Russian forces widely use sexual violence and torture against detainees, UN reports
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have published a report providing evidence of widespread sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation. The report alleges more than 1,004 incidents during the period from 24 February 2022 through 31 July 2026.
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Photo credit: Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP
The UN investigators noted that almost three-quarters of former prisoners of war and nearly half of all civilians detained experienced sexual violence on more than one occasion. Most of the victims of sexual violence were men, particularly in places of detention, and those interviewed for the report recounted deeply distressing experiences.
Many of the Ukrainian POWs and retained medical personnel suffering violations by Russian forces said they were tasered in the genitals using a Soviet-era military field telephone known as a “tapik”, a communication device that delivers low-voltage electric shocks, with 155 (27 per cent) having endured this form at least once.
One Ukrainian POW described being raped with a baton, another being forcibly penetrated with cell door keys. One Ukrainian civilian said he had been raped with a shovel handle.
The Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell, told UN News that these international crimes occurred throughout captivity, transfer, interrogation, in the cells, in the shower and even before release or exchange.
“We documented the same practices occurring across facilities. Rape, gang rape, beatings while nude, electric shocks or beatings of the genitals, secret sexual degradation, and prolonged nudity, and forced nudity,” she commented.
Outside the context of detention, in areas under Russian occupation, primarily women and girls were subjected to rape, including gang rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault. They also endured forced nudity, threats of sexual violence, and other forms of sexual violence, mainly in residential settings.
The youngest documented rape survivor was a 4-year-old girl and the oldest an 82-year-old woman.
OHCHR stated that Russia has failed to take any discernible steps to prevent, investigate, or prosecute sexual violence committed by its personnel. It has enacted legal provisions that provide broad impunity for crimes, including sexual violence, committed during military service and has not engaged with OHCHR on the matter of sexual violence.
OHCHR notes that the Ukrainian government has taken a number of concrete steps to prevent and address such violations by its personnel, including through legal reforms, command-level directives, and regular cooperation with OHCHR and other monitoring mechanisms. Bell stressed that Ukraine provides the UN mission with “unfettered access” to the prisoner-of-war camps and to other detention facilities. However, steps toward accountability remain limited: OHCHR is not aware of any cases moving beyond the investigative stage.
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