privileged people, especially the military, give up this place and emphasize: This category of citizens should be heard and have privileges in Ukraine too.

 The Geopost: A very inspiring example. That's how it should be.

/The Geopost