Women fleeing Ukraine must get access to SRHR including abortions

Today, Members of the European Parliament are expected to show strong support for women impacted by the war in Ukraine. In recent weeks, there have been a growing number of unofficial reports from survivors and intelligence reports about rape, sexual harassment, and torture being increasingly used by the Russian army as a weapon of war against the civilian population in Ukraine. As 90% of those fleeing Ukraine are women and children, the Greens/EFA have pushed for a resolution specifically addressing the impact the war has on women. 

Alice Bah Kuhnke MEP, member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, comments: 

“We strongly condemn the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. Ukrainian women and girls are at risk every day. The EU must ensure that those who seek refuge here get access to psychosocial support and that their sexual and reproductive rights are upheld across the union. It is especially vital that the EU guarantees access to these essential services for women arriving in member states such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, where access to sexual and reproductive rights, including abortion and emergency contraceptives is restricted. It is equally important to make sure that SRHR services are made accessible to those still in Ukraine.”

Viola von Cramon MEP, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament's delegation to Ukraine, comments: 

“Ukrainian women are currently experiencing terrible crimes like women not so long ago in Kosovo. Sexual violence and systematic rape as weapons of war are not unknown. Europe's recent history shows that we have not learned, and once again have not been able to protect women from these atrocities. Women who have become victims of sexual violence need legal assistance, but above all, and most of all, support for their physical and psychological suffering.”